The founder of the group would be the best place to start (if the group does indeed have a founder). But don’t stop there. Who were important early members of the group? Who helped popularize or expand the group? Who personally introduced you to the group and/or encouraged you to get involved?

This may not be the answer you want to hear, but: nope. There’s simply no way to guarantee that a boy name won’t suddenly become trendy for girls. (A movie mermaid was all it took for the name Madison — a name with the word “son” right in there — to become a girl name.)

No boy names are girl-proof, but some are certainly girl-resistant. Which ones? Here are five types I’ve come up with:

1. Boy names with unstylish elements, such as “bert” and “stan.” If a boy name isn’t fashionable enough to be popular for boys, it shouldn’t be too tempting to use for girls either.

2. Boy names with few vowels. They tend to sound more masculine than other names.

3. Boy names with length. Most of today’s popular unisex names stop at two syllables.

4. Boy names with hard endings, such as D, K and T. Many of the boy names being used by girls end with softer consonants like L, N and R.

5. Boy names with well-known feminine forms. If there’s a readily available girl-version, doesn’t it seem silly to use the masculine form for a female?

As I mentioned, there’s never a guarantee. (A female Scrubs character is named Elliot — will that be the next to go? How about Blake, thanks to Blake Lively?) But I think boy names that fit into the above categories are relatively safe bets.

Are there any other types of names you’d add to the list?

While she was still living with her people, Karana actually had two names: an everyday name, and a secret name. Won-a-pa-lei (meaning “the girl with the long black hair”) was her everyday name, and Karana was her (rarely used) secret name.

The fictional tale of Karana was based on the true story of Juana María, a Nicoleño Indian marooned on San Nicolas Island (off California) from 1835 until 1853.

I’m not sure where the name Karana comes from. It may be an authentic Native American name, or it may have been invented by the author to sound like an authentic Native American name.

In any case, Karana has never been common in the U.S., but the names Kara and Karina (which are similar) are now quite popular.