Past Pets

A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was set in the mossy Georgia city of Savannah. Originally a substitute for the overused Samantha, Savannah is now becoming overused itself, long among the top girls' names starting with S.

In India, Shiva is an unambiguously male name; but in the middle east, Shiva derives from the Persian words for charm and eloquence, and is usually used as a female name.

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.

Sophie is the French form of the Greek Sophia, for which it is also commonly used as a nickname. Given Sophia's long standing among the Top 10 girl names in the US, Sophie may feel more popular than it actually is.

You can call your daughter Sugar, but only as a term of endearment. Her real name has to be something, almost anything, else.

Butler name, and also that of the rat in Charlotte's Web.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.