Lilting African name that translates perfectly into other cultures. 

Aleela

Amory is the kind of executive-sounding surname name that became popular in the 1990s. Amory Blaine is the protagonist of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, This Side of Paradise.

Amory

This unjustly neglected floral name has a BBC accent and a Greek mythological heritage: Anthea is an epithet of Hera, the Greek queen of the gods, and her name has been used as poetic symbol of spring. 
 Anthea Disney is a high-powered business executive and distant relative of Walt.
 So if you want to go even beyond Azalea and Anemone, you might consider Anthea.

Anthea

Long more associated with the New York Waldorf- hotel and the neighborhood in Queens than as a baby name, Astoria is finally beginning to emerge from their shadow and find favor with parents looking to move beyond Brooklyn. The name Astoria is drawn from the surname of titan of industry John Jacob Astor, theorized to mean "hawk."

Astoria

Bright, fresh, and sunny, Ayla is a fashionable choice for girls. Reminiscent of other trending names such as Layla, Isla, and Ava, Ayla has recently found its place in the Top 100. 
At first glance, Ayla appears to be short, sweet, and simple – a modern invention, perhaps – but don’t be deceived. Like many names, it has different pronunciations and various origins, making it an exciting and international choice. 
In Turkish, Ayla is pronounced “Eye-luh”, meaning “halo” or “moonlight,” whereas in Hebrew, it could be a modern take on the Biblical “Elah” meaning “terebinth tree,” from “Alon” meaning “oak tree”, or, from “Ayelet” or “Ayala” meaning “doe, deer, gazelle.” 
Alternatively, Ayla is a literary name, created by Jean. M. Auel, for her novel Clan of the Cave Bear.” Pronounced “Ay-luh,” the independent heroine inspired American parents to use the name, and following the release of the film adaptation in 1986, it leapt straight into the Top 600. 
Internationally popular, Ayla ranks highly in the UK, Sweden and Azerbaijan, and is on the rise in France and Belgium. 
 In the US, over 2500 girls are given the name each year, meaning it has more than doubled in usage over the last decade. 
Notable namesakes include the American singer, Ayla Brown and the Turkish politician and activist, Ayla Akat Ata. A popular choice among influencers too, “The Flo Fam”, “Sunkissed Mama,”, and “The Prince Family” all have daughters called Ayla. 
As lovely as the name is, in its own right and as an alternative to a Top 10 choice, it may be worth keeping in mind how similar Ayla’s sounds are to those high-ranking names. This couldlead to confusion between Ava/Isla/Ayla, or to Ayla feeling more popular than it actually is. 
If you do love Ayla but want to stand out from the crowd a little more, you could consider Mira, Eira, Liora, Alara, Miray, or Aviya for their similarity in sound or feel.

Ayla

Afton

The sweetest and most sensitive of the pet names for Elizabeth, now also one of the most dated. 

Beth

Baylen

Most names that start with Cam- are on the upswing, so why not this obscure term for Wales as well as for a prehistoric time period. 

Cambria

This Nordic-sounding name is ripe for wider usage, especially as a fresh alternative to Christian or similar-sounding Carl.

Carsten

Claudia is a classic name with ancient Roman roots. Never truly in or truly out, Claudia feels like a strong, modern choice that hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual..
 Claudia was a common <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ name</a> in ancient Rome, borne by the wives of both Nero and Pontius Pilate. The name is mentioned in the New Testament in one of St. Paul's letters to Timothy as one of the Christian women in Rome. As a result, it was taken up in the sixteenth century and has been in moderate use ever since.

 There was a popular mid-century series of novels by Rose Franken, beginning with Claudia: The Story of a Marriage. The name was also used by Agatha Christie and Penelope Lively, as well as being a main character in Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire. Model Claudia Schiffer gave it an infusion of glamour, as had earlier Italian actress Claudia Cardinale. Michelle Pfeiffer has a daughter named Claudia.

 While some parents may be put off by the common "lame" meaning, some etymologists theorize that the name may relate to the word for enclosure or clause, an alternate meaning that may appeal to a child with a form of this otherwise appealing name.

Claudia

Corrigan

A light and breezy nature name that's currently in style limbo, despite its pleasant meaning.

