The Hoarder's List of Names

The Reid spelling is the most popular by half, probably because it feels more like a name than Reed, which looks more like a word. It's used occasionally for girls but this name is firmly in the boys' camp.

Reinette was the childhood nickname of Madame La Pompadour, perhaps a cute short form for Regina or Reina but hardly worthy of the full name on the birth certificate today.

Reverie is a strong-sounding word for an ethereal, dreamlike state -- a perfect contrast and meaning for a word that intends to become a first name. Popular mommy blogger Rebecca Woolf of Girls Gone Child named one of her twin daughters Reverie, setting off a groundswell of interest.

It's a futuristic name in Solaris, but it is also related to Rhea, the name of Zeus's mother and wife of Cronus.

Most of us had never heard this lovely Welsh name with links to the moon until we heard the 1976 smash hit Fleetwood Mac song of that name, with lyrics by Stevie Nicks. That same year it popped onto the U.S. Top 1000 at Number 593.

The delicate and haunting Welsh Rhonwen is still a rarity in the U.S., where her English version Rowena is better known, but would be a lovely choice for any parent in search of a name that was both unusual and traditional, classically feminine yet strong.

Rhya is the Fertility Goddess of several ancient religions, associated with mothers and pregnant women. In some legends she is the mother of Manann and Verena and wife of Taal. Pronounced rye-ah, similar names from other cultures include Rya, Riya, and Raya.

There's Rhys and there's Reese (now more popular for girls) and there's Reece, and we particularly like the traditional Welsh spelling, which entered the list in 2004, possibly influenced by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, of The Tudors, and Welsh-born actor Rhys Ifans.

If you think there are too many Zachs around, you can use this historic nickname for Zachariah instead, though it does have a somewhat feminine feel.

Most modern parents would prefer the more straightforward Ryan.

A pan-European short form often used as a name in its own right, Rina is sister to names like Mina and Lena, popular at the end of the 19th century and showing their pretty if slight faces again. In the Netherlands, Rina itself is sometimes shortened to Rineke, as Tina may become Tineke.

We'd opt for Fiona.

The name Rivers combines two major trends: nature names like the popular River itself, and S-ending surname-names such as Brooks, Rhodes, and yes, Rivers.

Warm-hued spelling spin on Rowan that was chosen by Sharon Stone for one of her three young sons.

This variation of Rowan, which is also a color name rhyming with Joan, is more popular for boys than girls, as are the other variations of the name. Rowan is the most popular spelling of the name for both genders, followed by Rowen, and then there's Rohan, Rohen, and so on.