Names from Whats My Line

Audie as a boys' name was made famous by Audie Murphy, the most decorated hero of World War II. Murphy was born one of ten children of a poor Texas sharecropper's family and the origins of his unusual first name are unknown. But there were 29 boys named Audie in 2013, more than twice the number of girls given the name, which can be a diminutive of Audrey.

Audrey is one of the girls' names that have been rising due to their connection to Old Hollywood glamour—in this case the eternally chic and radiant Audrey Hepburn. Audrey has another very different appeal as one of the elite group of girl names that mean strong, brave, or powerful.

Ava is one of the prime examples of a modern classic name, rising thought the course of a generation into the Top 10, where it has lingered for nearly 20 years.

Barbara is back! Among the fastest-rising names of 2023, Barbara came back from oblivion at the very bottom of the Top 1000, gaining nearly 100 places on the popularity list.

Despite the voluptuous doll's various career choices, from astronaut to doctor, her name still remains a euphemism for "bimbo".

The kind of cutesy female spin not popular since Barry was big for boys, several decades ago. Consider Bara instead.

This Anglicized form of Bearach or short form of Finbarr was in the Top 200 in the USA for 50 years until the early 80s when it rapidly fell out of favor. Barry has not yet found popularity in the modern era - but that may well change as people rediscover their love of classic figures like musician Barry White, baseballer Barry Bonds or even Barack Obama, whose nickname as a young man was Barry.

Beatrice is back. Stored in the attic for almost a century, the lovely Beatrice with its long literary (Shakespeare, Dante) and royal history is being looked at with fresh eyes by parents seeking a classic name with character and lots of upbeat nicknames, like Bea and Bee.

One of those casual down-home names last popular in the 1960s.

We've seen Beatrice and Beatrix climb in popularity, along with traditional nickname Bea. And now there's Bee, giving it a buzzy nature world spin, plus a tie to popular late night TV''s Samantha Bee, not to mention Aunt Bee on the old The Andy Griffith Show TV show. Bee can theoretically be short for any girl names starting with B.

Ben, the diminutive of Benjamin or Benedict, can easily stand on its own as a simple, strong, nice-guy choice, though it's somewhat attenuated. Ben is this generation's Bob or Bill.

Benjamin is a biblical name that has enjoyed widespread favor for decades, ranking in the US Top 50 for almost half a century and the Top 10 from 2015 until 2023.

Bennett is Ben with a bow tie, kind of a cross between Benjamin and Beckett. It's been trending up on the popularity charts in recent years, and its choice by The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Jane Krakowski could shoot it even higher.

Norwegian city name heard much more often as a last name than a first.