Alternatives to Harper

Though long associated with the iconic male fashion designer -- who went by his middle name alone -- rising young actress Halston Sage has made Halston feel plausible as a girls' name too.

We've seen Haven take off as a nouveau girls' name; Harbor could follow in its wake.

Tailored English surname that could appeal to parents who like Holland, Harper, and Harley.

Once a macho biker name, Harley is now showing its softer side. In the UK, Harley is predominantly masculine, but it's currently more popular for girls than boys in the US.

A potential Harper alternative with connections to Greek mythology. Harpina was a water nymph and lover of Ares.

This mostly male choice technically achieves unisex status in the US, where it was used for girls in about 18% of cases last year. Hart technically refers to a male deer, but modern parents are using it as an, ahem, heartfelt first and middle name for their children.

Brisk and businesslike, with a can-do image...and a little heart too.

Harvest has been occasionally used as a name since the eighteenth century, originally as evenly unisex, but in the US data for last year was starting to lean more female, given to 29 girls and 11 boys. Harvest can be seen as pleasantly archaic, rich and ripe, fitting in with popular baby names like Harper and Harry, and is also a fresh take on names like Autumn and August and one of the best names for autumn babies.

Hayes is a stylish surname name given to more and more baby girls -- nearly 100 in the US last year. That's a considerable number, but many fewer than the nearly 1800 baby boys named Hayes.

Hesper is a feminine form of Hesperus, the name of the Greek mythological personification of the Evening Star. The Hesperides are daughters of nymphs of the evening. Hesper may be related to the name Vesper as well as Hespera and Hesperia.

The disgraced heroine of The Scarlet Letter's name, after long neglect, just might have a chance at revival, following in the wake of sister-name Esther. We've characterized her elsewhere as an eccentric aristocrat, much more accepted in the U.K. than she has been here.

An intriguing surname option with ties to the natural world and to cool names like Hollis and Holland. But beware: another origin of the surname is from Old French horier meaning "pimp, brothel keeper".

Familiar English surname now associated with the Abercrombie & Fitch offshoot.

With a fun, lively sound and a great namesake in programming pioneer, computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper, this is one of the coolest new surname names for girls.

This surname gained momentum in the 1990s, when it was particularly in vogue for males. However, it seems to be experiencing a surge for females—it was one of the fastest-rising names of 2013, jumping 266 spots back into the Top 1000.