Some stylish names share a first initial: Vowel names are particularly popular right now, for instance. Other times, it’s a rhythm or ending sound: Boys’ names with two syllables that end in N or R are big these days.

　　Still other fashionable names share an ethnic origin such as Irish or a gender identity like unisex or girly-girl.

　　But the names here, among the most popular AND the most stylish names of our day, have something much more illusive in common. You might even find yourself adding many of them to your shortlist without putting your finger on their mutual appeal.

　　The secret: An L in the middle.

　　That might seem like a little thing, but we posit that the L sound, particularly fashionable now too as a first initial, rings all kinds of positive bells in our subconscious, relating to such uplifting qualities as lovely and lilting and, well, even uplifting.

　　It’s no accident that the following L-in-the-middle names are stylish these days, particularly for girls. Some examples:

　　Alexa

　　Alice (plus Alyssa and sisters)Amelia

　　Brooklyn (plus most names that end in lyn)Camilla

　　Celia (and Cecilia, Cecily etc)

　　Charlotte

　　Chloe

　　Delilah

　　Elena (and variations, such as Eliana)Eliza

　　Elizabeth

　　Ella

　　Elodie

　　Elula

　　Emily

　　Eulalie

　　Gabriella

　　Hadley (and most names that end in ley)Isabella (and all Bella names)Isla

　　Jocelyn

　　Juliet (and Julia, Juliana etc)Layla

　　Lila

　　Lillian

　　Lily

　　Lola

　　Madeline

　　Makayla (and all Michaela and Kayla variations)Mila

　　Millie

　　Natalie

　　Nola

　　Nellie

　　Olivia (and Olive)Penelope

　　Polly

　　Scarlett

　　Stella

　　Tallulah

　　Tilly

　　Willa

　　There are some examples for boys too:

　　Alexander

　　Cullen (also propelled by the Twilight influence)Elijah (and all the Eli names)Julian

　　Milo

　　Nolan

　　Oliver

　　Silas

　　Tyler

　　William

　　Along with a handful of unisex examples:

　　Bailey

　　Charlie

　　Dylan

　　Jaylen

　　Riley

　　Taylor