Q&A: Can you suggest some baby names based on colors?

Color names, like word names, can be fanciful and whimsical. For girls, Violet, Scarlett, Sienna, Amber, and Ruby have long been favorites and Violet, Sienna, and Scarlet are poised to become even more popular. Some shades are softer (and more acceptable) than others, such as Rose, Sky, and Sunny. Padma Lakshmi recently named her daughter, Krishna, a Sanskrit name which means "black, dark, or dark blue" and signifies a Hindu deity or superior being.

Many entertainers have embraced the use of color in their names and the names of their children. Pink, the pop star, was born Alecia Beth Moore. Sting named his eldest daughter Fuschia Catherine (she is now called Kate). The White Stripes' Jack White has a daughter, Scarlett, and Sporty Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm has a daughter, Scarlet Starr.

"Blue" inhabits more songs titles than any other color. Its hues also inhabit a string of blue-inspired baby names. U2 guitarist Dave Evans (known as "The Edge") named one of his daughters, Blue Angel. John Travolta and Kelly Preston have a daughter, Ella Bleu.

For boys, the pickings are decidedly bluer and the sightings more rare: Cobalt, Indigo, Teal, Cyan, and Cerulean. Celadon and Crimson are also possible hues, along with the more conservative Gray, Grayer, and Sterling.

With the exception of Olive, colors can be safer choices than fruits or vegetables. Have a taste for eggplant? Then go with Aubergine. If a color seems too vivid for you, then opt for foreign names with colorful meanings. Azure and Azura mean "blue" or "sky blue" in Persian. Neela, a variation of Nila, is Sanskrit for a spectacular shade of blue. Esmeralda means "green" in Spanish. Aurelius means "golden or blond" in Latin. In Italian, Carmine means "deep red." Bianca means "white" in Italian, as does Blanca in Spanish and Blanche in French. Alba means "white" in Latin.

Rainbow is an option for folks who have trouble choosing just one color. Ving Rhames, whose first name is a nickname of Irving (in Welsh meaning "white" or "white river"), gave his daughter the creatively spelled Reign Beau. A more traditional choice would be Iris, which means "rainbow" in Greek and is the name of the messenger goddess who traveled by rainbow to Olympus. Itzel means "lady of the rainbow" in Mayan and is thought to be a variation of Ixchel, an ancient Mayan earth goddess of medicine and midwifery.