Dale

Worldly, artistic and attractive Slavic version of the name of the Greek god of fertility and farming.

Dmitri

The enormous popularity of Emily and Emma means that parents will be looking further afield for substitutes -- and this is one of the prettiest.

Emiliana

Emmett, honest and sincere, laid-back and creative, is on the rise as a male cognate of the megapopular Emma and Emily, not to mention being a character in the popular Twilight series.
 Emmett originated in England as a masculine diminutive of the German Emma; the Hebrew characters pronounced eh-MEHT mean truth, so that might be considered another definition. Emmet is another, less popular spelling.
The death of young Emmett Till helped spark the civil rights movement.

Emmett

Emereth

Finnian is a fair jig of a name, energetic and easy on the ear. Finnian (and brother Finian) is also familiar in its alternate spelling through the classic 1968 Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow, later made into a film starring Fred Astaire as Finian McLonergan.
 There is also a St. Finnian who was a famous teacher and scholar.
 We think Finnian/Finian could really catch on in the wake of cousins Finn and Finlay/Finley.

Finnian

Holly ranks just in British Top 50, but it's been out of favor here since the 1970s Era of Nickname Names. Still, the name may be on her way back as a rejuvenated nature pick.
 Jolly Holly has always been among the favorite <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/412/christmas-baby-names">names for Christmas babies</a>, evoking the symbolic shrub with dark green leaves and bright red berries. And Holly is the flower for the month of December, so it's also among the perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for December babies</a>.
 A memorable fictional Holly is the enigmatic heroine of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, Holly Golightly (almost named Connie, and with the full name Holiday), played indelibly by Audrey Hepburn. A real life one is actress Holly Hunter. Holly Short is a fairy character in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl novels. And in Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, Holly and Jolly are siblings.

Holly

Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion gloss of New York City.
 The Hudson River was named for 17th century British explorer Henry Hudson, who also gave him name to Canada's Hudson Bay. Hudson has long been a prominent surname. Along with Henry, there was also heartthrob Rock, director Hugh, the musical Hudson brothers, and Kate Hudson today. 
 As a first name, Hudson has been given to several celebrity children, including the sons of Robert Herjavec, Marcia Gay Harden, Gena Lee Nolan, and Drew Lachey.
 Hudson literally means 'son of Hudd', which was a nickname for both Hugh and Richard in the Middle Ages. Streamlined spelling Hud was the name of the macho title character of an iconic Paul Newman film; John Mellencamp has a son named Hud.
 James Barbour pulled a gender switch when he named his daughter Hudson in 2008.
 Along with its popularity in the US, Hudson also ranks in the Top 100 in other English-speaking countries. Its popularity has not, however, extended to other European countries, many of which have laws against using surnames as first names.

Hudson

Patrician to the core, Hugh was firmly in the Top 100 until 1903. It's never achieved those heights again, though it has always managed to remain in the Top 1000, scraping bottom at literally Number 1000 in 2006 before reversing course and heading back upwards.
 Hugh has always been particularly prevalent among the Irish—there have been 20 Irish Saint Hughs, and it's traditionally associated with the O'Donnell clan. Hugh was an early immigrant to the New World, where there were two Hughs in the first English-speaking settlement in America. Hugh's biggest drawback is its sound, barely more than an exhaled breath. 
 
Actor Hugh Jackman adds a dash of the romantic hero, and other prominent Hughs include Hugh Laurie (born James Hugh), Hugh Grant, and Hugh Dancy. Then there's Hugh Hefner, known to the world as Hef. 
 Hew and Huw are the distinctively—probably too distinctively—spelled Welsh forms.
 A modern alternate option would be the surname Hughes.

Hugh

Ilana is a name with seemingly endless variations, well used in Israel, sometimes chosen for little girls born on the holiday of TuB'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees. 

Ilana

The Scottish spelling of Isabel has a definite character of her own, the 'o' giving her an extra infusion of strength but also an element of confusion. How do you pronounce that? Answer: Exactly like Isabel or Isabelle.
 Isobels have appeared on several high-profile TV shows: Isobel Crawley is Matthew's mother on Downton Abbey, Isobel Fleming is a Vampire Diaries character, and Isobel Stevens was known as Izzie on Grey's Anatomy.

