Isla

Picture the river Islay in Scotland cutting through heather and peat, or the tiny Hebridean island it shares a name with — Isla carries both the water and the land that shapes it. The S is silent, Scottish-style, so the name falls from the mouth as EYE-la, soft and a little windswept. Almost unknown in American nurseries a generation ago, Isla surged into popular use in the 2010s and now sits at rank 35. Two syllables, economical and slightly mysterious. The name reads modern and ancient at once, equally suited to a toddler in rain boots and a woman in a good wool coat.