Dog Names That Start With B

This name's all-male occupational roots help it break the Barbara bonds, but still not the most inspiring surname choice.

Has too many slangy connotations to be considered.

Only slightly fewer girls are named Brandi each year than Brandy, 45 versus 57 in the US. Both spellings have their advantages and disadvantages.

A new, rising word name for boys that has the advantage of sharing sounds with more common names like Bryson and Braydon. And the disadvantage of getting confused with them.

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera that was transmogrified into the modern play Rent. Boheme means a literary or artistic person who lives outside conventional society.

Brooke variation – or is the other way around? – that makes it more a nature name, less an eighties-style androgynous name.

Toni Morrison, the modern master of literary names, made this one famous as the title character of a novel. But things didn't work out so well for that Beloved.

Pretty and unusual translation of Bella.

Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.

Like other "ee" names, Bailee is starting to lose its shine, slowly slipping down the charts.

Blakeley is one of the many -ley ending surnames that is being adopted as a first name, updating the 80s darlings Blake and Ashley.

The Swiss city of Basel was first Basilia, thought to have been dubbed in honor of the Roman castle of the same name. The castle's name would have derived from Basilius, a Roman personal name from which the name Basil also originated.

Its resonant rhythm and positive connotations have led to some popularity with African-American parents, though it tends to have a masculine feel, particularly considering the rise of a certain Barack.

Offers much less than Bay.

It's most commonly associated with the French elephant, but Babar ironically means "tiger."

This name of a busy British port city -- as well as of several places in America -- has a brisk and bustling air. It will now--and for years to come--be identified as a (female) Sarah Palin name.

This English surname turned girls' first name owes its rise to supermodel Christie Brinkley, who first rose to fame in the late 70s and early 80s. Brinkley appeared on the charts for the first time in 1985, peaking at 90 births in 2012 and 2013. It probably derives from the Old English masculine name Brynca + "ley" (woodland clearing).

Not even for Brandy's twin brother.