The goddess name Aurora has consistently been on the US popularity list since the nineteenth century, but has really taken off in the past 30 years. Aurora also enjoys remarkable international popularity, ranking in the Top 100 throughout the English-speaking world as well as in Italy, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, and several other European and Latin American countries.

Roxy, also spelled Roxie, is one of those high-stepping showgal names with plenty of moxie, among the many sassy nickname names on the U.K. popularity list--currently Number 398.

Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

Oriana is a dashing medieval name, with a meaning similar to Aurora. At this point, though, Oriana is much more unusual than Aurora and makes a unique choice if you're searching for names that mean new beginnings or dawn.

Zariah has three possible origins: the Arabic Zahrah which means ‘flower’, the Hebrew name Azariah, meaning ‘God has helped’, or the Russian word Zaria which means ‘sunrise/dawn’. Either way, it's a strong and striking name with a range of lovely meanings.

Eos -- that's pronounced with a short e like eros without the r -- is the Greek Titan of the dawn. Any ancient name with a sleek modern feel has definite revival possibilities. Eos could be an inventive way to honor grandma Dawn.

Vihaan comes from a Sanskrit word denoting the dawn, but has the symbolic meaning of the beginning of a new age, making Vihaan a wonderful choice for the first baby in a family's next generation.

In Germanic mythology, Ostara is the goddess of springtime, fertility, and dawn. Her existence as a mythological figure was pieced together by scholar Jacob Grimm, who used evidence such as the German word for April (ostermonat) and parallels to the Anglo-Saxon Eostre. Ostara is also the modern German name for the Easter holiday.

Spelled with one 'n', this was the name of the wife of Alexander the Great, and is more attractive than the better-known Roxanne.

An Anglo-Saxon name that held on in Northumbria years after the Norman Conquest, and gave rise to the surname Oughtred. It's known today from the television series The Last Kingdom, based on Bernard Cornwell's books: Uhtred is our Dane-bashing hero.

Best known as the beautiful heroine to whom Cyrano de Bergerac says, "Your name is like a golden bell".

The eponymous character of the fantasy novel Aurian by Maggie Furey. It may have been inspired by the Latin aurum "gold", or by names like Aurora ("dawn") or Aura ("breeze"), also derived from the Latin.

Alternative (rarer) spelling of Roxanne.

Al-Falaq or The Daybreak is the 113th chapter of the Qur'an in Islam. Falaq is slowly increasing in use as a girl name in the US, but still remains very rare. Falaq Naaz is an Indian actress with this name.

A uniquely Slovene name, ideal for a son born in the early morning.

Haroon, also styled as Aroon and Harun, is the mythic charioteer of the dawn.

A lush, romantic flower name for people who think Rose, Violet and Lily are 1000 times too popular.

A strong and striking Turkish option with an evocative meaning. Equally colorful from its Mongolian roots, it is also associated with gold.

Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and dawn. In ancient times, the pagans had festivals and feasts celebrating Eostre, but this practice was eventually overtaken by the Christian Easter holiday. The connection between the traditions is evident today in cultures that speak English and Germanic languages, as the name Easter is derived from Eostre. Most other languages derive the name of the holiday from the Hebrew word Pesach, meaning "Passover."