baby names i love

One of the warm and earthy Russian nickname names now coming into style. Denzel Washington is the father of a Katia.

Kimberly's heyday was in the 1960s and 70s, when it ranked among the Top 10. While it hasn't been stylish for decades, it's evidenced more staying power than some former hot girl names, remaining among the Top 300 girl names in the US, where it's stood for 70 years.

Actor Kit Harington, aka the dreamy Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, has given this nickname-name new style and appeal for boys. Actress Jodie Foster used it for her son.

With male version Leon taking off all over Europe, the female variations, from Leona to Leonie to Leone, are coming back into style too.

Luka is one of the coolest names in recent years, following suit of its cousin Luca which is now a Top 50 name. Luka is on its way up the charts and may crack the Top 100 in the very near future. Luka has a lot going for it — it is following the tails of Lucas and Luke which have been enjoying significant popularity for years. It also boasts the very current "-ah" ending sound that feels fresher than ever for boy names, from Noah to Ezra to Judah. The "k" in the middle gives an extra edge as well.

This Old Testament female name has been one of the most popular girls’ names in Israel over the last decade. Also highly popular in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, and a new entrant to the US Top 1000, it may be misunderstood here as an attempt to streamline and feminize the more familiar Noah – although it's a separate name with a separate derivation.

Odessa, a Ukrainian port city, was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey. It would make an original and intriguing choice.

This uppity name has been a fast climber in recent years, but we still think it's a bit much. Even abroad, where the connection to the prestigious university will be weaker, any name beginning with "Prince" will sound pretentious.

Despite her somewhat prissy, puritanical air, Priscilla has managed to stay widely used for well over a century -- it reached as high as Number 127 in 1940 -- appreciated for its delicacy and solid history.

Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine. This botanical name is also a coincidental double word name, meaning "regret" in English and "street in" French. Despite these unfortunate secondary meanings, Rue has real potential to be one of the most popular new middle names 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.

A bright and warm possibility for a summertime girl, Solana has been heard in a few video games. Solana Rowe is the real name of the singer known as SZA.

See the popularity graph below for the name Theo? It's been heading straight uphill since 2010, when it hopped back onto the Top 1000 after a 60+ year absence.

Ysabel is the original spelling of this ever-more-popular name, though to English-speakers, the initial Y may confuse pronunciation.