Female names - B-K

Gregoria

Latin

"alert, watchful"

Sounds like a child in a Gothic novel.

Guadalupe

Spanish from Arabic

"hidden river, valley of the wolves"

Popular Spanish name that relates to the patron saint of Mexico. It could conceivably, like Soledad and Consuelo, cross the border into multicultural territory, but the name's decline since the…

Gustava

Swedish

"staff of the gods"

Imposing, if not intimidating.

Gwendolen

Welsh

"white ring, circle"

Gwendolen, an ancient Welsh favorite, retired decades ago in favor of the short form Gwen, but now, as in the case all across the naming board, the nickname has faded and the more distinguished…

Hadiya

Arabic

"guide to righteousness"

A pleasant, welcoming Middle Eastern choice.

Halcyon

Greek

"kingfisher bird"

This highly unusual name -- the Halycyone was a mythic bird who could calm the seas -- conjures up images of utter peace and tranquility because of the phrase "Halycon days"...and the sleeping pill.

Hania

Hebrew, Polish

"encampment; grace"

This very unusual name, also related to Hannah, was chosen for his daughter by Vin Diesel.

Harmonia

Greek

"agreement, concord"

One Greek mythological name -- she was the goddess of order -- not yet embraced by American parents.

Havilah

Biblical place-name

"to dance"

Though there are a few (male) people named Havilah in the Bible, it's also a Biblical place-name that can work as an original choice for modern girls.

Hedwig

German

"war"

An ancient German saint's name – and most famously the name of Harry Potter's snowy owl – but the combination of "head" plus "wig" feels a little too literal in English.

Helaine

French variation of Helen

Like twins Helene and Elaine, a relic of the 1930s to 40s French Renaissance of names.

Heloise

French from German

"healthy; wide"

Heloise is an ancient name related to sleek, peppy classic Eloise. Both ultimately derive from the Germanic name Helewidis, which became Helewis in medieval England. In the twelfth century, the name…

Henrietta

Feminine variation of Henry, German

"estate ruler"

Despite a return to such feminizations of male names as Josephine, Clementine, and Theodora, starchy Henrietta has not made it into that group. Still, if you look hard enough, you'll see that…

Hera

Greek

"protectress"

She was queen of the Greek gods, both sister and wife to Zeus, but the name of her Roman counterpart Juno has become much more fashionable these days. That said, we think Hera has possibilities today…

Hermione

Feminine version of Hermes, Greek

"messenger, earthly"

Hermione's costarring role in Harry Potter has made this previously ignored, once stodgy name suddenly viable. Hermione could really take off once today's children start having kids of their own. In…

Hero

Greek

"demi-god"

Despite the possibility of gender confusion, the Hero in Greek myth was a woman. Myleene Klass got that when she chose Hero for her daughter, and Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson used it as their…

Honorine

French from Latin

"honor"

The pure, simple HONOR--as chosen by Jessica Alba, is perfect as it is. It does have some literary cred though--Henry James created a character called Honorine for his novel The Tragic Muse.

Horatia

Latin feminine variation of Horatio

Has the fusty charm of recently excavated ancient Roman male names like Augustus and Magnus, which might just appeal to the fearless baby namer.

Hypatia

Greek

"highest, supreme"

Hypatia, an ancient Greek name, has a distinguished namesake: Hypatia of Alexandria was an early philosopher and scholar of mathematics and astronomy. Fittingly, the name derives from the Greek…

Ianthe

Greek

"purple flower"

Like Violet, Lavender and Lilac, Ianthe is a purple flower name. Chosen by the poet Shelley for his daughter, Ianthe has a poetic, romantic, almost ethereal quality. In the ancient myth, she was the…