Boys and Girls Names by Romy Marylou Amber

This creative spelling of Boden may be influenced by the popularity of Beau or New Zealand rugby player Beauden Barrett. Either way, we predict it's going to rise in popularity for years to come.

Blake -- an early unisex option -- dropped out of the Top 100 in 2017 for the first time since 1988, but remains a sophisticated choice. And yes, both conflicting meanings of Blake are accurate. It originated as a surname in England derived from a nickname. Much of its masculine image was influenced by the wealthy, silver-haired character Blake Carrington in the massively popular 80s TV series Dynasty. Rosie O'Donnell has a son named Blake.

Among the coolest of the cool color names, particularly popular with celebs as a unisex middle name.

While Ivy Blue has made the color a more popular choice for girls, Blues — as in the musical style — could feel more masculine. While some may find it a sad and gloomy choice, thanks to the phrase "having the blues", the musical connection gives it greater potential. It could make for a laid-back name that oozes cool and works as an alternative for those wanting to avoid more obvious choices like Indigo or Hendrix.

A popular name in Denmark, in this country Bo has some cowboy swagger and a lot of substance in its minimal two letters. In Mandarin Chinese, Bo means "wave".

Now that such Old Testament patriarchs as Elijah and Moses fill the playground, Boaz seems downright baby-friendly, having more pizzazz than many of the others, perhaps as a successor to Noah.

Bobby is the quintessential mid-century nickname, the name of the son on Mad Men and overused to the point of cliche. Though Robert is still a highly popular choice, most Roberts today are called by their full name or Rob or Robbie rather than Bob or Bobby.

Braxton entered the popularity ranks in 1985 and has been climbing steadily ever since. It has gained from the all-powerful X-factor, and perhaps also from the reality TV show, Braxton Family Values, featuring singer Toni and her sisters Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar. Though it might sound new, there was a prominent Confederate Civil War general named Braxton Bragg.

As a Spanish and Portuguese name, Brayan is a variant of the Celtic Brian, familiar in Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Italy and France. As a modern invention, it blends Brayden with Bryan, tying it the to the strong meaning of Brian and the fish-related meaning of Braden.

An invented name that fits in with classmates Brayden and Jaylen.

The popular -ley suffix can be credited for this name's use in recent years. We're not loving that it sounds as trendy and of-the-moment as it is.

Rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz put a new baby name on the map when they chose this downscale New York borough name for their son. The Bronx, the place, was named for early Dutch settler Jonas Bronck. Might Bronx become the next Brooklyn? We'd be surprised if it did.

Third place on the sports field, but potentially more wearable than either Silver or Gold, Bronze feels modern and edgy.

Bruce is a Norman place name made famous by the Scottish king Robert the Bruce, who won Scotland's independence from England in the fourteenth century. It's perennially popular in Scotland, but has been rarely used here for a generation -- though the impact of Bruces Lee, Springsteen, Dern and Willis, as well as Batman's Bruce Wayne -- still lingers. At one time Bruce was so widespread in Australia, it became a nickname for any Ozzie man. An interesting alternative is Brix, the Normandy place name where the Bruce family originated.

Tough-yet-cuddly Bruno is an international name even in its origins: it derives from the Germanic word for “brown” plus a Latin ending, and was borrowed as a color word in many European languages.

An alternate spelling of Brian, Bryan's one of the most enduring of Irish imports. Bryan is now slightly more popular than the original, with associations to Bryan Cranston, Bryan Ferry and Bryan Brown.