Isobel

A Top 100 name from the 1930s all the way through the 1950s, it's now firmly in Mom -- or Grandma -- land and supplanted for babies by Joanna.....or even great-grandmother Josephine.  In its heyday, it had a host of variations, including JoAnn and Jo-Anne. 

Joanne

Although Kenton has the trendy K beginning and on ending, and a jazz reference to Stan Kenton, it still manages to sound stiff and old-fashioned. 

Kenton

Klimentina

A name that has a bit of a shouldn't-I-be-a-middle-name sound, though still in use as a first for both genders. Lee might be a good choice if you want something that sounds at once traditional yet modern, unisex but not newly-minted. And while it absolutely works as a first name, Lee is still one of the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/480/middle-names-for-boys">middle names for boys</a> as well as one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/top-last-names-in-the-us">most common last names in the US</a>.

Sweet Lorraine might just be old enough to be ripe for reconsideration. This French place name has moved in and out of fashion in the few hundred years it's been used as a girls' first name, somewhat influenced by the alternative name of Joan of Arc--Saint Joan of Lorraine. It was quite popular from the 1920s to the fifties, but has pretty much been in limbo since then. 
 Some memorable Lorraines are A Raisin in the Sun playwright Hansberry, actress Bracco and original SNL cast member Laraine Newman--the alternate spelling Laraine was popularized by forties star Laraine Day. Lorraine is also the name of Jack Nicholson's now grown daughter.
 In the movie Uptown Girls, Dakota Fanning's Lorraine character was nicknamed Ray--more modern sounding than Lorrie.

Lorraine

Louisa, a quaint vintage name, is an example of the idea that these days, old-style <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ names</a> are more fashionable when they end with an a rather than with an e, as in Julie/Julia, Diane/Diana. So for the next generation, Louisa may rise again, especially with the growing popularity of other Lou/Lu-starting names, like Lucy and Luna. Louisa reentered the US Top 1000 in 2014 after a 45 year absence.
 Very popular in the eighteenth century, Louisa was finally toppled at the end of the nineteenth by the French form Louise, which was a top name through the first quarter of the twentieth century.
 Louisa has many literary associations, including Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women and Little Men; two Charles Dickens novels, Hard Times and Dombey & Sons; and two novels by Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. 
 Louisa is a First Lady name, being the wife of President John Quincy Adams. One of Meryl Streep's daughters is named Louisa.
 Some international variations: Luisa, Lovisa, Ludovica, and Luigia. Nicknames include Lou, Lu, Lulu, and Ouisa.

Louisa

Magdalena is a pretty name forever associated with the fallen-yet-redeemed Mary Magdalen; often heard in the Hispanic community.  But forward thinking parents are reviving Magdalena along with Magdalene and the unrelated but similar-sounding Marguerite.

Magdalena

Marcia is an ancient Roman name which derives from Mars, the god of war. It was used by Dante in the Inferno and later by Thomas Hardy and others.
 Marcia enjoyed a brief run of popularity in the mid-twentieth century--it was a Top 100 name from 1943 to 1955-- then was replaced by Marcy and Marci. Now all three are in limbo, replaced by the newer Marley or the more vintage Marcella. An alternate spelling of Marcia is Marsha. A strong association is with Marcia, Marcia, Marcia of The Brady Bunch.

Marcia

Popular among parents with Arab roots. Also found as Maryam.

 Mary was ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Mariam. The original meaning of Mariam is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

Mariam

Almost as popular in the 1950s among the Irish in Boston as it was with those back in Bray, Maureen was once among the most prominent <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/509/irish-names-for-girls">Irish names for girls</a> in the US but has fallen from favor along with most of her een-ending sisters such as Eileen and Colleen.

Maureen

Mattigan

Palmer is a name that derives from the fact that pilgrims often carried palms, thus the double meaning. It's a fresher sounding twist on such upper-crusty surname names as Porter and Parker. Despite its long history as a boy's name, Palmer has been most successful recently on the US girl's charts — solidly in the Top 300. Nonetheless, Palmer is sitting quietly just inside the Top 1000 boy's list, and would make a respectably stylish choice for any gender.

