The Canterbury Tales

Unlike most creative spellings, this one isn't overly trendy or overdone—in fact, it's quite delicate and pretty. However, it is clearly suffering from the plethora of similar names that are flowing around right now (Emelie, Emilia, Emily, Emilee, Amelie, Amelia) and has fallen more than 300 spots since 2013. It might be time for Emilie and her sisters to be left alone for a while.

A doubly Presidential name, via Pierce and Roosevelt, Franklin was given an initial boost via the fame of Benjamin Franklin. It also has a literary tie to the main character of the Wilkie Collins classic The Moonstone.

Harry is the medieval English form of Henry, which derived from the Germanic name Heimrich, meaning "estate ruler." Harry was the nickname of all eight King Henrys; it is also a diminutive of Harold and Harrison.

A name that sounds so old-fashioned some parents out there might conceivably find it quirky enough for a comeback, along with other one-time fuddie-duddies like Oscar and Homer.

Cooler than the older month names like April and May, and a highly unusual and eye-catching choice. The most famous real-life January is female – January Jones – but the month is named for the Roman god Janus, who presided over doors and new beginnings.

John reigned as the most popular of all boys' Christian names for 400 years, from the time the first Crusaders carried it back to Britain until the 1950s. Then American baby namers finally seemed to tire of this straight-arrow, almost anonymous John Doe of names, replacing it with fancier forms like Jonathan and the imported Sean and Ian.

May is a sweet old-fashioned name that hasn't been on the national charts in several decades, but is definitely sounding fresh and springlike. Parents are beginning to see it once more as one of the prettiest middle name options. May was as high on the list as Number 57 in the 1880s; it's now 228 on Nameberry.

Miller is an up-and-coming choice in the stylish occupational genre, among the fastest-rising names for both boys and girls in the US in 2023.

Molly is one of the original nickname names, ALWAYS ranking among the US Top 500 girl names since statistics began, in 1880. Molly peaked in 1991 only to rise just as high again in 2011, and though softening retains a good measure of popularity and charm.

Nicholas is derived from the Greek Nikolaos, a name that evolved from the components nikē, meaning "victory", and laos, "people." It shares origins with Nike, the name of the Greek goddess of victory. Nicholas is also a New Testament name that is well-used in literature, such as in Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby.

The name Parson might have seemed ridiculous even a few years ago, but when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe named their son Deacon, they opened up a whole new field of ecclesiastical cool. Bishop, Priest, and Pastor are other possibilities.

Sounds like a Hobbit.

One of the names of the sun god Apollo, this is better known in its feminine form, Phoebe.

Prudence, like Hope and Faith, is a Puritan virtue name with a quiet charm and sensitivity that is slowly returning to favor, though it hasn't yet registered on the charts.