Nature: Birds

A name that's unusual in that changing the i to a y -- as in Byrd -- makes it more masculine.

Birdie was until recently a middle-aged Ladies' Club member wearing a bird-decorated hat --but now it's just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into style in a big way. Actress Busy Philipps named her baby Birdie (inspired by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson), as did soap star Maura West.

This elegant surname has great potential to turn into an unusual first name, especially with its literary associations to both Stephen and Hart Crane.

From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.

One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace.

Solemn but soaring name with patriotic symbolism.

There is a whole new species of bird names open to the baby namer, from the light and feminine Lark to the sleek and powerful Falcon.

Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl.

It feels like Finch should be a modern bird name that's as popular as Wren or Lark, but that's not the case - so it's one to consider if you're looking for a nature name that's familiar but rare.

A bird name that could be thought of as an animated spin on Garrett.

The meaning is kind of silly, but the name might make a distinctive update of Janet.

Suggests the salty, windswept air of the seashore.