Bonnie

Bonnie & Clyde

Bonnie is Scottish, meaning "fair," "attractive" and "pretty." From the French word bonne, meaning "good." Often, a child was said to be "bonny" regardless of gender, so long as that child displayed a happy nature, and this term features in some songs and literature (such as Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing). Today, "bonny" is still a word used to mean "pretty," especially in Scotland. It is now considered vintage in the U.S., having been used as an endearing nickname, even as a pet form of Bonita. There is an old nursery rhyme that makes Bonnie appropriate for a child born on Sunday. Bonnie Blue was the daughter of literary characters Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. Then there is the famous bank robber Bonnie Parker (of Bonnie & Clyde fame). And for all you Harry Potter fans out there, this is the name of Bonnie Wright who plays Ginny Weasley. Not a Harry Potter fan? It's the name of the witch in The Vampire Diaries. Some rarely heard variants include Bonnebel/Bonnebell and Bonnibel/Bonnibelle. Bonnie last ranked in 2003, but it appeared regularly since 1880. It hit #33 in 1941 and 1946, the highest ranking. In 2011 it was just outside the top 1000 with 218 births. Bonnie would make an exceptional alternative to other B names in the top 1000 at the moment, such as Bristol, Brooke, Brynlee and Briley. For the record, so would Betty (163 births) and Betsy (129 births).