Soleil

Soleil is the French word for “sun,” and her very sound—soh-LAY—seems to spill light across the tongue. She carries centuries of Gallic romance yet feels right at home on modern American playgrounds, thanks in part to actress Soleil Moon Frye and a steady climb on the U.S. baby-name charts. Parents love that this luminous pick signals optimism, creativity, and bold individuality; after all, you can’t very well name a wallflower after the cosmic center of our solar system. In stories told around dinner tables, little Soleil is the one who colors outside the lines, turns rainy mornings into puddle-jumping adventures, and reminds grown-ups to chase their own rays of possibility. It’s a name that greets the world with a grin and a splash of Vitamin D, perfect for families who believe every child arrives with her own sunrise.