Fighting Names

Since we wrote a book called Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana, encouraging parents to move beyond overused names, it's no secret what we think of this trendy surname name, inspired by a mermaid named Madison in the 1980s movie Splash.

Maeve is a short and sweet name that has become one of the most stylish Irish names for girls in the modern US. Maeve would make an excellent first or middle name choice, with more heft than Mae/May and more modern charm than Mavis.

Maia was derived from the Greek word maia, meaning "mother." In Greek legend, she was the fair-haired daughter of Atlas who mothered Zeus's favorite illegitimate son, Hermes. To the Romans, Maia was the incarnation of the earth mother and goddess of spring, after whom they named the month of May. Maya is the more common spelling.

Malin is multicultural name with many possible sources,. As a female name, Malin is popular throughout Scandinavia, a form of Magdalene. The male version has several theoretical roots. One of them is the multicultural surname Malin, which may be a matronymic descending from Magdalene or Mary or may be derived from an Irish surname meaning pleasant. In India, Malin is a male Sanskrit name meaning crowned or alternately, flower or gardener. Some may see it as a simplified spelling of the Biblical Mahlon. At once simple and unusual, the name Malin was given to 17 baby girls in the US last year but fewer than five baby boys.

Marcel, despite distinguished namesakes including Proust and Duchamp, suffers from a terminal headwaiter image in this country. But along with its sister name Marcella and French variation (and Jolie-Pitt pick) Marcheline, Marcel may be on the brink of a style renaissance.

This once perfectly respectable surname has suffered decades of abuse, not least by Jerry Lewis's character in the fifties. NFL running back Melvin Gordon stars for the Los Angeles Chargers.

If you're looking for a presidential first name, keep looking.

This jaunty Celtic surname -- the most common family name in both Ireland and the US -- is totally viable as a first. The arguably most famous Murphy is TV's Murphy Brown, and indeed the name is twice as common for baby girls as for baby boys today. But still, it's solidly gender neutral and works equally well for all sexes.

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.

Always the top spelling of the name; Neil peaked in the 1950s, but then enjoyed a second coming following the fame of such Neils as astronaut Armstrong and singers Sedaka, Diamond, and Young. Now semiretired.

The friendly and sporty feeling Nolan blends some of the best qualities of other popular boy names. With the gentle but energetic sounds of Noah, a hint of the classic Nicholas, and the cool, surname-style vibe of Greyson or Colton, it makes for a familiar and grounded choice.