Out There Names

The capital of the United Kingdom makes a solid and attractive twenty-first-century choice, with a lot more substance than Paris. It's in the unisex column, with both girls and boys given the name in recent years.

A musical name with Greek roots, appealing to parents who like such other names as Harmony, Melody, and Cadence.

Madrigal might be a pretty and highly distinctive choice for a child of a musical family--or for the parent looking for a less conventional path to the nickname Maddie than Madeline or Madison . Definitely more striking than Cadence or even the increasingly popular Aria.

She'd better be. Merry is one of the classic names for Christmas babies.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden added this rocking name to the lexicon of day names, which have their roots in the African tradition of naming a child after the day of the week, time of day, or season in which he or she was born. But they wisely used it as a middle name.

Could be the next Nova, now that celestial baby names are in the ascendent.

Charming nature name made even more appealing by the connection to iconic nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale.

With parents beginning to show an interest in virtue names for boys, this Puritan favorite just might be revived, for what could be more admirable than nobility in terms of having strength of character, dignity, and high moral ideals?

Nova has the feel of both newness, from its meaning, and great energy as an astronomical term for a star that increases suddenly in brightness before fading.

The menu of usable month names seems to expand every, well, month, with such choices as November, October, and January joining more established names like April, May, June and August. Logical November nicknames include Nova, Novi, or Ember, making this a natural (if adventurous) choice for a baby girl. November is also, obviously, one of the perfect names for November babies.

Orion is a rising star, with both mythical and celestial overtones.

A poetic choice.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

Unspecific place name with a wonderfully wide-open, spacious, western feel; used for a character in Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland.

Among a small shower of rain-related names, this pure version can have a cool, refreshing image.

Most of the notable Rivers have been male, but this nature name certainly flows as well for a girl. The name River is still rising for both genders, with about 3500 baby boys receiving the name last year vs. 1900 baby girls.

Of all the astrological names —think Leo, Aries, Gemini— Scorpio probably has the most dramatically potent presence, which could prove something of a burden to a young boy.

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin's daughter Ireland opened up the map for names like Scotland, and now that it's been chosen by Kourtney Kardashian for her daughter Penelope's middle name -- in honor of daddy Scott Disick -- Scotland is sure to appear on more birth certificates. Can Scotlyn be far behind?

Parents are beginning to turn away from springtime months like April and June and are moving toward the cooler and crisper three-syllable September, October, November, and December.

Skylar may be mainstream now, but Skylark is fresh and offbeat. With Lark gaining more attention as a name — following in Wren's footsteps — Skylark feels fashionable yet distinct. Skylark debuted on the US charts in 2022.