Latin Names

Corva has the sounds of both vintage Cora and the contemporary favorite Ava, but manages to feel dark and witchy thanks to its corvid connections. 

Corva

Derived from the Latin Crescentius and Crescens, Crescentia is a bold, strong but elaborate name borne by a 4th century saint and also the heroine of a 12th century German romance. Also spelled Kreszentia, it feels connected to the moon, due to its similarity to the word crescent. 

Crescentia

Cruise

The most prominent person with this unusual geographical choice might be actor Cuba Gooding Jr., however, Cuba has a far longer history as a feminine name. Deriving from the island in the Caribbean Sea, it had a brief spell of popularity in the US at the end of the 1890s, when Spain lost possession of the island during the Spanish-American War. Used predominantly (though rarely) on girls throughout the last century, it has occasionally been given to a handful of boys too
 
The exact meaning and origins of the place name are unknown, though it is conjectured that it comes from the extinct Taíno language and could mean "where the fertile land is abundant" or "great place". Alternatively, it could derive from the Palace of Cuba in Italy, whose name might literally come from the word cubical or from the Arabic Qubba meaning "dome" — in reference to the shape of the building. There is also a Roman Goddess of the name, who is said to have helped see a child from cradle to bed. 
 
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was named in honor of his grandfather's first wife, whom he had met and married after fleeing to the island in the 1930s; when she was murdered, he promised to name his first son Cuba, which he did, and soul singer Cuba Sr. then gave the name to his son too. 
 More recently, social media influencers and YouTube couple, Jess and Gabriel Conte, named their son Cuba Malachi in 2024. The name has raised some eyebrows among their followers for its unusualness — and perhaps because some might think of the fraught history the island has with the US. Nevertheless, it is almost reminiscent of the likes of Luna, Cooper, Ember and Cora, so time will tell if other parents begin to consider the name for any gender.

Cuba

The Roman goddess of care and concern was said to have created humans out of clay.

Cura

Unique and fluid river name with the lilt of a Viennese waltz. 

Danube

Britannia

Benedicta

Fans of the late Princess Diana might remember an early nickname, Shy Di. Di was more commonly heard in the middle of the last century, when Diane and sisters were in top vogue.
 
Today, people may take Di as a very dark word name.

Diversity

Edrien or Adrien are both French forms of the classic Latin name Adrian. While this spelling takes you directly to the short for Ed, Adrian is by far the most popular spelling in the US, given to over 4600 baby boys in one recent year, followed by Adrien, used for only about 170. And none were called Edrien.

Edrien

Probably too evangelical for mass importation. 

Baptista

Likely adapted from Felician and Feliciano, this elaborate form of the cheerful, lucky name is predominantly (though only occasionally) used in Mexico and Indonesia. 

Felixiano

Derived from the Latin formosa, Fermosa is a distinctive name with the familiar sounds of Fernanda and Rosa. It relates closely to the Spanish and Galician words for "beautiful" and may additionally be spelled as Fermoza.

Fermosa

A name with a pleasing hue, Fulvio comes from the Latin fulvus used poetically to describe saturated bronze and gold, the coats of lions and eagles and the color of sand and earth. Considered the Italian and Spanish form of the Roman Fulvius, it has been borne by basketball player Fulvio de Assis, historian Fulvio Orsini, cross country skier Fulvio Valbusa, and poet Andrea Fulvio, just to mention a few.

Fulvio

An unconventional way to Rosie or Rosa, borne by Generosa of Scillium, a martyr and saint from the 2nd century AD, Generosa is also used in Spanish and Italian as the word for "generous". As such, it may be seen as a name with two (connected) meanings: from the Latin generosus, it means "well-born, noble, excellent, while in a modern Italian and Spanish context, it means "generous, giving, kind, plentiful". 
 Briefly popular in Spain and Brazil in the early 19th-century, it may appeal as a rare virtue name or as an alternative to Ginevra, Ambrosia, or Geneva. In Italian, it would be pronounced jeh-neh-RO-za, while in Spanish, it would be kheh-neh-RO-sa, kh like the -ch of Scottish Loch.

Generosa

Generoso might look like a virtuous name, inspired by generosity and giving, and while they do share the same root, as a name, it's more directly descended from the Latin generosus meaning "well-born, excellent, noble". It's link to generosity may come from the idea that those who were well-born had money, time, and resources to share, so you could still see it as virtue-adjacent, especially since it is the Italian and Spanish word for generous.
 
Briefly popular in Spain in the early 19th-century, it may appeal to those who enjoy rare word names and those who enjoy Ambrose or Ambrosio. In Italian, it would be pronounced jeh-neh-RO-zo, while in Spanish, it would be kheh-neh-RO-so, kh like the -ch of Scottish Loch.

Generoso

Spiky and unexpected, Helvetica is best known as a sans-serif typeface which takes its name from Helvetia, the national personification of Switzerland. Helvetia itself comes from Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name for Switzerland. A little like Helena, Erica, and Veronica, Helvetica is certainly a rare choice for a baby, however, it was chosen by designer and entrepreneur Perry Haydn Taylor to honor his love for typography. His other daughters are Perpetua and Clarendon.

Helvetica

Pretty Victorian-feeling cousin of Ariel; also, more prosaically, a kind of bay window. 

Oriel

Light and cheerful as its meaning but with plenty of substance, Ilari is the Finnish form of Hilarius and Hillary. Used as a masculine name in Finland, it is used, albeit quietly, as a unisex option elsewhere.

Ilari

Latin names are plentiful throughout English-speaking countries, as Latin is one of the root languages for English. Latin names include many of the most popular baby names in the Western world, including Lucy and Oliver, Julia, and Miles.

Latin names in the US Top 100 for girls include Ava, Clara, Lillian, Olivia, and Stella. For boys, Latin names in the US Top 100 include Dominic, Lucas, Julian, Roman, and Sebastian. In Rome, popular names include Cecilia, Viola, Christian, and Santiago.

Of course, many unique baby names have Latin origins too, such as Sidra, Domino, and Vesper. Latin was the language of ancient Rome, another source for fashionable modern names, such as Augustus, Cassius, and Octavia.

Browse all of our Latin baby names here, ordered by popularity on Nameberry. 

Latin names of origin in the Latin language, the language and culture of ancient Rome, including Latin names for boys and Latin names for girls, with meanings and popularity. (Page 34)