Cute, girly boy names

Elmo, like fellow Sesame Street characters Kermit and Grover, has a hard time being taken seriously. (It isn't easy being red either.)

Emmett, honest and sincere, laid-back and creative, is on the rise as a male cognate of the megapopular Emma and Emily, not to mention being a character in the popular Twilight series.

Sounds like exactly what it is: The name of a romance novel hero.

This musical choice fits right in with all the new hard-working Millers and Gardeners. It's also a Scottish demonym, referring to an inhabitant of the historic Scottish county of Fife.

The meaning of this word flipped from "cheerful" to "homosexual" during the twentieth century, and it's now almost certainly too loaded to sit comfortably as a baby name. Which is a shame as sound-wise it's very appealing, just a short step away from Gray, Gale and Guy.

Like Silver, a shimmering metallic color name, almost too dazzling for an ordinary boy.

Though the mythological Hero was female, this name might prove too big a responsibility for a little guy to shoulder.

Hollis is a surname-name used quietly for both genders. At last count, it was given to over 200 baby boys and 160 baby girls in the US. Now a Top 1000 name for boys, it could well break into the charts for girls too in the coming years.

Ike, once the quirky one-person nickname of President Dwight Eisenhower, has morphed into a cool kid nickname of the early 21st century.

Multipurpose pet name serving Isidore, Isaac, Israel, and -- increasingly -- Isabel.

This short form of Jesse has an androgynous, cowperson feel. It's Jess rather than Jesse or Jessie that can be considered among the truly androgynous baby names

This name of three ancient saints, one Wayans brother, and an NFL wide receiver makes an energetic choice.

An Irish county name almost exclusively used for girls now. Kerrigan would be a more modern and masculine choice.

The nature boy version of the Scandinavian Leif, which actually means "heir". In the creative-naming Phoenix family, Leaf is the former name of the actor we know as Joaquin.

This Scottish place name and surname was more popular for boys in the US until the mid-1940s; in the UK, the Leslie spelling is predominantly masculine, with Lesley widely used as the feminine variant. Now ranking in the mid-400s for girls and not at all for boys in the US, it could be time to bring this smart, subtle nature name back, especially considering the current popularity of -ley names for both sexes.

Levi, lighter and more energetic than most biblical names, with its up vowel ending, combines Old Testament gravitas with the casual flair associated with Levi Strauss jeans.

Lisa was so popular for girls in the late sixties and early seventies that according to government statistics some parents chose it for their sons, too. Either that or there were some serious mixups in the records bureau.

The bright, playful Micah feels like the middle ground between the safe, solid qualities of Michael and the flair and energy of Luca. Both Biblical and stylish, Micah is proving popular among parents today.

One of the few Italian forms less attractive than the original, this time because it will forever be mistaken with the feminine version.