Unusual and On-Trend

Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names we think is due for a comeback— alongside cousins Cora and Dora. Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all.

Florence is back, returning to the US Top 1000 girl names in 2017 after a nearly 40 year absence. Other English-speaking countries have been quicker to welcome Florence back into fashion.

Flynn, a charming Irish surname, is still used only quietly, despite its easygoing, casual cowboy charm, unlike Finn which is a star of this genre. Flynn was the choice of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr for their baby boy, and is also the middle name -- used as his first -- of a son of Miranda's fellow supermodel Elle Macpherson, of Gary Oldman's son Gulliver and Marley Shelton's daughter West.

The long association to the Ford Motor Company doesn't stand in the way of this being a strong, independent, single-syllable name.

Foster is one commonly heard last name that makes a fine first. The word foster means "to nourish" — as in "fostering hope", or "fostering a relationship". The only problem with Foster might be its association with "foster child."

Francesca is a lighter and much more feminine choice than the classic Frances, and one that is increasingly popular with upscale parents.

Though TV's "Frasier" made the name famous, and Frazier is a well-used variation, Fraser is the original, used mostly in Scotland.

Freya has long been popular in the U.K. but has only taken off in the US in the last decade, along with the entire category of mythological names. Derived from the Old Norse name Freyja, meaning "Lady, noble woman", Freya is the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.

The iconic Gone With the Wind star Clark's surname was brought into the first-name mix when Weeds' Kevin Nealon picked it for his son. Gable makes a strong and unusual possibility, a rhyming cousin to Abel and Mabel.

Gage was part of the craze for one-syllable surnames, with associations to tasty green gage plums and the mathematical gauge.

Floral, bright, and subtly powerful, Gaia is a name with two separate origins. In Greek mythology, it is the name of the earth goddess and the universal mother, who takes her epithet from the Ancient Greek word for land or ground. It was this ecological element that led actress Emma Thompson to choose it for her daughter back in 1999, and it could hold similar appeal to green minded parents today.

The final n makes this choice infinitely more modern than Gail.

More common as a surname, Galvin is a possible alternative to Gavin and Calvin.

The name of a historic Irish leader, Gannon has a solid, yet spirited feel. It was one of the fastest-rising names of 2014, but that trend didn't continue. One pop culture influence was the name of Teen Mom 3 son Gannon Dewayne McKee.

Surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options.

Gareth, the name of a modest and brave knight in King Arthur's court, makes a sensitive, gently appealing choice, used more in its native Wales than anywhere else.

Garland is fragrant and celebratory, and also has a celebrity-tribute tie to the star of The Wizard of Oz.

An Israeli place-name as well as being the Hebrew form of Gabriel.

Gemma is a jewel of a name, an Italian classic that was very popular in 1980s England, but has only recently been started to be used here; it entered the list in 2008.

Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name.