kas' 'romantasy' baby girl names

Unusual floral name which would be perfect for a spring baby girl, if you can pronounce the Welsh double L correctly. It's a tricky sound for non-native Welsh speakers, kind of halfway between an H and an L.

Striking name of a legendary princess and a Welsh river that feels both moody and modern. It is currently popular in Wales.

Hildegard is an ancient name that sounds it, but it does have sweet short forms Hildie and Hilda to recommend it, as well as several illustrious historical bearers.

An extremely rare name of Ancient Greek origin which could be a novel way to Callie. There is a minor Harry Potter character by the name: Callidora Black (later Longbottom).

Marilla is a names that's familiar via its resemblance to Mary and variations, but also distinctive: It hasn't been on the Top 1000 since the 1800s and was given to only 27 baby girls last year.

An Anglo-Saxon name borne by the queen of Alfred the Great. American novelist Helen Ricker wrote under the pen-name Elswyth Thane. Variants include Elswith, Ealswith and Ealhswith.

Clarimond is related to the Occitan name Esclarmonde, and is probably the more wearable of the two variations.

The French Miley? This trendy choice from Brittany, which is pronounced either as Miley or May-lee, is related to the traditional (male) saint's name Mael, traditionally feminized as Maelle.

A popular choice in Ireland, Clodagh was the name of a river and later a saint. The "cloddy" aspect of the name has prevented it from spreading beyond Ireland, but that could change with the rise of other Irish choices like Maeve and Orla.

Not only are individual flower names more popular (and out-there) than ever, but so too are the more generic names like Florence and Flora. While brother name Fiorello became known via long-term New York Mayor LaGuardia, the lovely Fiorella has never crossed cultures. She could join Arabella as a post-Isabella ella choice.

Eugenie enjoyed a major dusting off when Fergie and Prince Andrew chose it for their daughter, restoring a patina of royal sheen it hadn't had since the time of Napoleon III's glamorous empress--who spent much of her life in England. It was also borne by Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, after whom Prince Andrew's younger daughter was named.

Yesenia is a Latinx favorite popularized by a character on a Spanish-language soap opera. Jessenia is another variation. The name is drawn from the name of a palm tree in South America, but Yesenia is also an Arabic name meaning flower, making it an excellent cross-cultural choice.

If you like soft, lispy Welsh names like Gwyneth, or want an alternative to Delilah, Adele, or Edith, consider this out-of-the-ordinary option.

Similar to Ivana but less personality-driven.

This could be an obscure choice for literary families, but beware the connotations with virus and virulent.

A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.

This spin on the popular Hannah is widely-used in Europe and pronounced similarly to Hannah. It may also be a short form of Johanne, from John/Joan.

Lovella is most likely a feminine variation on Lovell, a surname. While it feels one of the invented-yet-antiquated girls' names, has the obvious attraction of containing the word "love" within it, as well as the opportunity to use "Ella" as nickname.

This traditional Germanic name hasn't been on the U.S. list since 1958, but perhaps due to the mythic power of painter Frida Kahlo, parents are beginning to show some interest in it.

Lovers of Esme might also like this beautiful Turkish name, with its mysterious meaning. The last syllable sounds like "rye".