Names That Make Me Happy

Wynn or Wyn is a Welsh male name deriving from the very productive gwyn element, which forms part of all Welsh names ending -wyn or -wen, as well as the Gwen names and the Irish Fin- names. Wynn is a soft and gentle yet sturdy choice which feels quietly timeless and charming.

Xander is a diminutive of Alexander, the Latin variation of the Greek Alexandros. Its meaning, "defending men," is taken from the Greek roots aléxein, "to defend," and andros, "men." Zander, pronounced the same way, is an alternate spelling.

On the rise as an independent name: Zander and Xander are both widely used can increasingly be found as characters in movies and on TV.

Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

A spiritual word name used by actor Zoe Saldana for her son as well as more recently Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott for their late son. Zen has been trending in recent years along with other spiritual names such as Bodhi and Zion, and recently entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

As Sophia gets more popular, parents search out more unusual spins, and the Z makes this qualify.

Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

Now that Zoe is getting wildly popular in the U.S. and the U.K. -- one poll puts it at number one in Wales -- parents may start hunting down fresh twists like this.