Max, the name of both the child hero and the young actor who plays him in Where The Wild Things Are, is one of the hottest boys’ names these days.

Max can stand on its own or may be a short form of the ancient Roman name Maximus, which means “greatest,” or of Maximilian or Maxwell.  It’s one of the down-to-earth cigar-chomping grandpa names last popular a hundred years ago and enjoying a huge revival now.  Like brothers Sam and Jake, Max is unpretentious and friendly but also sounds cool.

Celebrities led the way in launching the revival of the name, starting in the late 70s and early 80s.  Stars who are the parents of now-grown kids named Max include Dustin Hoffman, Henry Winkler, Steven Spielberg, and Nora Ephron & Carl Bernstein.

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What could be sweeter than for your baby to have its (I know–you can’t call it ‘it’) own theme song, a readymade melody featuring  his or her name,  for you to sing along and dance to together?  Some of the most appealing of these can be found in the Oldies section, from the era of first-generation, classic and folk rock.

A logical place to check out first is the Beatles Songbook, which actually has had something of an influence on baby naming.  It was no coincidence that when “Michelle, ma belle” won the Grammy Song of the Year award in 1966, Michelle was simultaneously shooting up the name popularity list.  And now Jude–which took awhile ( linking to the good looks and sunny personality of Jude Law didn’t hurt)–is moving up the charts.

Here, names taken from Beatles titles:

ANNA

BILL

ELEANOR

JUDE

JULIA

LIZZIE

LUCY

MADONNA

MAGGIE

MARTHA (more…)

 You don’t have to be an opera buff to appreciate the rich variety of names found in the classic repertoire.  It’s an especially appealing category because it contains such an interesting mix of languages: there are frilly French female names, unusual Italian mens’ names, as well as some usable German and Russian character names.  These range from leads such as Aida and Tristan, to featured players to those with minor roles.

So, omitting common names like Amelia, Norma and Susanna, and the more uber-the-top names like Brunhilde, here are some lyrical opera names:

SOPRANO GIRLS

ABAGAILLE
AIDA
ALCINA
ANNINA
BIANCA
CARMEN
DESPINA
ELENA
ELETTRA
ELSA
FLORIA (TOSCA)
FRICKA
GILDA
GIOVANNA
ISOLDE
JAVOTTE
JULIETTE
KATISHA
LAKME
LEONORA
LIU
LOLETTE
LUCIA
MADDALENA
MANON
MARCELLINA
MARGUERITE
MICAELA
MIMI
MUSETTA
NEDDA
NORIN
PAMINA
ROSINA
SUZUKI
TATYANA
VIOLETTA
ZERLINA

BASSO BOYS

ALTOUN
ANDRES
BASILIO
BELLO
BENOIT
BETTO
BORIS
CLAUDIUS
DRAGO
ELVINO
FERRANDO
FIESCO
FIORELLO
GIOVANNI
GUNTHER
MARCELLO
NARDO
OTTAVIO
PIZARRO
RAMIRO
ROCCO
ROMEO
SENECA
SILVIO
SILVANO
TAMINO
TONIO
TRISTAN
TYBALT
VALENTIN