Food Names 2.0

Fig was the unlikely name of a beautiful character in Curtis Sittenfeld's Man of My Dreams. Better bets: Plum, Quince, or even Apple. Still, you might consider Fig as an unusual nickname for any more formal F-starting name, from Frances to Fiona.

Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.

Well used in England and Scotland since the fifties, the smooth and sophisticated Graham is catching on here.

A North African chili pepper paste and a potential baby name due to the similarities to Marissa, Clarissa, et al.

Hazel has a pleasantly hazy, brownish-green-eyed, old-fashioned image that more and more parents are choosing to share. Former Old Lady name Hazel reentered the popularity lists in 1998 and now is near the top of the charts.

A term of endearment turned cute British celebrity baby name, used by actress Kate Winslet, chef Jamie Oliver, and TV presenter Fearne Cotton, among others. Honey was given to only 40 girls in the US in 2017, but it's relatively popular across the pond, where it ranks in the current Top 500 baby names for girls.

Jasmine was derived from the Persian word yasmin, referring to the jasmine flower. Scented oil was made from the plant, and it was used as a perfume throughout the Persian Empire. Variants include Jazmin, Yasmin, Yasmine, and Jessamine.

A name with something for everyone: for romantics, it's a beautiful Indonesian island; for teckies, it's a computer programming language.

Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name -- it's a small evergreen shrub -- with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia, and Willow.

Whether you think of it as Cale with a K, or a pet form of Kalen or Kaleb, this is just the kind of short, synthetic name finding a lot of favor now, but remember -- it's also the name of a vegetable.

Lemon is one of the more unique names related to fruit, compared with sisters Clementine and Apple. That may be because lemon is also a word that's slang for a clunker, something that doesn't work very well. No baby wants to feel like a Lemon, so this is one of those unusual names that is best avoided.

Given to around 25 girls in the US each year, this is a name that could go either way - summery and refreshing or just plain sour. You decide.

Lotus is one of the most languorous of the flower names, with intriguing significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism, symbolizing purity, grace and spiritual growth — not to mention a familiar yoga position.

Sophisticated and sweet, delicate but substantial, Madeleine is the classic French variation of Magdalene.

Mango might be cute as a short form of a related name like Manuel, or for a pet name. But we're not feeling it as a full baby name for a child of any gender.