Popular in Belgium

An interesting name associated with the elegant American-born Queen Noor of Jordan. Noor is very popular among modern Muslim parents around the world and is beginning to cross over, perhaps because of its simplicity and its resemblance to the stylish Western Nora. It appeared in the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2015.

Noor is the prevailing spelling of this beautiful Arabic name, while Nour is preferred in many European countries, including France and Spain.

Best known as the beautiful heroine to whom Cyrano de Bergerac says, "Your name is like a golden bell".

Sasha in all its forms -- which include Sacha and Sascha -- is rising in popularity for both boys and girls. Its most prominent current bearer is Sacha Baron Cohen.

This short form of classic Victor is popular in its own right in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Vince is not a short form that often stands alone on the birth certificate, the way Jack or even Joe does, but it has certain credibility as the name always used for football great Vince Lombardi. And as a diminutive for Vincent, it's a far sight better than Vinnie or Vinny or even Vin.

As a form of Yochanan, Yahya is an Islamic name that honors the prophet John the Baptist. A new entry to the US Top 1000 in 2015, it's a widely used choice in Italy and in England and Wales.

One of the relatives on the widely-branching family of John names, Yanis is in the French Top 50 and was a fast rising choice in the UK in 2022, when it went from being outside the Top 1000 to within the Top 700.

The multicultural Yara is also the name of a beautiful green-skinned Brazilian goddess and might make a more unusual spin on Mara or Sara.

In the US, Yousef is a less commonly used spelling.

Zayd (or its most common variant Zaid), an old and still well used Arabic name, was a enslaved man whom Muhammad adopted as his son.

Zeynep is one of the most popular girls' names in Turkey, related to the also-popular Arabic Zaynab which is well-used throughout the Muslim world. But like many Turkish names, Zeynep is largely unknown in Europe and the US.

A cute, zippy French saint's name that's picking up in popularity there, and here in the US. Zélie originated as a short form of Azélie, thought to derive from Adelaide via the Occitan form Azalaïs. Saint Zélie was born Marie-Azélie.