Character und Baby Namez

Reference to the mythological Three Graces of womanly charm, this one representing charity. Pronounced in Greek as starting with a back-of-the-throat H sound, most English-speakers would translate that to something closer to KAR-is. It's also the name of a girl who lived in Atlantis in the novel Taliesin, and appears in the Margaret Atwood novel The Robber Bride.

Chloe is a pretty springtime name symbolizing new growth. Though slightly off its peak in the Top 10 in 2010, Chloe still ranks in the Top 20 and is solidly a modern classic.

Extremely popular in Ireland, Ciaran is also well used in England and is beginning to be adopted by parents in the U.S., though usually via the more American-friendly Kieran spelling. The Irish spelling is, however, becoming more familiar on this side of the Atlantic, due to the rising popularity of Belfast-born actor Ciaran Hinds.

Takes the priss out of Priscilla.

Cillian is one of the native Irish names that, along with Aiden and Declan, is becoming an unlikely favorite in contemporary America. The Killian spelling has been more popular in the US, but Cillian's star is rising, perhaps thanks to Irish actor Cillian Murphy, star of Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders.

A sweet and rare spice name, which made its first and only appearance on the US baby name charts in 1969 – the year Neil Young's song "Cinnamon Girl" was released.

Claire, luminous, simple, and strong, is one of those special names that is familiar yet distinctive, feminine but not frilly, combining historical depth with a modern edge. And though Claire is enjoying revived popularity, it will never be seen as trendy. Claire is also a great middle name choice.

Clara is a strong, lovely girls' name that's always ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names but has been climbing since the turn of this century. It now ranks right around Number 100, making it a modern classic that's neither too popular nor unfamiliar.

Clarissa, the daintier version of Claire, has a long literary history of its own, having been featured in the novels of Samuel Richardson, Charles Dickens, and Virginia Woolf—Clarissa was the title character of Mrs. Dalloway—not to mention the 1990s teen sitcom, Clarissa Explains it All.

Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list.

Attached in Irish mythology to a Cliona who was, among other things, an inspirer of poets. Cliona is well-used in modern Ireland, along with Irish form Cliodhna, though it's largely unknown in the rest of the world.

Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

Coco came to prominence as the nickname of the legendary French designer Chanel (born Gabrielle) and has lately become a starbaby favorite, initially chosen by Courteney Cox for her daughter Coco Riley in 2004. At first it was the kind of name that the press loves to ridicule, but we predict Coco's heading for more broad acceptance and even popularity.

Cole -- a short name that embodies a lot of richness and depth -- has long been associated with the great songwriter Cole Porter. It's quite popular in Scotland.

Constantina is a pretty, feminissima, if lengthy, variation on the Constance theme. The fourth century Constantina, also known as Constantia and Constantiana, was the eldest daughter of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and his second wife Fausta, daughter of Emperor Maximian. Constantina received the title of Augusta by her father, and is venerated as a saint; in English she is also known as Saint Constance.

Cosima, the kind of elegant and unusual name the British upper classes love to use for their daughters, is given to a handful of baby girls in the US after being chosen by two high-profile celebs in the same month; cool couple Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars as well as supermodel Claudia Schiffer. It was used earlier by celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, while the male form, Cosimo, was given to the son of Marissa Ribisi and Beck.

Crispin, which was introduced into the mainstream by actor Crispin Glover and which means "curly-haired" in Latin, has an image very much like its first syllable: crisp, autumnal, and colorful.

Cyra is an unusual name that can be pronounced either SEER-a or SI-ra, rhyming with Keira or Tyra. This name may be a feminine variation of Cyrus but is also a Persian name that stands on its own. One noted bearer is writer Cyra McFadden.

A Native American tribe name which is found in the names of two US states, Dakota was one of the first trendy nineties place names, but is now flagging a little in popularity. The cultural question around using a Native American tribe name as a baby name may be partly to blame.