Latin Names for Girls

A Shakespearean invention for an abandoned baby in The Winter's Tale, Perdita's sense of loss has always been off-putting to parents. But her image was somewhat resuscitated by its association with the appealing canine character in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmations.

An ancient name soiled by toilet paper association.

Despite its modern sound, Blaise has plenty of history as a given name (for boys), from a Christian martyr to Arthurian legends. Today Blaise feels like the cool and edgy Blaze with a French accent.

Though Isabel is a smash hit, Christabel still hasn't been fully embraced. It was originally popularized in England via the Coleridge poem Christabel ("whom her father loves so well") and was given to the poet's granddaughter. Christabel Pankhurst was a famous U.K. suffragist.

Viva la baby with this life-affirming name, one of the appealing group of girl names that mean life.! Singer Rufus Wainwright chose it for his baby daughter, perhaps in celebration of a new life entering the world the year after he lost his mother Kate McGarrigle. The baby's middle name is Katherine.

Corin is a Shakespearean male name that could easily be adapted for a girl, making a strong update for Corinne or Karen.

Altalune is an invention used by Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson as one of several middle names for their daughter. It's evocative Latin meaning roughly translates to "over the moon." Celebrity baby Altalune will be called the more familiar Luna for short.

Mythological water spirit with the more common spelling of Ondine, heroine of an Edith Wharton novel.

Patience is a passive virtue turned engaging name, fresher than Hope, Faith, or even Charity. Its resemblance to the trendy Payton may be one reason that it returned to the US charts back in the 90's and 2000s, having been absent for a century.

We approve of this name for a girl, but prefer the au, Laura-Laurenish, spelling.

The Latin names for girls Florentina may be the most feminissima and flowery of the 'Flor" names. Another option would be Fiorentina, though you can also downshift to Flora or Florence.

Related to the more common Solana, Salana has a pleasantly rhythmic pan-cultural feel.

Hilary (also spelled with two 'l's) is a hot potato of a name, so closely identified with Sen. Clinton that it's hard for most parents to see it as a baby name. A pity, really, as it's got so much going for it: the popular, rhythmic three-syllable structure, the fact that it's strong but light, proper but jaunty, with an irresistible meaning -- having the same root as hilarious.

Seneca was both a Roman philosopher-statesman and is a Native American Iroquois tribe. Occasionally used for both girls and boys, Seneca is now a Hunger Games character.

Alta, one of the newer names bookended by the letter A, has a meaning that might raise a child's self-esteem. It was the middle name of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.

This variation on the Julia theme has stayed in play due to the popularity of Julianne Moore, though it now sits at the bottom of the US Top 1000.

Popular Portuguese and Spanish name that refers to "dulce nombre de Maria" -- the sweet name of the Virgin Mary. English variant Dulcie has a different pronunciation.

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy name for girls here too. You may be surprised to know that Claude was in fairly regular use for American girls in the 1880's and nineties, reaching as high as 553 in 1880.

Avis is a bird name that's been in hibernation for awhile, possibly due to the car rental association, but it could make a return on the wings of Ava. Baldwin brother Daniel chose it for his daughter.

This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.