harry-potter-esque names

Cressida is a pretty mythological and Shakespearean heroine name much better known in Britain than it is here — an imbalance the adventurous baby namer might want to correct.

Mythological shepherd in love with Chloe, whose name, though the s is pronounced, is related to the feminine name Daphne - making it a lovely choice for honoring a relative of that name.

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

A rarely used name meaning from Delos, a sacred island to the ancient Greeks. A more interesting and musical choice might be Delius, after the British-born composer of lush rhapsodies.

In Greek mythology the mother of Aphrodite by Zeus, and also one of Saturn's moons; this is an astral name quite distinct from the better known Dionne.

Eliana is a lilting, rhythmic choice, which has caught on in the US and other English-speaking countries, along with many other El-starting names.

Eliora is a melodic name ripe with vowel sounds.

Elouera has potential for people looking for unusual versions of popular "Elle" names like Ellen, Eleanor and Ella. This Aboriginal Australian place name is filled with the mellifluous sounds that are in style at the moment

This highly unusual name has been kicked up a notch, thanks to cooking guru Emeril Lagasse.

The name of a mythically handsome youth – loved by Selene, the moon, who bore him fifty daughters.

Esther was derived from the Old Persian word stāra, meaning "star." In the Old Testament, Esther, originally named Hadassah, was the captured Jewish wife of the King of Persia who risked her life to save her exiled people from annihilation. This story is celebrated by Jews on the holiday of Purim, so that it has traditionally been given to girls around that time.

Despite (or because of) her tragic story in Greek myth--Eurydice was poisoned by a snake and condemned to the underworld, where her husband, musician Orpheus, tried and failed to bring her back--she has provided creative inspiration in the arts, namely as the subject of operas by Monteverdi, Haydn and Gluck, in an eponymous play by Jean Anouilh, and the myth was the inspiration for Tennessee William's drama Orpheus Descending. Paintings by Titian, Rubens and Poussin also focus on Eurydice.

If January, April and August are useable and fashionable, why not February? February as a word derives from the Latin februa, which was the name of a purification feast coming at the end of winter, to prepare for the coming spring.