Cool Kids

The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday.

Pax, one of the variations of names meaning peace that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son. Parents attracted to Pax may also want to consider Paz, the unisex Spanish version, or Paxton, a growing-in-popularity surname choice that shares that magical X-factor.

A cool name, representing the Roman goddess of peace and offering a positive message to bestow upon a child. Pax is one of the most stylish new names that mean peace.

An Irish last-name-first-name that could make a child feel distinctive, while still having the regular guy nickname of Quinn. Christine Taylor and Ben Stiller spelled their son's name Quinlin.

Quinlan is an Irish surname name given to a few dozen baby girls in the US each year. With the success of Quinn as a girls' name, Quinlan and its variant spellings Quinlin and Quinlyn might follow behind.

Strong and solid, with a touch of foreign intrigue, it's the most popular of the rain-related names, with a variety of pronunciations—RAY-na, rah-EE-na, or RY-na. Alternate spellings Reyna and Rayna currently rank higher in the US.

Short and feminine, Ria has a rhythmic flow.

Rivers is an indisputably unisex surname with is strong nature connotation and its connection to the character Diana Rivers from Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. Rivers is also the first name of one of the girl Sweet Home sextuplets.

Austrian actress Romy Schneider seemed to be the singular bearer of this international nickname name until it found new style currency in the past decade.

Uncommon nickname for Katherine.

Spice names are increasingly appealing to the senses of prospective parents; this one, belonging to a precious spice derived from the crocus has a vaguely orange-scented-incense sixties feel.

This is a soft and strong Arabic and Persian name commonly heard in the Middle East.

Sloane is a sleek, sophisticated surname name that has gradually morphed over to the girls' side. With its distinctive and intriguing sound, Sloane has been in the US Top 1000 since 2009, and in 2022, it made its first appearance in the UK charts, jumping more than 400 places in a single year.

Sullivan is a jaunty Celtic three-syllable name, with a real twinkle in its eye. It was immortalized in the 1930s classic film Sullivan's Travels and was chosen for one of Patrick Dempsey's twin boys. Nickname Sully is equally jaunty.

Stylish and boyish but could work for a girl -- especially one with brown eyes -- and Sully is a quirky and jaunty nickname.

Although Sylvia seems to be having somewhat of a revival among trendsetting baby namers, we'd still opt for the even gentler and more unusual Sylvie. Despite being dated in its native France (where it was popular during the 1950s and 60s), in English-speaking regions it still feels fresh and international without being unfamiliar and has a cosmopolitan, international air. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Cute and unusual as a nickname, but lacking the legs to stand on its own.

Actress Tilda Swinton injected this dated nickname name with some modern charm.

Tilden is mostly seen as a male name, but we love it just as much for a girl. It's an androgynous answer to Tilda, and still gets you the super-sweet nickname Tilly (or Tildy).

This lovely orange-scented Spanish place-name would make an inventive namesake for an Aunt Valerie.