Juliet

Juliet arrives through an open window on a summer night. A diminutive of the Latin Julia, from the Roman Julii clan, the name belongs in English most indelibly to Shakespeare's Capulet—thirteen years old, furious with love, the architect of her own small rebellion. For generations American parents preferred Julie or Juliette, but the stripped-down Juliet began climbing in the 2000s and now holds near the top 285. Three syllables, a quick glint at the end. Literary without being fussy, soft without losing backbone, Juliet sounds like a girl who reads late and argues well.