International Baby Names · Nature, Place and Word Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Hebrew
"maiden"
A modernization of the Hebrew Rivka, which doesn't sound so modern anymore.
Latin
"prayer"
Short and slight, with great potential now that names like Ava, Ida and Orla are popular. Ora Beach is a tourist destination on Seram Island, Indonesia.
Italian
"joyous"
In music, the term allegro means "quickly, lively tempo," which makes this quintessential Bohemian ballet dancer's name all the more appealing. Allegra is one of the most distinctive yet accessible…
"life"
Vital and vivacious, Vita is stirring back to life along with many of her V-themed sisters -- Vivian, Vivica -- and is becoming a new celebrity baby favorite. Vita Sackville-West was a British author…
"sky"
Expansive, sunny Italian word name.
"stern"
The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. Nero was born Lucius Domitius…
Diminutive of Laurence
A heck of a lot cooler than Larry.
Polish, Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Latvian, Albanian
"God is Gracious; lily; voice, fairy"
An international possibility, heard from England and Israel to Poland, Latvia, and Albania. It is a name with a vast range of possible meanings and origins, including: a Polish variation of Jane,…
Hungarian diminutive of Lívia and Lídia, Hindi variant of Lila, Italian, Swedish, and Danish word name
"to envy; from Lydia; lilac; little; purple"
This sweet and underused name is a multicultural choice with a surprising number of meanings. It is used as a diminutive of Lívia and Lídia in Hungary (meaning "envy" and "from Lydia" respectively),…
Female version of Morgan, Welsh
"sea-circle"
Since Morgan is used as--or more--frequently for girls as for boys, this feminization has fallen by the wayside. It drew some brief attention via the pop singer Morgana King. The similar Morgiana…
Nickname name
Could be a short form of Sylvia, Olivia, or any other similar name. Or a vivid Italian word name.
Arabic, Hebrew
"splendour, light, glow; shaking, trembling"
A succinct variation of Ziya, Zia is an Arabic boy name, with a glowing meaning, also used as the Urdu and Bengali transcription. Notable bearers of the name include Bangaledeshi politician Ziaur…
"of the sea"
One of many girl names containing that pretty "Mar" sound which are related to the sea. This one, though attractive, might tend to be confused with the more common Marina spelling.
"first"
Primo is number one among the Latin birth-order names--Octavius et al--and the one most likely to be used in these days of smaller families. It has that jaunty 'o' ending and Italian flavor that many…
Scandinavian, diminutive of Katrina
Nickname name that retains an Old Country feel.
Greek nickname
"pillar"
A sweet elongation of Stella, with its reference to stars.
"of Delphi"
Heard more often as a surname in Italy, its meaning has also been linked to the dolphin--which would make a cool nursery motif.
Arabic
"castle, fortess"
Extremely simple and extremely distinctive -- a winning combination. Sound-alike Calla is a Greek (and botanical) name that means beautiful.
Italian word name
"uncle"
Zio is a pet form for names ending with 'zio', such as Maurizio, Marzio and Tiburzio. As a full name in Italian, though it wouldl be like naming your son Uncle Uncle.
Italian place-name
"pond, lake"
Laguna Beach is a famous California spot -- though there's "goonie" teasing potential.
