Latin Names

The daintiest and most accessible of the many Q names for a fifth child, now used for girls situated anywhere in the birth order.

With the new fashion for occupational names, we may hear more of this one.

Probably too evangelical for mass importation.

Most often heard as an Italian surname, this might be an unusual yet musical option. While it's not among the traditional Italian names for girls, it can fill that role.

Delicate and obscure version of this many-faceted name.

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.

The unusual hybrid Tuliana, which rhymes with Juliana, combines the Roman offshoot Tulia with the more familiar Ana, the Latinate form of Anna or Ann. Tulia comes from the Roman family name Tullius, best known as the middle name of the philosopher Cicero. While Tuliana is intriguing, any little Tuliana, upon introducing herself, will always be asked, "Juliana?"

The original male name Alban is a lot sleeker and more usable.

Now that Courtney is becoming more unisex for babies, surname Fortney also seems like a viable name for a boy. It fits the trend for names with an -ey ending like Huxley and Finley, with an added dash of fortitude.

This name of eight popes might appeal to confirmed city-dwellers, but Urbana would be more feminine.

Projects a feeling of openness and candor.

Octavia has the numerical meaning doubled (eighth) and is much more user-friendly.

Has a medieval, slightly fusty but romantic feel.

Balbo is more commonly seen as an Italian surname, but in the times of Milo, Otto, and Arlo, what's to stop parents from choosing this unusual name for their child. For aviation buffs comes the added interest of the term signifying the mass fly-by at the end of an airshow.

Sebastian is a fine boy's name that doesn't really translate for girls.

Enshrined in the Latin and Catholic culture.

One of the most pleasant and evocative of the hot new occupational names. Related name: Gardner, as in Ava.