Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the cool nickname Archie.
 But have a look at that amazing popularity chart below: After 1889, Archer took a 130-year nap, resurfacing on the Top 1000 in 2009 and now shooting straight upwards. Five years ago, we named Archer one of our Hottest Names of 2011—and, indeed, it jumped 102 places that year, thanks in part to Archer's similarity to popular Asher and its cross-gender appeal. Moms may like its literary gentility and dads its tough-guy FX cartoon appeal. Or, of course, vice versa.
 Trivia tidbit: Archer is the name of Dr. Doolittle's father.

Archer

Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones. There were about 6400 baby girls named Aria in the US last year alog with 2400 named Arya, which counted together places the name in the Top 10.
 
The light and airy Aria entered the list in 2000 and now ranks among the Top 25 girl names in the US. In Italian, Aria's literal meaning is air, while in Hebrew it's a form of Ari meaning lion. An Aria is a musical term denoting a kind of song or melody, often in an opera.
Aria is a Top 100 name throughout the English-speaking world and also ranks highly in France and several European countries -- though notably not in Italy or Israel. In Persian, Aria is a male name, and in Indian it is considered unisex. 
Aria is also an improbably cool saint's name. Saint Aria (or Arria) of Rome was an early Christian martyr.

Aria

Words are not always easy to translate into <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a>, but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o-sound ending, which brings it further into the realm of possibility. Rising rock star Aja Volkman pulled a gender switch when she named her daughter Arrow Eve.

Arrow

Crisp and colorful, Autumn is the most popular season name now -- the only one in the Top 100 in recent years -- with Autumn's coolness only surpassed by Winter. Jennifer Love Hewitt named her daughter Autumn James.

Autumn is one of those unusual names that's been popular for many years without ever becoming wildly overused, which can be a real plus if you're looking for a name that's familiar without being too trendy.

Autumn

Ambition

Blessing

Brave

Drop the C and arrive at an established biblical name. 

Cable

Once a cavalier Mississippi gambler type name, Chance has entered the mainstream since being endorsed by such celebrity dads as Larry King and Paul Hogan. Chance the Rapper has also boosted the name's popularity.

Chance

This recently coined respelling of Cole darkens its image. 

Coal

Challenge

Compassion

Brings to mind the qualities of the fabric: hardworking, cool and versatile. Singer Toni Braxton chose this name for her son in 2001, and parents have been using it for boys and girls ever since.

Denim

Adventurous word choice, but still quite a burden for a child to bear. 

Discovery

Defiance

Echo, the pretty, resonant name of a legendary nymph, was the heroine of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Dollhouse. Nick Hexum, of the band 311, named his daughter Echo Love.
 In the Greek myth, Echo was a nymph whose unrequited love for Narcissus caused her to fade away until all that was left was the sound of her voice. Obviously, a name with a lot of reverberations.

Echo

Ember

Ever is a name we first heard via the now grown-up Ever Carradine, daughter of Robert. It's a truly unusual and simple name with an evocative meaning. Milla Jovovich and Paul Anderson chose it for their daughter.
 Ever has ties to (primarily male) names in the Scandinavian and Hebrew cultures.
 The psychic protagonist of Alyson Noel's YA fantasy novel Evermore is named Ever Bloom.

Ever

Fable, like Story, is a word name with real potential, combining enchanted tale-telling with a moral edge. And soundwise, it would fit right in with the likes of Abel and Mabel.

Fable

Flint is one of the new macho names on the rise today, part old-school tough guy, part rebel. You won't find a tougher, steelier-sounding name; it's part of a genre on the rise along with cousins Slate, Stone and Steel. 
 Flint found itself on the popularity list for a few years in 1959-60, but would prove a distinctive choice today.
 Flint has superhero overtones--there's one in "Spiderman"--aka Sandman--and Captain Flint was a Marvel comic, and Flint is both a legendary pirate and a parrot in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. But on the softer side, there's also inventor Flint Lockwood in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Flint

The Forest variation of Forrest, used by actor Whitaker, nudges the meaning more toward the woods and away from the woodsman.

Forest

Forever still feels more like a sentiment than a name, and rather feminine at that. 

Forever

Your teenager will either love you or hate you for choosing this name.  Better: Fox.

Foxy

One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom. 

