The Hoarder's List of Names

In the New Testament, Damaris was an Athenian woman converted to Christianity by St. Paul. Known for her charitable work, her name was a favorite among the Puritans. Having slid off the bottom of the Top 1000 in 2012, Damaris might be deserving of more attention by parents in search of a New Testament name that is unusual but accessible, especially since girls' names ending in 's' are coming back into fashion.

Greek nature goddess name that has a pleasing femininity. Damia is one of the more unusual goddess names newly fashionable for contemporary baby girls.

Damian has sidestepped its demonic horror movie overtones, leaving a basically friendly and charming Irish image. A well-used upper-class name in England, it is growing in popularity here.

A name with an ancient pedigree which might prove confusing to the modern ear.

Converting Damian to Damien – or Julian to Julien or Lucian to Lucien – adds a certain je ne sais quoi to names. But most people in English speaking areas will still pronounce this the same as the -an ending form. The French pronunciation is more like "dah-mee-u(n)".

A Greek goddess of music and poetry, Danae has a novel yet familiar sound.

Daniel is one of only a handful of male names that sounds both classic and modern, strong yet approachable, and popular but not cliched. It also has a solid Old Testament pedigree. The only real downside: There are about 10,000 Daniels named each year, making it a less than distinctive choice.

Though closely associated with the great medieval Florentine poet Dante Alighieri -- who's so famous most people skip the last name -- it's not as much of a one-man name as you might think. Heck, it's not even a one-poet name, thanks to British pre-Rapahaelite Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Though especially well used in the Italian-American community, it would make a striking name for any little boy.

Has the two-syllable sound so popular for boys, though adding an apostrophe -- and turning it into D'Anton -- changes the name entirely.

The most popular spelling in a family of names including Darien and Darion, Darian has nonetheless been on the decline since it peaked in the 1990s.

Darren and wife Sharon shop for fifties memorabilia on eBay. The Connecticut place-name Darien might offer an update.

David plus Damian (or David plus Ian or David plus Darrian) equals this hybrid name. It has been in and out of the US Top 1000 since 2004, though both this spelling and alternative Davion were out of favor in 2023. Davian Clarke is a Jamaican Olympic athlete.

A Scottish favorite that could make it here thanks to its similarity to the word divine. It's the most popular of several feminizations of David used in Scotland, including Davida, Davinia and Davidina, which have less of a chance in the U.S. It reentered the US Top 1000 for the first time in two decades in 2016.

May tagalong after fast-rising cousin Jaxon.

A city name that sounds more legit than most because of its similarity to Peyton and other such names in circulation.

Dean may sound to some like a retro surfer boy name, but it is once again climbing up the popularity chart in the USA. For decades it was associated with Dean (born Dino) Martin; more recent representatives include Dean Cain, Dean McDermott and Dean Koontz -- not to mention Jared Padalecki's dreamy Dean Forester in Gilmore Girls.