Baby Name Favorites Right Now

A short form of the Biblical name Reuben and especially its streamlined form Ruben. As a gemstone name, it's currently enjoying a fresh boom of popularity for girls – nearing the US Top 50 for the first time in almost a century.

A melodic name that's taking off in the African-American community, along with sound-alikes such as Amari, Jamari, and Damari.

Alaya has connections as a Buddhist term, and it could be a creative coinage, based on similarities to names like Alayna and Layla. In Buddhism, Alaya refers to the base consciousness—all of our memories, ideas, and desires. It's a lofty concept, and an attractive name, slowly on the rise since entering the US Top 1000 in 2009.

Author Colson Whitehead introduced this surname-name to the lexicon, perfect for, well, a son or grandson of a Nicholas.

Varying the spelling of an established name or word to substitute a k for a c has become more and more kommon, oops, common. Some parents feel that using a different spelling makes the name more of a name and less of a place or a word. Kairo may seem to lend itself particularly well to this practice given that the K spelling turns the first syllable into the stylish name Kai. But we prefer the more authentic Kai or Cairo.

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

Spelled in various ways, this name was first brought into the American consciousness by the Lebanese-American poet and artist Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet.

Is Milani an elaboration of Italian city name Milan or is it a modern form of Melanie? While it's newly on the Top 1000, Milani is not a choice we recommend.

A modern English variant of the Arabic name Aaliyah, which remains the most popular spelling in the US, in the Top 100 names for girls.

Like Ashley before it, Everly has been followed into the US charts by a number of spelling variations, one of which is Everlee. More distinctly feminine perhaps or a little sweeter in style, Everlee ranks in the US Top 500.