Free

Fern

Gage was part of the craze for one-syllable surnames, with associations to tasty green gage plums and the mathematical gauge. 
 Gage was first noticed as a character in Stephen King's Pet Semetary--though Gage Creed was far from an admirable role model. That book was published in 1983, and the movie came out in 1989, the very year that Gage hit the Top 1000. 
 Gage has spawned a couple of successful spelling variations, so don't be surprised to run into a Gaige or a Gauge.

Gage

Galaxy

Gentle

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

Hero

If you like such uplifting New Age word names as Peace and Justice, the evocative and pretty Imagine should definitely be on your short list. 

Imagine

Joy is from an older generation of word names, which also included Merry, Bliss, and Glory -- all of which exert a certain amount of personality pressure on a child. One interesting name that means the same thing: Chara.
 Joy began to be used as a name by the seventeenth century Puritans, with the idea of "being joyful in the Lord." It came into more general use in the late nineteenth central, part of the revival of virtue names. Her high point was in 1974, when she reached Number 109 on the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names</a> charts. Joy has also been often used as a middle name. Two recent bearers: comedian/TV personality Joy Behar and Joy Mangano, the inventor whose life was the basis of Oscar-nominated biopic Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Justice is a fashionable word name, used for both girls and boys. Justice has the distinction of being a virtue name without the religious implications of Faith or Grace. It still feels more male than female, perhaps partly due to the classic Roman name Justus, but Justice has become a more common pick for girls in recent years. 

Justice

Journey

Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend") and to denote a person who is fantastic "what a legend"). Who can live up to that?
 Legend entered the US Top 1000 in 2010 for the first time, perhaps in connection popular singer John Legend, and is now on the brink of breaking into the Top 100.

Legend

Loyal is one of the few <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/373/virtue-names">virtue names</a> suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.
 Loyal was a mid-list name at the end of the nineteenth century, reaching Number 555 in 1890. It has been on hiatus since 1948--and this might be the moment to bring it back as an unusual but usable choice with real meaning. Loyal probably originally signified devotion to country rather than person, but in either case, fidelity is a great attribute to impart to a child. And who knows?--maybe Loy could be the new Roy.

Loyal

Meadow's upward popularity trajectory certainly suggests that the name has transcended its connection to The Sopranos.. In the US, more than 750 baby girls were named Meadow last year, a number we expect to keep rising.

If it can happen to Scarlett (O'Hara) and Atticus (Finch), it can certainly happen to lovely pastoral Meadow.

Before we let go of the Sopranos connection, how perfect was it that Tony Soprano's daughter's name was Meadow, suggesting that the TV mobster was once a kinder, gentler young dad?

Meadow

The Play Misty for Me jokes will get old really fast. 

Misty

The original oddball celebrity baby name, via Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit, who claims she's always liked it. 

Moon

Merry

Only

Patriot

Poet

Promise

Among a small shower of rain-related names, this pure version can have a cool, refreshing image. 
 Richard Pryor named his now-grown daughter Rain, and Rain is also one of the nature-named Phoenix family siblings. More recently, 24 actress Marisol Nichols named her daughter Rain India.
 Rain also makes a nice nature middle name--Brooke Burke called her daughter Heaven Rain.
 If you want to embellish this simply spelling (and alter the meaning), you might also consider Raine, Raina, Rainn, Rayne, Reine or Reign, the middle name of Willow Smith. Or you could take the Holly Madison route all the way to Rainbow.

Rain

Asking for trouble. Rebel Wilson is female, but this name is truly gender neutral, though hardly neutral in any other way. Rebel is undoubtedly one of the edgiest <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/r">boys' names starting with the letter R</a>.

 American filmmaker Robert Rodriguez gave the name Rebel to one of his four sons (a brother to Rocket, Racer, Rogue, and daughter Rhiannon).

Rebel

No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.

Remember

River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named his son with actress Rooney Mara after his brother River.

River's popularity is rising for boy genders, but it's still predominantly given to baby boys. Last year nearly 3500 boys were named River vs. about 1900 baby girls.

Keri Russell and the Taylor Hansons both have sons named River, Natasha Henstridge used it as the middle name of her boy Tristan, and Jason Schwartzman pluralized it for daughter Marlowe Rivers.

