Potential Names for Future Children

Adeline has a lovely, old-fashioned "Sweet Adeline" charm, but has become so popular in the US under so many spellings and variations -- with Adalynn and Adalyn also popular -- that considered together it is far more popular than it first seems. Adorable nickname Addie is also pervasive.

Asher—an excellent, soft and sensitive Old Testament choice—is a baby boy name on the rise, and is a Nameberry biblical favorite.

Caroline is a perennial classic, one of the elite group of girls' names that's ALWAYS ranked among the Top 1000 and that's been in the Top 100 since 1994. Elegant yet strong, Caroline calls to mind the Kennedy Camelot years and Princess Caroline of Monaco.

Eden is an attractive, serene name with obvious intimations of Paradise, one of several place names drawn from the Bible by the Puritans in the seventeenth century.

James is one of the classic Anglo-Saxon names, a stalwart through the ages that is more popular—and yes, stylish—than ever today. It recently came out Number 1 in a poll of America's favorite boys' baby names, and is the most common male name, counting people of all ages, in the US.

Jasper originated as a variation of the Latin Gaspar, which ultimately derived from the Persian word ganzabara, meaning "bringer of treasure." As a given name, Jasper’s etymology is unrelated to that of the gemstone, which comes from a Semitic word meaning "speckled stone." Jasper is the usual English form for one of the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to the infant Christ according to medieval tradition and appears in the Bible as a reference to the stone itself in Revelations 4:3.

The spelling Loren turns Lauren or its male form Laurence into a gender-neutral name. Last year 75 baby girls were named Loren in the US vs. 60 baby boys, making this name a good nonbinary choice.

Nathaniel was derived from the Hebrew name Netan’el, meaning "gift of God," composed of the elements natan, meaning "to give," and ’el, in reference to God. The name is featured several times in the Old and New Testaments, typically spelled Nathanael. In the New Testament, Nathanael is also known by his other name, Bartholomew.

Surname-sounding unisex cousin of Peyton is gaining in popularity, especially for girls.

Before the young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan made her mark in the films Ladybird and The Lovely Bones, few of us had heard this name, let alone known how to pronounce it. But now it is slowly way edging its way into the mainstream, particularly, of course, with parents who have Irish roots. It made its first appearance in the US Top 1000 in 2016, when it was the third-fastest-rising girls' name.

The name of the longest river in the British Isles rose to the US Top 25 for girls in the 1970s and the Top 100 for boys, but has fallen off the Top 1000 for both genders. At the latest count, the name Shannon was given to about 200 babies in the US, about a third of those boys. As a favorite Irish name, Shannon has now been supplanted by newcomers such as Saoirse and Seanan.