Adrian

Adrian is a name that sounds like it has been somewhere. Not in a show-offy way. It just has the air of a chap who has stamps in his passport and knows a good café in every city.

That's fitting, because the meaning is literally a place. It's Latin, and it means from Hadria. So rather than promising strength or wisdom or the favour of the heavens, Adrian simply tells you where he's from. There's something refreshingly honest about that. No pressure, no grand destiny, just a very old address.

The sound of it

It's a name with a lovely shape in the mouth. Three syllables that roll rather than bump, and a soft ending that doesn't need a nickname to feel friendly. Still, Adri is there if you want it, and it's a rather sweet one, especially for the early years when a full three syllables feels like too much name for such a small person.

What's most striking about Adrian is how thoroughly it has settled in across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. It's number 58 in the United States and 72 in Mexico City, 84 in Brazil, 92 in Canada and 96 in Catalonia. Argentina has it at 143. It's more of a quiet presence in New Zealand and England & Wales, hovering in the 240s, which is arguably the sweet spot: everybody's heard of it, hardly anyone's got one in their class.

Who's worn it well

The namesakes are an agreeably mixed bag. There's Adrian Mutu, the Romanian footballer, and Adrian Smith, the English guitarist, so the name has been both on the pitch and on stage. In fiction, Adrian Monk is an American private investigator, and Adrian Shephard is a character from the Half-Life series. Sportsman, musician, detective, video-game hero: whatever your little Adrian ends up doing, somebody's already blazed a trail.

On a sibling shortlist it's a natural fit next to Lucas, Mateo, Sofia and Lucia, names that share that warm, sunlit, slightly European feel. Put them together and the family sounds like it holidays somewhere with excellent tomatoes. It's a name that goes with the current crop of gentle, international favourites without ever feeling trendy.

If there's a wrinkle, it's that Adrian doesn't shout. It won't be the most dramatic name on the register, and it doesn't come with a big story attached. But plenty of parents will see that as the whole point. It's elegant, easy to spell, easy to say in most languages, and it will look just as right on a wedding invitation as on a lunchbox.

So there you have it: a name that means from Hadria, wears beautifully, and travels better than most of us. Is it the one? That's the trouble with this whole enterprise. You'll be convinced tonight and doubting by tomorrow's breakfast, because a name is one of the few decisions in life you make for someone else, and they can't tell you what they think for years. Back to the shortlist. Bring snacks.