Colette

Colette is a small Parisian apartment with tall windows and a cat in the sun. A French feminine diminutive of Nicolas, rooted ultimately in the Greek nike-laos, victory of the people, it found literary immortality in Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the author of Gigi and Chéri, who wrote about desire with a cat's unblinking precision. Ranked 400 in the U.S., the name has been climbing steadily as parents reach for French chic beyond Chloe and Claire. Two syllables, the second stressed and sharp, the T unmistakable. Couture in a name, but also buttered bread and a good pen.