Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Names From Theater
Across 11 pages
of 11
Sally
Diminutive of Sarah
"princess"
Sally is a cheerful, fresh-faced girl-next-door name that was originally a nickname for Sarah, but has long been used independently. Sally was popular in the eighteenth century and then again from…
Satine
French
"smooth, shiny"
Satine, the name of the Nicole Kidman character in Moulin Rouge, , is, by definition satiny smooth. Jacinda Barrett named her daughter Satine Anais.
Schuyler
Dutch
"scholar"
This worthy name, imported by the early Dutch colonists, has been all but overpowered by the phonetic spellings -- Skyler for boys and Skylar for girls. With the surnames-as-first-names trend,…
Sephy
Short form of Persephone and Seraphina
"bringer of destruction; ardent, fiery"
Similar to popular Sophie and vintage Effie, and a nickname for rising stars Seraphina and Persephone, Sephy is one you might begin to hear more often. Most notably appearing in Malorie Blackman's…
Septimus
Latin
"the seventh son"
Septimus is one of the more dashing of the birth-order Latin number names that were revived by the Victorians. So even if you don't anticipate son number 7, you might be bold enough to consider this…
Serafina
Italian and Spanish variation of Seraphina
"ardent"
Serafina is a name so lovely it's worthy of an angel. But the more stylish spelling today is Seraphina.
Sheila
Irish variation of Cecilia
"blind"
Sheila peaked in popularity from the 1930s to the 1960s (she reached Number 49 in 1965), along with Maureen and Colleen; parents today would probably go back to the original Cecilia or forward to…
Sidney
English from French
"Saint Denis"
A contraction name, Sidney comes from Saint Denis and is related to Dioynsius, the Greek god of fertility and wine, although another theory is that it derived from an Anglo-Saxon place name, meaning…
Sigismund
Sigismund is a masculine name of Germanic origin, combining elements meaning 'victory' (sigi) and 'protection' or 'hand' (mund), thus signifying 'victorious protection' or 'conquering protector.'…
Sky
Nature name
Sky is an ambigender nature name that was first legitimized as the character of Sky Masterson in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls , played in the film version by Marlon Brando. It's a name we…
Sonya
See SONIA.
Sorel
Sorel is a unisex name that primarily leans feminine in usage. It has multiple possible origins: it may derive from a French surname referring to a reddish-brown horse color, from the French sorrel…
Sweeney
Irish
"the little hero"
The double ' e ' gives this Celtic surname a genial sound. It derives from an old Irish name — Suibhne (SHEEV-ne) that was borne by several early saints and kings, including, unfortunately, one…
Sybil
Greek
"seer, prophetess"
The image of the lovely Lady Sybil, tragic youngest daughter of the Crawley family on Downton Abbey is likely to go a long way towards reviving this almost forgotten name, off the list since 1966 and…
Tamburlaine
Tamburlaine is a masculine name derived from Timur (also known as Tamerlane), the 14th-century Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire. The specific form 'Tamburlaine' gained…
Tevye
Yiddish form of Tobiah
"God is good"
Thomasina
English, feminine variation of Thomas, Aramaic
"twin"
Though rarely used now that many parents would rather appropriate men's names than sweeten them with feminine endings, Thomasina does have some vintage appeal. Thomasina Coverly plays a large part in…
Tituba
Yoruba, Spanish, Latin
"atone; stammer; stagger"
The name of a Barbadian enslaved woman who was one of the first people accused of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials. It features in the 1952 play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The origin of this…
Torvald
Norse
"Thor's ruler"
Torvald, not to be confused with Torvill of skating fame, is a Norse name which might be of interest to parents looking for Thor-related options. Torvald is most familiar in the English-speaking…
Tracy
French
"of Thracia"
In the Top 25 in the unisex seventies, these days Tracy would more likely be Gracie.