Names I Would Never Use

Traditional African name made cartoonish by the Disney character in The Lion King. In Shona it means "strength".

Could be a novel way for a boy's name to honor an ancestral Claire.

Snow definitely works as a name; White, not so much. And Snow White, please don't. Read more about Snow White and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Sophia, which was the Number 1 girls' name in the US from 2011 to 2013, is among the top girl names in the Western World, with a sensuous sound and high-minded meaning. A real winner, Sophia reached the top of the charts without losing any—okay, much—of its sophisticated beauty.

An elegant, continental name for the post-Steve era. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1949 and has been on the list every year since except for a year off in 2008.

This ancient royal Scottish name had a brief vogue in midcentury America, but it would be far from a fresh choice for a baby boy now.

A jaunty offshoot of Sullivan, Sully will be associated by kids with the beloved character in the Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc. Some notable real-life namesakes are French poet and essayist Sully Prudhomme, the heroic pilot "Sully" Sullenberger, and Sully Erna, lead vocalist of Godsmack.

Susanna is an old and under-appreciated name, perhaps because of the recent overpopularity of Susan, that is certainly due for a comeback.

The old word name Temple has gained some recent notice as a girls' name via admired autistic writer and inventor Dr. Temple Grandin (born Mary Temple), subject of an acclaimed biopic, in which she was played by Claire Danes.

Used for a free-spirited character on a 1990s sitcom, this name of a beautiful Southern California canyon does have an unconventional aura.

Urban was not an uncommon name through the 1930s (rising as high as Number 435), having been attached to several saints and early popes, but it has completely disappeared from the landscape--both urban and rural. Yet in this era of word name appreciation and trend for 'an'-ending boys' names, we're thinking it might be ready for a return.

The mother of all virtue names.

Vulcan was the Roman god of fire (from which, volcano) and metalworking, but this name is now more familiar as the pointy-eared humanoids on "Star Trek," represented by Mr. Spock.

With its rugged, country charm and confident sounds, Waylon is among the wave of Old Western names that parents are choosing.

West is the most fashionable of what you might call the direction names, with North and East (or Easton and Easter) coming up behind, and South not yet on the map.

The Wolfe spelling shifts this name from animal name to surname-name, aggressive to aristocratic. One source suggests that bearers of the Wolfe family name were all fierce and cunning and/or hunters of wolves. An intriguing choice.

Chef Wolfgang Puck has helped soften this thunderous Germanic name; music-lovers will appreciate its association with Mozart, though the composer's middle name Amadeus is more appealing.

Fox, okay. Buck, maybe. But Wolverine? You gotta be kidding us. On the plus side, your five-year-old will love you for giving him this superhero name. Your fifteen-year-old, not so much.

This name, whose sweet and fragrant floral essence has always been widespread across the Near Eastern world, has now landed on US popularity lists in a variety of spellings. It's been dropping precipitously over the past few years, though, perhaps due to a combination of tensions in the Middle East and the fading fashion status of Jasmine itself.