O D D - S I G H T I N G S

Alabama is a hot southern place-name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though--there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.

Over 50 baby boys were named Alpha last year, along with eight baby girls. Expect a lifetime of "alpha male" jokes, which could prove daunting or confidence-building for your own little Alpha.

Baby is rarely seen as a given name — or even nickname — these days, although it did rank in the Top 1000 from 1989 to 2003. These instances can be accounted for in two ways. Firstly, infants whose birth certificates are not filled out on time are given generic placeholders for registration, such as Infant, Unknown, or Baby. But more influential during this decade was the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman. It's the origin of the famed line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Bamboo is a plant name that you might want to save for the zoo's name-the-panda contest. It was used for a starbaby in 2000, though, the rapper Big Boi.

The name of an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and a section of Greater London, Bexley is increasingly being coopted by parents looking for a novel name in the Kinsley/AInsley/Paisley family. Bexley debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016 and is definitely one of the trendiest girl names starting with B. Think of it as a 21st century Becky.

Binx is a popular name among black cats thanks to the character Thackery Binx in the cult classic Hocus Pocus. It makes a one-of-a-kind, spirited name for a boy. If it's too bold for the birth certificate, try Binx as a nickname for a B name like Benedict or Baxter.

One of the new crop of boys' names that manage to be unconventional and macho at the same time — though Blade verges on the threatening.

A striking word name for either gender. It's a safer choice when used as a middle name.

Braxley is an invented name — a combination of two hot syllables — and therefore has no official meaning. It could, however, be interpreted to mean "Brock's field" from each of its elements.