Unusual and On-Trend

Yardley, a surname redolent of British soaps and perfume, was used for her daughter by Megyn Kelly.

Yasiel is gaining a following thanks to superstar baseball player Yasiel Puig, a Cuban native who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Biblical Yasiel, which can also be spelled Jasiel, was a warrior in David's army. About 100 baby boys were given the name in both spellings in the U.S. last year, a number that is expected to rise.

This name, whose sweet and fragrant floral essence has always been widespread across the Near Eastern world, has now landed on US popularity lists in a variety of spellings. It's been dropping precipitously over the past few years, though, perhaps due to a combination of tensions in the Middle East and the fading fashion status of Jasmine itself.

This distinguished name still feels a bit ancient, but with the rise of such former graybeards as Jeremiah and Elijah, it also sounds child-friendly again, as does the Latin-Greek form Zacharias.

One of several more venerable names that get to the nickname Zack if you're tired of Zachary. In the New Testament, Zacharias was the husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist.

When aspiring British writer Sadie Smith decided to change her name to the more distinctive and zippy Zadie at the age of fourteen, this attention-magnet name was born. But though it might sound like a modern initial-switch, Zadie was actually Number 539 in 1881, remaining in the Top 1000 for almost thirty years.

Strong cross-cultural name that could be a feminine spin on the Zachary family.

Appealing sound and meaning, but there is that discount-store association.

A name that is rarely heard and might be worth considering as a way of zipping up a namesake Sandra. It has long been associated with iconoclastic British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.

Western novelist Zane (born Pearl!) Grey made this name famous. Now, it's in tune with the style of our times, retaining that appealing cowboy image.

Zara has multiple origins, but most notably is a variation of Zahrah, a name derived from the Arabic zahrah, meaning "blooming flower." Zara can also be a diminutive of the Bulgarian name Zaharina, a feminine form of the Hebrew Zechariah. Today, Zara is heavily associated with the Spanish fast-fashion empire of the same name.

Derived from Persian zarin "golden", Zarina is a strong and sparkling name used in multiple languages, including Kazakh, Urdu and Malay. It was the name of an ancient Scythian queen, and also sounds very close to the Russian tsarina or czarina – the pre-revolutionary term for an empress of Russia.

Newer than Zac, cooler than Ed, Ned, or Ted.

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.

An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.

Zeno, the name of two ancient philosophers, has a muscular dynamism that's lightened by its cheerful final vowel, resulting in a kind of offbeat sci-fi feel. Zeno of Citium was the founder of the Stoic school of thought, Zeno of Elea was another early, original Greek thinker, famed for his Paradoxes.

A short and zippy name that would blend right in with but also stand out among a group of girls named Mia, Gia, Lia and Tia. If you're searching for girl names that work in many cultures, this is an accessible yet distinctive choice. One caveat though: in an Italian-American family it would be strange to have a baby named Aunt.

Zoelle is a modern-sounding name combining the stylish Zoe, which means life, with the trendy Elle, French for "she". Could make for a zippier spin on sweet Noelle.

A unique relative of Zoe via the Ancient Greek name Zoilos, borne by a 4th century BC cynic philosopher.