Capricorn Names

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

This attractive Old Testament option is the name of a place in northern Israel.

An early American name inspired by the word spiritual word "elect" and by a passage in the New Testament in which the Christian Church is referred to as "The Elect Lady and Her Children". Used in the 19th and early 20th century, it has since faded out of view, last appearing in the stats in 2016 when it was given to 7 girls.

Intriguing name with great symbolic meaning in Eastern religions.

Olympic skier Picabo Street was allowed to choose her name at the age of three, and picked it possibly (a) after a nearby Idaho town or (b) because she loved to play peekaboo. No longer a single-person name, it is now worn by a number of satisfied bearers.

A masculine name from the Old Testament, but would likely be confused for Amy.

Pan is the Greek god with the legs of a goat and the body of a pipes-playing man known for his mischievousness. Pan is also the god of shepherds, pastures, and fertility. Pan is also a Hindi name meaning leaf or feather.

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy. December gets its name from the number ten as the old Roman calendar only had ten months, and as now, December was the last.

Used by the Puritans but off the US charts completely since the mid-1990s, Eartha is best known today as the name of American singer Eartha Kitt, as well as of the philanthropist and humanitarian Eartha M. M. White.

Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber.

Bright and energetic, Neon seems like it would be a modern coinage, borrowed from neon lights.

Rustic and cosy, Russet is a color name, associated with the reddish-brown hues of earth and autumn, with homespun cloth, apples, and perhaps less appealingly, potatoes. While it has never featured in the US charts, it has plenty of potential.

Morena is the goddess of seasonal rites and rebirth worshipped in Central Europe.

Sounds like and is often confused with Asia, though it has an air of retro cool via the seminal Steely Dan album. Or, pronounced eye-ah, it can be an alternate spelling of the international favorite Aya.

An appealing, usable Japanese choice, since there are so many familiar ori/ory-ending Western names.

Cheever has a nice, cheery sound, literary ties to novelist and short writer John Cheever and also, sideways, to the Edward Arlington Robinson narrative poem "Miniver Cheevy," as well as a subliminal association with the desirable word achiever: all strong pluses.

Niloufar is a gorgeous Persian name used in Iran, Turkey (as Nilüfer), and Azerbaijan. It has many alternate spellings including Nilofar, which is used by Urdu speakers.

An international take on Dara.

An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan, Yale Pollack is the name of Woody Allen's best friend. The Hebrew Yael is not related.

Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.