Popular in Belgium

An interesting name associated with the elegant American-born Queen Noor of Jordan. Noor is very popular among modern Muslim parents around the world and is beginning to cross over, perhaps because of its simplicity and its resemblance to the stylish Western Nora. It appeared in the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2015.

Noor is the prevailing spelling of this beautiful Arabic name, while Nour is preferred in many European countries, including France and Spain.

Best known as the beautiful heroine to whom Cyrano de Bergerac says, "Your name is like a golden bell".

Sasha in all its forms -- which include Sacha and Sascha -- is rising in popularity for both boys and girls. Its most prominent current bearer is Sacha Baron Cohen.

This short form of classic Victor is popular in its own right in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Vince is not a short form that often stands alone on the birth certificate, the way Jack or even Joe does, but it has certain credibility as the name always used for football great Vince Lombardi. And as a diminutive for Vincent, it's a far sight better than Vinnie or Vinny or even Vin.

As a form of the Hebrew Yochanan, Yahya is an Islamic name that honors the prophet John the Baptist, making it one of many international forms of John. In Islamic tradition, Yahya is celebrated for his dedication to and understanding of scriptures from a young age and for his gentleness and sinless life.
Currently popular in England and Wales, Yahya has also been on and off of the US Top 1000 charts since 2015.

One of the relatives on the widely-branching family of John names, Yanis is in the French Top 50 and was a fast rising choice in the UK in 2022, when it went from being outside the Top 1000 to within the Top 700.

The multicultural Yara is a sweet but substantial choice that could make a more unusual take on Sara and also work in multiple languages Popular in Portugal, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, familiar in the UK and France, it entered the US Top 1000 in 2017 and has been climbing the charts ever since.

Yusuf is the Arabic form of Joseph, used in the Middle East, as well as internationally from France and the US, to the UK, Turkey and Azerbaijan - where, as of 2023, it ranked in the Top 100.

Zayd (or its most common variant Zaid), an old and still well used Arabic name, was a enslaved man whom Muhammad adopted as his son.

Pretty and strong, Zeynep is one of the most popular girl names in Turkey, where it has ranked in the Top 10 for more than 40 years — half of which it has spent in the very top spot. Familiar in The Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and France, Zeynep is related to the Arabic Zaynab which is well-used throughout the Muslim world.

A cute, zippy French saint's name that's picking up in popularity there, and here in the US. Zélie originated as a short form of Azélie, thought to derive from Adelaide via the Occitan form Azalaïs. Saint Zélie was born Marie-Azélie.