This is an alternative to Laura or Lauren made romantic by Dr Zhivago, and badass by video-game heroine Lara Croft.

Daintily pretty without being frilly, Larissa is familiar but more quietly used than its sound-alikes Melissa and Alyssa. Though this is the more common variation in the Western World, the original is actually Larisa.

This version of the name of a Greek nymph, based on the ancient city of Larisa, is widely used in Russia thanks to a martyr saint venerated by the Eastern Church.

Almudena was derived from the Arabic word al-mudayyina, meaning "the citadel." The Virgin of Almudena is a medieval statue of Mary in Madrid. Almudena is the patron saint of the city.