Fiery Flowerchild

The fame of actress and Aerosmith daughter Liv Tyler helped to infuse life into this short but solid Scandinavian name that was chosen for her daughter by Julianne Moore.

The eternal fiancee of Superman turned sweet gray-haired lady who's always available to babysit her grandkids turned....hot new baby name?

This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides, originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in the League of Legends games. Luz is the Spanish version.

Sophisticated and sweet, delicate but substantial, Madeleine is the classic French variation of Magdalene.

Maeve is a short and sweet name that has become one of the most stylish Irish names for girls in the modern US. Maeve would make an excellent first or middle name choice, with more heft than Mae/May and more modern charm than Mavis.

Mamie is back. Having finally shorn her Mamie Eisenhower bangs, this insouciant and adorable nickname name is perfect if you want a zestier way to honor a beloved aunt Mary. Meryl Streep's actress daughter, properly named Mary Willa, is called Mamie Gummer. You might think of Mamie as a sister of the stylish Maisie.

Marguerite is a classic French name with a remnant of old-fashioned Gallic charm; and is also a variety of daisy. Chic again in Paris, it's definitely ripe for revival here.

Matilda is a sweet vintage name that has been gently climbing the popularity list for the past 15 years, after a half-century slumber. The spunky children's book heroine Matilda is one factor in its rise, along with others of its class like Eloise and Caspian.

Maud, lacy and mauve-tinted, was wildly popular a hundred years ago but has been rarely heard in the past fifty. Some stylish parents are starting to choose Maud again, especially as a middle. Maude is another spelling, associated with actress Maude Apatow.

In English, the word 'maven' refers to an expert or connoisseur, someone who possesses deep knowledge. Comedian Tracy Morgan brought this name into the spotlight when he chose it for his daughter, Maven Sonae, in 2013. Now, over 100 newborn girls in the US are given this name each year.

Mellie is not Millie and it's not Nellie, though it will forever be confused with those too more familiar nicknames. It's cute, too, and while some of the names it's usually short for may be sailing into the sunset (so long, Melody!), others like Amelia are rising through the ranks and may give Mellie a new chance to shine as a cute girls' nickname. Just be prepared for endless confusion.

Mercer is one fashionable occupational name that can work as well for girls as boys, perhaps because of the soft c or the conventionally feminine nickname Mercy.

This is a Scandinavian variant of Margaret, and is pronounced MEH-teh or MET, rhyming with jet.

In Japan, color names symbolize human qualities (in this case, fame); name of gifted violist Midori, but also a Japanese melon liqueur.

Mona had more than a moment in the sun, peaking in 1950 at Number 230 but falling off the Top 1000 completely in the late 1980s. Its similarity to the word "moaner" undercuts the appeal of its simplicity. In one recent year, fewer than 100 baby girls received the name, and we don't see it reviving any time soon.

Nell, once a nickname for Helen, Ellen, or Eleanor, is a sweet old-fashioned charmer that is fashionably used today in its own right. While Nell is perfectly in tune with contemporary vintage name style, it hasn't taken off the way some of its sisters have and so maintains an air of distinction. Use Nell or Nellie as a short for any name from Eleanor to Penelope or just name her Nell.

You may never have known a Nettie personally, but there well might be one hidden in your family history, considering that she was a Top 100 name until 1901 and stayed on the Social Security list until 1962.

A sweet, simple Sanskrit name which would work in many languages and has an sparkling, colorful meaning.