List of My Favorite Baby Names

Long popular in Ireland and England, Kieran, the name of Ireland's first-born saint and twenty-five other saints, has been building its U.S. fan base thanks to its strong and attractive sound, and its fashionable Irish brogue. While Ciaran is the more authentic Irish spelling, Kieran is more popular this side of the Atlantic.

Kiki is one of the Coco-Gigi-Fifi-Lulu bohemian-type French nickname names from the turn of the last century, which have endless energy and sparkle. Artist Kiki Smith is its most well-known contemporary representative, and Kiki was the inspiring heroine of Zadie Smith's On Beauty. Kiki can be a nickname for any name beginning with the K sound, from Katherine to Christina to Kayla.

Afro-Asian model, designer, and entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons brought this name into the public eye and it enjoyed more than a decade in the Top 1000 during the 2000s and early 2010s. It peaked in 2008 when it reached the Top 300, but it has since been in decline, becoming an on-off visitor to the US charts.

The exact meaning of Kimora is unknown, though one possibility is that it's a nod the Japanese surname, Kimura, meaning "woods + village". Back in the US Top 1000 for 2023, Kimora could also feel like an updated form of Kim or Maura, and a spin on more popular Kora.

Striking and accessible choice.

Actor Kit Harington, aka the dreamy Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, has given this nickname-name new style and appeal for boys. Actress Jodie Foster used it for her son back in the 2000s, while actor Kit Connor of Heartstopper fame may have introduced it to a wider audience.

This endearing nickname name is one Katherine pet form that predates all the Kathys and Katies, having been fairly common in the eighteenth century. With the current mini-craze for animal-related names, Kitty is sounding cute and cuddly again—she's already jumped back onto the U.K. list, at number 199.

Knox is an old Scottish surname that Brad Pitt (whose great-great-grandfather was named Hal Knox Hillhouse) and Angelina Jolie took out of the back cupboard, dusted off, and elevated to coolness--to the point where it entered the popular baby names list in 2009. Knox now ranks among the most influential celebrity baby names.

It's a bear, it's an island, it's (almost) a camera. It's starting to catch some parents' eyes as a wild, adventurous name.

This trendy spelling jumped 216 spots between 2012 and 2013, making it one of the fastest-rising names of the year. We predict it will continue to gain momentum, riding the popularity of more traditional Cora.

The name of one of the branches of the Great Sioux Nation has a very namelike sound, but is not used as a name by the Lakota people themselves, and could be seen as appropriative.

The name of one of the branches of the Great Sioux Nation has a very namelike sound, but is not used as a name by the Lakota people themselves, and could be seen as appropriative.

Though the fuller Lancelot has for the most part been shunned as a 'too-much-name' name, the short form Lance has been consistently in or around the Top 500 since 1938, climbing as high as Number 76 in 1970. It was used as a character name by Walter Scott as far back as 1823. Lance is also the name of a medieval weapon, making this name all boy.

Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.

The additional syllable makes Lark a masculine surname name, borne by poet Philip Larkin.

While Larkin takes this name from bird to surname, there are actually more female Larkins these days than male, and it's a name that works as well for either gender. It has the literary connection to poet Philip Larkin too.

From the Irish Leannan, this, unfortunately, would be constantly mistaken for Lennon.

A growing number of high-profile (and other) parents are choosing to honor their musical idols, such as Hendrix, Presley, Jagger, and now Lennon.

Lennox is an aristocratic and powerful Scottish surname name made truly special by that final x. The worldwide fame of British boxer--World and Olympic champion--Lennox Claudius Lewis brought the name into the spotlight as a first name, while as a last it's tied to Eurythmics singer Annie L.