Kip's List of Christmas Names

Angel is one of those names that has a very different trajectory for girls and boys. As a female name, it was most popular in the US from the 1970s until the turn of this century, almost breaking into the Top 100 at its peak in 2001 but then beginning a long slide down the list.

The Spanish name Belén is a well-established girl name, but parents have been slower to use the English equivalent. It is beginning to come into wider use, along with other New Testament place names like Galilee and Nazareth.

Blessing is among the Top 1000 girls' names in the UK and recently joined the ranks in the US as well. With modern spiritual names like Shiloh, Chosen, and Halo trending upwards, Blessing is likely to continue to rise in popularity.

Rare word name that works for either gender.

Although now usually considered a female name in the US, Carol actually had a good run of popularity for boys too, peaking at #325 in 1937 and remaining in the US Top 1000 until the mid 1960s, when its popularity for both sexes began to decline. It derives from Carolus, the Latin form of Charles.

A Caroline abbreviation that was wildly popular with Mom's generation...or Grandma's. At one time it was a name for baby girls born at Christmas. because of its association with Christmas carols.

Charlie derives, of course, from the classic name Charles which, in turn, comes from a German word meaning "free man." Charles became very popular in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. Charley is an alternate spelling.

So sweet it makes our teeth hurt. It has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year since 2006, though it dropped a significant 136 places from 2014 to 2015, and kept dropping to Number 974 in 2016.

Very occasionally given to boys born on that day; Noel is a more common name for Christmas babies.

Clara is a strong, lovely girls' name that's always ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names but has been climbing since the turn of this century. It now ranks right around Number 100, making it a modern classic that's neither too popular nor unfamiliar.

If you’re a fan of the annual animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you’ll recognize the name of Rudolph’s beautiful doe sweetheart, pronounced cla-REES—uncomfortably close to the Silence of the Lambs pronunciation. Clarice was the name of the wife of Lorenzo de' Medici, and Clarice Cliff was a famed British ceramics artist. Though a Top 300 name from 1906 to 1934, modern parents might prefer the more delicate Clarissa.

This Puritan virtue name is unstylish, but sympathetic and appealing, in these largely uncomfortable times.

A traditional French male name that could, with American pronunciation, become an admirable word name.

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

Ebenezer is the name of a biblical place --the stone set up by Samuel to mark his victory over the Philistines--rather than a person. It was adopted by the British Puritans as a first name and then exported to America, where it had some early popularity, even entering the Top 1000 in the 1880s.

Eve, the oldest name in the Book, is now coming back into style, having the virtues of simplicity and purity, yet with more strength and resonance than other single-syllable names like Ann. British actor Clive Owen chose Eve for his daughter, as did Jessica Capshaw.

This offbeat botanical name boasts the trendy Ever sound and a cool wintery vibe. Evergreen was only given to a handful of baby girls in recent years, but would work just as well for a boy.