River

Revolution

Peaceful, calm, and untroubled: these are qualities parents may be hoping for, either on their parenting journey or in their child’s life. The name Serenity encapsulates these hopes, conjuring up a sense of balance, composure, and ease. 
A virtue name of Latin origin, Serenity means “peaceful” or “tranquil.” The pretty, melodic sounds reflect that, but it isn’t a meek or retiring name; it has plenty of flair too and a hint of breezy confidence. 
Used occasionally from the 70’s onwards, Serenity entered the US Top 1000 in 1997, and by 2009, it was in the Top 100, where it has stayed ever since. 
While recent years have seen it begin to drop back down the charts, it has fared better than its once popular virtue cousins, Destiny and Trinity. Given to nearly 3000 girls every year, it remains in the Top 100 for now. 
Notable pop culture references for Serenity include a character in the Sailor Moon franchise and the title of the 2005 movie spinoff of the TV show, Firefly. 
If you like the vibes of Serenity but worry about the expectations it brings with it (or just concerned it will guarantee that your child is the least tranquil child to ever exist), then you could consider the less wordy and more international variant, Serena. 
You could also take a look at <a href=“https://nameberry.com/list/411/baby-names-that-mean-peace”>names that mean peace</a> but aren’t in your face about it, such as Irina, Shiloh, or Fenna.

Serenity

A Puritan-virtue type name that could possibly work for a modern baby with its rhythmic four-syllable sound and admirable meaning.

Sincerity

Sky is an ambigender nature name that was first legitimized as the character of Sky Masterson in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, played in the film version by Marlon Brando. It's a name we appreciate for its clear, wide-open feel, less hippyish than others like Rainbow and Starlight, and makes an appealing middle name possibility.
 Sky is the name of Sophie's fiance in Mamma Mia, and there are both Power Rangers and Transformers with the name. Elizabeth Berkley used it for her son.
 It is also spelled Skye, as in the island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Plus, it's a logical nickname for the variously spelled Schuylers and Skylers.

Spring doesn't sound half as contemporary as Winter, which has become the cool season name. 

Spring

Most parents today would prefer the softer-sell Stella. But Star has symbolic power related to Christmas, so this could make one of the perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for December babies</a>.

Star

Though some may find such names rather harsh and severe, increasing numbers of parents are gravitating toward this kind of flinty, steely, stony single-syllable name. 
 Many know the name via the distinguished TV newsman Stone Phillips; another bearer is Pearl Jam lead guitarist Stone Gossard. And yes, both were given the name at birth.

Stone

An imaginative choice with an uptempo Cory/Rory/Tori sound, perfect for the child of a writer &mdash; or anyone with a good story to tell. Story has been finding some appreciation among celebs like Minnie Driver and others as a middle name. This is just one of the literary word names that have recently entered the realm of possibility, such as Fable, Sonnet and Poem.


Story

The temperature is definitely rising for this popular seasonal name, which began being used in the seventies, and has been heard consistently ever since. 
 Summers have popped up all over the big and small screens: it was Zooey Deschanel's character in (500) Days of Summer and made featured appearances in Napoleon Dynamite, Baywatch, The O.C., and The Mentalist.

Summer

Upbeat nickname-name that can't help but make you smile. You might want to use it as a short form for a more "serious" name such as Sunniva, but Sunny is undeniably, well, sunny.

Sunny

Secret

Spirit

Stormy

Sword

Doting parents have begun to use names like Precious and Treasure, which are sweet for a baby, but might not hold up over the years. Treasure was used for nearly 300 baby girls in one recent year.

Treasure

This began as a nickname, usually for someone who was a "third," as in William III.  But in an age where any noun goes, this could be thought of as representing a little voyager -- hopefully not into psychedelic realms. 

Trip

Many parents seeking a return to more basic values and a simpler lifestyle are turning to such virtuous girls' names as Grace, Faith, and Hope, but there are a handful that work just as well on boys, including True. While more popular (for both sexes) in the Tru spelling, True recently entered the US Top 1000 for boys in 2023.

True

Temperence

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.
 
Infamous baby namers Nara and Lucky Blue Smith welcomed a daughter named Whimsy Lou in 2024, which is likely to increase this name's profile significantly.

Whimsy

The girls have dibs on Spring, Summer, and Autumn, leaving this name evocative of snowy landscapes as the one possible seasonal choice for boys. And naturally, it's one of the most obvious <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/89/winter-baby-names">names for winter babies</a>.

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