By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 169 pages
of 169
Polish and Ukrainian variation of Sophia, Greek
"wisdom"
Russian, Greek, and Czech variation of Barbara
An interesting and appealingly international spin on Barbara, with a lot of charm and energy.
French variation of Basil
"regal"
Herby and aristocratic Basil remains a tough sell, but we’d like to introduce you to Basile, the delightful French version. It retains all of Basil’s charm, but sheds some of the pesto linkage.…
Greek and Russian variation of Helen
Slavic twist on a classic.
English variation of Beaufort, French
"beautiful fort"
Buford has lost any charm it once had. Try Beauford instead.
Feminine variation of Abraham, Hebrew
"father of multitudes"
Abra is soft, sensitive feminine form of Abraham that was the name of a soft, sensitive character in the John Steinbeck book and movie, "East of Eden." In the bible, Abra was a favorite of King…
Scottish and Irish
"noble"
This Anglicized spelling makes the pronunciation of Ailís or Aileas — the Irish and Scottish forms of Alice, respectively — slightly more obvious to English-speakers. Ailis or Aileas are more…
Diminutive of Yelena, Russian
"bright and shining light"
New name in the pool of international names, added by lovely supermodel Alyona Osmanova.
Armenian variation of Anahita, Persian
"immaculate"
Anahit is the Armenian form of Anahita, the Persian goddess of fertility, wisdom, and water.
A spelling variation of Anneliese, combining Anna and Elizabeth
"grace + god is my oath"
A Latin American variation of the compound name, Anneliese.
Russian variation of Ephraim
Phonetic spelling brought to light by actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Place name and modern variation of Astraea, Asteria, Astra, or Setarah, Greek, Pesian
"star"
A bright and sparkly choice, likely inspired by a variety of Greek names that ultimately derive from the element aster meaning "star", or from the Persian Setarah, also meaning "star". It is also the…
Feminine variation of Aurelianus, Latin
"the golden one"
Aureliana is a feminine name with Latin origins, derived from 'aureus' meaning 'golden' or 'gilded.' It's the feminine form of Aurelianus, which was a Roman family name associated with the emperor…
Scandinavian variation of Absalom
"father of peace"
A Top 100 name among boys, but a rare option for a girl. The French female form is Axelle (emphasis on the "elle").
Russian variation of Theodore
"God's gift"
This variation of Theodore is familiar here mostly via the great Russian novelist Dostoyevsky. It was also the name of three early tsars of Russia.
Spelling variation of Cameron, Scottish
"crooked nose"
Traditional Cameron and modern variants Camryn and Kamryn are currently much preferred for girls (and boys) to this alternative. Given to just 12 girls in a recent year, Cameron was chosen for 600,…
Norwegian, Danish, Czech, variation of Cecilia, Latin
"blind"
Variant of Cecilia used in several European countries, which could also make for a pretty variant spelling of the medieval English version, Cecily.
English variation of Latin Horatius
"hour, time"
Like Horace, Horatio is a variation on the Latin Horatius, but its Shakespearean and optimistic Horatio Alger pedigree makes it an attractive up-and-comer, especially with its cool final o. A modern…
Welsh, Romanian
"God is gracious"
A simple and appealing multi-cultural form of John, but Americans will be baffled by all those vowels.
Greek, Romanian and Russian variation of Joseph
"Jehovah increases"