Palmer

Quinn is an engaging Celtic surname that is still on the rise for girls but beginning to flag for boys. As a female name, Quinn is in the Top 100, used for over 3000 baby girls last year, but toward the bottom of the Top 500 for boys, given to 700 baby boys.
Pop culture was an important influence on Quinn's popularity for both genders. Quinn started leaning decidedly toward the feminine thanks to a female cheerleader character on the television show Glee. For boys, Quinn's popularity was influenced by "The Mighty Quinn," the name of a movie, a band, and a Bob Dylan song. 
 Sharon Stone has a son named Quinn. Other ideas for boyish names like Quinn: Quinton, Quincy, Finn.

Quinn

This is the second most common boys' version of this attractive name, after the Welsh original Rhys. Reese takes the lead on the girls' side. thanks to the famous Ms. Witherspoon.

Reece

A classic old Norman name popular for a thousand years and favored for kings (Richard Nixon was named for Richard the Lionhearted), as well as the hoi polloi (as in every Tom, Dick and Harry), Richard was the sixth most popular US <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a> in 1925, and was still Number 8 in 1950, but is now much less popular. 
 We predict that if parents do readopt the name Richard, it will be in its full and formal version. All the possible nicknames -- Richie (too Happy Days), Ricky, (too I Love Lucy) and especially Dick (too tricky and teasable) -- sound so dated that it's hard to imagine Richard ever coming back into style. But not that long ago, people said that about now-hot <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a> Jake and Max.

Richard

Sienna has been a Top 100 choice in England & Wales since 2005, the year after Sienna Miller's acting breakthrough in the hit movies Alfie and Layer Cake. In the US, it also got a big boost in the early noughties, before dropping slightly then rebounding to reach an all-time high in 2022.

 Now the name Sienna has gotten maybe its biggest boost of all when it was announced as the name of the daughter of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The royal baby, born in 2021, is named Sienna Elizabeth. Cable newsperson Campbell Brown also chose Sienna for her daughter, as did Kevin James. 
 
The historic Tuscan city is spelled Siena, but the Sienna spelling is the one used recently by Princess Beatrice for her daughter. Sienna, also the spelling used by American-born English actress Miller, is more popular than Siena in the English-speaking world. 


 The city of Siena is said to have been founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus. The name of the city may derive from Senius, although other possibilities include Roman or Etruscan family names, a Gaulish tribe name, or a Latin root meaning "old". 

 The English color word "sienna" ultimately comes from the name of the iron-rich clay in the Italian city, brownish yellow when raw and reddish brown when burnt, making this a vibrant color name as well as a romantic place name.

Sienna

A name that seems to hail from the old Irish neighborhoods of Boston and New York, Terence actually dates back a lot further, to the time of a famous second-century poet, who started life as a North African enslaved man in the house of a Roman senator and it was also borne by several early saints.
 Out of style for several years, Terence might be due for a comeback, much like his Irish crony Patrick. Spellings Terrance and Terrence now outperform the original. Off the list for a decade, Terence reached as high as Number 241 in the 1960s.
 Actor Steve McQueen was born Terence Steven McQueen and Terence is also the birth certificate name of Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.

Terence

With Tillie a new favorite of avant-garde parents, the British music-hall Tessie might conceivably follow. 

Tessie

Vivienne is an elaborated Gallic version of the name Vivian, chosen first by Rosie O'Donnell for her daughter and then catapulted to superstardom when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie used it for their twin daughter. An adult namesake is the British designer Vivienne Westwood. Rosie O'Donnell also has a daughter named Vivienne, known as Vivi.
 
The actress who played Scarlett O'Hara spelled her name Vivien (Leigh), but was born Vivian.

Vivienne

Until recently Ward was, like Wally, a Cleaver name, but today's parents are seeing it as a cooler nickname for Edward than Eddie, and are also beginning to use it on its own. 

Ward

Zeke is a casual form of the name Ezekiel, an important prophet from the Old Testament. How well Zeke holds up depends on the boy: it could be a cooler alternative of Zack, or it could prove too close to "geek." Both Zeke and Ezekiel lag behind in popularity on the UK charts.
 On Sons of Anarchy, Zeke is spelled Zeek. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot goes by Zeke.

Zeke

Zeevan

NataleeMJohnson's list "I wish I could have 44 kids so I could name them all!" of 45 great name ideas: Aleela - Zeevan!