Girls

Stella is a name with star quality and sparkle, that manages to sound both ethereal and earthy. Celestial but not otherworldly, it lands somewhere between the popular Ella and bold Seraphina.

Tessa is one of those golden names that's been popular but not TOO popular for several decades now. Tessa has ranked in the Top 500 in the US since 1981 but has risen only once above Number 200.

Vada is a feisty retro choice that feels like a fresh spin on the likes of Ava and Ada. Its bold V initial is bang on trend, although Vada remains very uncommon in the US. It is perhaps best known as the heroine of the 1991 cult classic coming-of-age movie My Girl, Vada Sultenfuss, played by Anna Chlumsky.

Vera was the height of fashion in 1910, then was for a long time difficult to picture embroidered on a baby blanket. Now, though, it has come back into style along with other old-fashioned simple names such as Ada and Iris.

Vivienne is an elaborated Gallic version of the name Vivian, chosen first by Rosie O'Donnell for her daughter and then catapulted to superstardom when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie used it for their twin daughter. An adult namesake is the British designer Vivienne Westwood. Rosie O'Donnell also has a daughter named Vivienne, known as Vivi.

Wilhelmina was long burdened with the Old Dutch cleanser image of thick blond braids and clunky wooden clogs, but that started to be changed somewhat by the dynamic Vanessa Williams character on Ugly Betty, and even further by the choice of Wilhelmina by ace baby namers Natalie and Taylor Hanson. For the less adventurous, Willa is, for now, still a more user-friendly female equivalent of William.

This pet form of such names as Winifred and Edwina and Gwendolyn has loads of vintage charm, a la Millie and Maisie, with a decidedly winning vibe. And it just got celebrity cred as the baby daughter of Jimmy Fallon.

A frilly southern-accented flower name yet to be planted on many birth certificates. In the language of flowers, the wisteria is a symbol of devotion. It is named for American horticulturalist John Caspar Wister.