Miss Randriana's Random Name Mix

Just the kind of casual, flippant nickname that upscale Brits are putting on their sons' birth certificates, but few U.S. parents are.

A plausible color name, it was chosen by the singer Sting as a middle name for his daughter, after a character in the Gormenghast fantasy trilogy, of which he's a big fan.

Gemma is a jewel of a name, an Italian classic that was very popular in 1980s England, but has only recently been started to be used here; it entered the list in 2008.

Now more popular than Georgiana in Britain, this elegant Dickens. Jane Austen name deserves attention. Most American parents prefer Georgia to Georgina or any other feminization of George.

Like high-kicking amies Coco and Fifi, Gigi has a lot of Gallic spunk but lacks substance. Was chosen for her daughter by designer Cynthia Rowley. While some parents might fashionably use Gigi on its own, we'd recommend lengthening it on the birth certificate to something like Georgiana or Gabrielle.

Goldie is a shimmering new addition to the nickname name lineup, and became one of the fastest rising girl names in 2023. After peaking at Number 114 in 1904-1905, Goldie slid off the list completely in 1958. She re-entered the US Top 1000 again in 2021.

The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Gray (or Grey), is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative--if slightly somber-- choice, especially in the middle. Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney recently named their son Leo Grey.

This Swahili and Muslim female name referring to the Prophet Muhammed's nurse. It is a popular name in Egypt and Somalia.

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.

Those "Where's Gretel?" jokes will get old pretty fast.

Pleasant but uninspired surname name somewhat connected to writers Ellison and Coben. After three decades off the US Top 1000, it reentered in 2013, maybe because it's an unusual example of the trendy class of two-syllable n-ending boys’ names. Kevin Harlan is an NFL, NBA, and college basketball announcer for TV and radio.

A glamorous but earthy sounding surname style name, Harlowe is currently less popular than Harlow, though the -e ending might soften it a little.