Kelly

Kelly walked in from Ireland, an anglicization of Ó Ceallaigh — descendant of Ceallach — a name variously interpreted as bright-headed or, less flatteringly, as strife. It crossed the Atlantic in waves of emigration and arrived, eventually, famous: Gene Kelly dancing in the rain, Grace Kelly becoming a princess, and then a generation of American daughters all named after the idea that something Irish could also be glamorous.

For a stretch it was one of the most common girls' names in the country; now, settled around 868, it has relaxed into a looser register, more unisex and more at ease with itself. The two syllables are crisp, the vowels clean, the whole thing quick enough that it feels like a greeting more than an introduction. Kelly ages well — it reads as a college friend and a grandmother with equal plausibility — and pairs well with surnames that don't need any help.