By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 35 pages
of 35
Latin or Tswana
"new or gift"
Neo, indeed--though it was a male character in "The Matrix." In the Southern African language of Tswana, it is a unisex name meaning "gift".
Latin
"heroic"
The name of Beethoven's third symphony, and too close to the word erotica.
Latin female variation of Fabian
"bean grower"
Fabia is one of several pleasant international-accented female versions of Fabian.
"infant"
Fantine is a rarely heard French name except as a character in the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables .
Latin, feminine variation of Faust
"fortunate one"
Faustine has a positive meaning, although the association with the character who sold his soul to the devil may be off-putting. This name is among the Top 100 girls' names in France, but was given to…
Latin feminine variation of Faunus
"to befriend"
Faunia is more often rendered as Fauna, who was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing. Faunia was the downtrodden yet loving heroine of Philip Roth's Human Stain . Faunia and Fauna have…
Place name and Spanish from Latin
"flowery"
Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.
Diminutive of Florence
"flourishing, prosperous"
Flossie was an extremely popular Florence nickname that was used independently in the early twentieth century, given to over five hundred girls per year a century ago. Appealing, sweet as candy…
"blooming, flowering"
Florence is back, and the adorable short form Florie (or Flory) is too. Or you could just name her Flora and be done with it.
Spanish variation of Latin
"luck, fate, wealth"
Brimming over with a sense of good fortune. Could make a little girl feel very lucky.
"free"
One of the most attractive and unusual spins on the "Fran" franchise.
"yellow, tawny, gleaming"
Derived from the Latin fulvus this name has been poetically associated with shades of gold, bronze, and yellow, along with the color of a lion's fur and an eagle's feathers. It was borne by the wife…
Spelling variation of Gala
Gala makes the name more festive.
"keeper of the garden"
One of the most pleasant and evocative of the hot new occupational names. Related name: Gardner, as in Ava.
"gazelle"
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.
"of the garden"
Hortense is actually the French feminine form of Hortensia, the name of a strong, politically active early Roman woman. Hortense began to be used in the English-speaking world in the nineteenth…
Variant of Hortensia, an unusual floral name and the name of a secondary character in Roald Dahl's Matilda .
"ardent, burning"
This Spanish form of the yet-to-be-revived Ignatius was borne by an early and influential Philipina nun known as Mother Ignacia.
Latin "imperial"
"imperial"
Rather imperious as a baby name, but has an interesting history. Imperia is the name of an obscure French saint, also known as Impère and Impérie, also borne by the famous Italian courtesan Imperia…
