Rare yet charming names

In France, pronounced PRO-spare, Prosper is a fairly common name; here it presents a worthy aspirational message for a child.

Rainer is one of those baby names that is still under-the-radar but has been quietly gaining traction: The number of boys who've received the name has doubled in the past decade, to just under 50. Part nature name and part traditional German name for boys, Rainer can claim a place among the two-syllable r-ending baby names so fashionable for boys today.

The image of the lovely Lady Sybil, tragic youngest daughter of the Crawley family on Downton Abbey is likely to go a long way towards reviving this almost forgotten name, off the list since 1966 and most popular in the 1920s and '30s.

Tree name with a pleasant sound and rhythm.

A psychic mystique clings to this name of cards used in fortune-telling.

High profile supermodel/entrepreneur Tyra Banks has put this name in the spotlight, endowing it with her confident, superattractive image.

Urban was not an uncommon name through the 1930s (rising as high as Number 435), having been attached to several saints and early popes, but it has completely disappeared from the landscape--both urban and rural. Yet in this era of word name appreciation and trend for 'an'-ending boys' names, we're thinking it might be ready for a return.

This diminutive of Valeria has a strong and striking sound to match its meaning. It has also been used in Brazil in recent decades.