Names that end in y

With the recent arrival of fruit names like Apple and Plum, this more traditional example, symbolic of fertility, might rise in popularity. Photographer Berry Berenson was born Berinthia.

Despite the strong association with the University of California, Berkeley, the more common version of this name omits the second E, Berkley.

New Presidential name, if you're ready to move beyond Lincoln and Jefferson. At the turn of the last century, during the original McKinley's heyday, as a first name it almost reached the Top 100.

A Leave It to Beaver/old comic-strip name, vacationing for years with the Griswolds in WallyWorld, but now back as WALL-E?

A last name as a first name that also has the feel of nicknames like Sully and Cole, Cully could derive from an anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Colla. Meaning "descendent of Colla", Colla being a form of Connla, meaning "wolf or hound warrior", Cully's meaning may well appeal to those who want a softer sounding name but with a strong meaning.

The original Zooey, hero of J.D. Salinger's Franny & Zooey, was male, but nowadays the name is more closely associated with actress/singer Zooey Deschanel. With Zoe at number 31 for girls and Zoey in the Top 50, the related Zooey feels more female than ever. But it's distinctively quirky for either sex.

Jessamy and big sister Jessamine are all but unknown in the U.S., but make distinctive alternatives to overexposed Jessica, Jessie, and Jasmine.

Thierry, which is very popular in France, would make an interesting import; it's somewhat familiar through designer Thierry Mugler and international soccer star Thierry Henry. It almost sounds like Terry, but not quite.

Sympathetic new twist on a Puritan virtue name.

Despite its poetic associations, almost as dated as Sheldon, and more feminine.

Bartleby (that's his last name) the Scrivener is a famous Herman Melville character whose surprisingly powerful refrain was, "I would prefer not to." Or, in the immortal words of any two-year-old: No.

Nickname sometimes heard on its own, sort of an updated Sally and playmate of Hallie.

Yancy has two separate American origins — first as the Native American term for "Yankee," and second as the Americanized variation of the common Dutch surname Jansen. Jan being the Dutch form of John, Yancy could work to honor anyone in your life with a John-related name.

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.

Has an old-time country feeling, perhaps due to Ma Rainey, considered the "Mother of the Blues". This is the most popular spelling of the name, given to about 50 girls last year, with half as many called Rainy and a quarter named Rainie, the spelling used by Andie MacDowell for her now-grown daughter.

If Joely (as in actress Richardson) is a name, why not Noely? As nickname-names become both more acceptable and more fashionable, Noely may be a fresh spin on one traditional name for Christmas babies.

Peppy cheerleader name of the 1960s and 70s that's sure to evoke the Four Seasons song of that name.