Fresh Spunky Short Names

Though most Mels are playing pinochle with Murray and Morris, there was a notable Saint Mel. He is one of the earliest Irish saints, a nephew of St. Patrick. He became a priest, then built a great monastery where he served as abbot.

When R & B singer Nivea made this highly original choice for her daughter's name back in 2005, she claimed to have thought of it in terms of the color and not the seagoing armed service. As a word with multiple meanings, however, it could easily work as a nod to a naval officer in the family or to someone who enjoys sailing.

A simple but unusual name with roots in disparate cultures, Neri appears in the Bible as a male name and is still sometimes used for boys as well as girls. The appeal of Neri are its deep roots combined with its simple, upbeat, modern feel, ala Peri and Rory.

Nico is one of the great nickname names, full of charm, energy and effortless cool -- a neo Nick.

Nyx is the name of the Greek goddess of the night. It's used for baby boys in small numbers.

Ten times as many boys are named Oak as girls: about 50 boys last year to five girls. Of course, nature names don't have any traditional gender identification the way names like John and Mary do, so Oak works well for all babies. Oakley is the most popular Oak name for babies of all genders.

Ode could be part of the extended Otto/Otis family, or it might be a literary term, referring to an elaborate lyric poem.

Olivia and Olive are popular, but this mini-name cuts them down to their essence. It is unisex, and debuted for girls in the US charts in 2020.

Friendly but substantial.

Pax, one of the variations of names meaning peace that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son. Parents attracted to Pax may also want to consider Paz, the unisex Spanish version, or Paxton, a growing-in-popularity surname choice that shares that magical X-factor.

Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe.

With the return of the less obvious virtue names such as Verity and Prudence, vintage nickname names like Pru may follow in their wake.

Warm-hued spelling spin on Rowan that was chosen by Sharon Stone for one of her three young sons.

Roux is the name of the dashing Johnny Depp character in Chocolat. Roux is French from a Latin word meaning russet or brownish red; it's also a cooking term for a mixture of flour and butter that forms the foundation of many gravies or sauces. Most of today's children with this name, pronounced roo, will actually spell it Rue, for the female character in The Hunger Games.