Baby Girl

Effortlessly stylish, with plenty of sweetness and strength, Valentina feels like a fresh alternative to Valerie, Victoria, or Vanessa.

A name with religious resonance, as the Vedas are the most sacred texts of Hinduism. Outside of that religious context, Veda has the makings of a modern popular name, with its sharp V initial, two syllables, and feminine a ending. This is evidenced by it reentry into the US Top 1000 in 2015, after fifty-five years off the list. Similar names on the rise are Vera and Vada.

Vida is a multicultural gem, familiar in a number of languages by not overly popular. It featured in the US Top 1000 in the first half of the 20th century, and in recent years, it has seen renewed interest.

Violet is soft and sweet, yet with a vivacious edge. Today, Violet is the top flower name for girls, outranking Lily and Iris in the Top 100, and the second most popular color name for girls after Scarlett.

Waverly, with its literary resonance and lilting three-syllable sound, could well become the next generation's successor to Kimberly. Its upper-crusty surname feel places it among the new stylish English names for girls, successors to Ashley and Whitney.

Willa has become increasingly fashionable, with its combination of Willa (born Wilella) Cather-like pioneer strength and the graceful beauty of the willow tree.

An ancient tree that figures in literature from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and is believed to possess magical powers, Willow is a lovely name, as graceful as its inspiration.

Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular English names for girls.

X marks the spot in names these days, usually at the middles or ends of names, but here is one that puts it squarely up front.

Still projects the potent allure of television's warrior princess.

Abbreviated form of Zahara that was used by Chris Rock for his daughter and as a middle name by both Eddie Murphy and David Bowie. Compared with the even-more-abbreviated Zara, Zahra may create more spelling problems but clarify pronunciation.

Authors or Francophiles – or both – could consider this zippy name in honor of renowned French writer Émile Zola, author of Germinal, Thérèse Raquin and the infamous open letter J'Accuse...!.

When the Eddie Murphys named their fourth daughter Zola, it affirmed the up-and-coming status of the name, which has African roots, but also literary links to Emile Zola. Zola may also be recognizable to some as the adopted daughter of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd on the hit, long-running show Grey's Anatomy.

Readers who remember J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey have probably forgotten that the character was male (nee Zachary). Nowadays the somewhat loopy spin on Zoe is associated with actress Zooey Deschanel.