Four Syllable Baby Names

Biblical names are expanding (literally) as some parents move from Isaiah and Elijah to more elaborate choices with simple short forms, like Jedidiah and Zebediah.

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

Esperanza is a Spanish classic that's found its way onto the national popularity list in recent years. It came into the spotlight not long ago when jazz singer Esperanza Spalding "stole" the Best New Artist Grammy from favorite Justin Bieber. It's also the name of the main character in the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, about a young Latina growing up in Chicago.

Iolanthe is known primarily through the 1882 Gilbert & Sullivan operetta of that name, in which the title character is a fairy. Iolanthe is a softer version of Yolanda, and is the kind of multi-syllabic classical name once considered too weighty for a modern baby girl, but now within the realm of possibility--this one as a dramatic twist on Violet. The biggest drawback is its variety of legitimate pronunciations in English.

This name of a renowned Apache leader and mystic would be a difficult choice, since it was used as a rallying cry in so many old westerns and by paratroopers jumping out of their planes in World War II.

Eleazar is a distinguished Biblical name--in which it appears several times-- ripe for the picking following the stardom of Eli, Elijah, and other similar names.

Stella Maris ("star of the sea") is an historic title for the Virgin Mary, in use since at least the early medieval period. Although it actually arose from a scribal error in the etymology of the name Mary, it came to be seen as symbolic of Mary's role as "guiding star" on the way to Christ. Under this name, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of seafarers in particular, and many coastal churches are named Stella Maris or Star of the Sea.

A euphonious and lovely name with a dark-eyed, long-flowing-haired image, Raphaela is, like Gabriella and Isabella, beginning to be drawn into the American mainstream.

A lovely name with a lovely meaning ("amusing, charming, graceful" in Sanskrit), Lilavati is a rare Indian name with a handful of historical namesakes. Notable bearers include the daughter of great 12th century mathematician Bhaskara, who named one of his mathematical treatises after her, and a 13th century Sri Lankan queen who was only the second woman to rule the country as sovereign in her own right.

While Barthelemy does not garner much attention these days, it has a storied history in French-speaking countries. Notable bearers include geologist and explorer Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, philosopher Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire, and historian and writer Jean-Barthélemy Hauréau, to name a few.

We like all forms of this name—Annabel, Anabel, Annabelle, Anabela, and Annabella—so you decide how elaborate you want to get. Actress Sela Ward chose the Anabella spelling.

Despite the popularity of Anthony and its masculine variants, female derivatives of its source – the Roman family name Antonius, of unknown meaning – have never caught on in the same way. Sister name Antonia peaked at #336 in the US way back in 1882, while Antonina itself has never ranked higher than #865 (in 1915). It has been outside of the Top 1000 ever since.

Anglo parents are taking note of this Hispanic classic, thanks to actress Rosario Dawson and a character on Will & Grace. Poetic and powerful, it comes from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, or "Our Lady of the Rosary", Rosary referring to vocal and mental prayer in Catholicism, that reflect on the life of Christ and his Mother.

Bold and strong, Casimira is a feminine form of Casimir, which ultimately derives from the Slavic elements kaziti and mirŭ meaning "to destroy" and "peace, world". A notable bearer is Casimira Rodríguez who was Bolivia's first indigenous Quechua woman to serve as a government minister.

Journalist Hiawatha Bray is a singular contemporary bearer of this name of a Native-American leader immortalized in a Longfellow poem.

Offbeat flower name, sure to raise some eyebrows. But with Lily, Rose, and even Daisy starting to wilt, more alluring blooms such as Geranium, Magnolia, and Azalea may blossom.

Priscillian is a rare name, both in terms of how little it is used in current times and that it is a masculinization of the Biblical names Prisca and Priscilla. Borne by a 4th century Bishop in Ávila, Spain, notable for creating Priscillianism, a sect of Christianity which was later rejected as heresy by the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches.

Transferred from the geographical name, Jerusalem is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year in the US.

This bold, poetic name appears in Greek mythology as the hero who tamed Pegasus and slayed the Chimera, but displeased the gods by trying to fly to Olympus. The subject of a play by Euripides and an opera Jean-Baptiste Lully, Bellerophon is also the name of an antidote in the film Mission: Impossible 2 and the nickname of a planet outside of our solar system.

Borne by a Roman emperor, a Latin poet, and several bishops, Maximian is an English variation of Maximianus or Maximus. A bold and unexpected way to the popular Max or Mack, Maximian might appeal to those who like Octavian, Cassian, Dorian, and Damian.