Valentine's Day Names

The original Pip was the main character in Great Expectations (full name Philip Pirrip). Cute for a tike, maybe too cute for an adult.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's middle name could make an interesting pick for music-loving parents--if only in middle place. Amadeus is the title of a Peter Shaffer play which became an award-winning film in 1984.

Cowboyish short form that's both macho and cool. Got prime time exposure on The West Wing.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

Eulalie hasn't ranked in the US Top 1000 since 1899, but its French roots might make it more appealing to modern ears than its sister Eulalia.

Davis is a fresh way to say David. Some sources define it as "son of David," but we see it as a surname spin on the original. While David is an everyman name, Davis has some creative edge -- and still gets you to the classic guy nickname Dave.

A sweet-meaning and sounding name dating back to the Roman Empire, and later found in the antebellum South, Dulcie has in the modern era been heard most often in Australia.

Like its better known cousin Jedidiah, Jebediah is one of those four-syllable Old Testament names that is being shorn of its long white-bearded image, with the help of its modern-sounding Jeb nickname.

Pippi may be cute but isn't very practical. In addition to being forever Pippi Longstocking, there is that variant pee-pee spelling to consider. Try Pippa instead.

A paramour of Alexander the Great and the heroine of a Jules Massenet opera based on the life of a fourth century Egyptian saint, this name is nothing if not dramatic. Often spelled with a diaeresis or umlaut -- aka two dots -- over the letter i, Thais is a Top 100 girls' name in France and is also popular in Spain. 

A literary name created by J. R. R. Tolkien for a Lord of the Rings noblewoman of Rohan. Properly spelled with an accent over the first E – Éowyn – it would make an interesting choice for literature lovers or fans of names like Elowen and Evelyn.

Strongly linked in the US to the complex "Star Wars" character, Obi Wan Kenobi, but also popular in Nigeria as a short form of names containing the element Obi "heart".

A zippy little international name. The Hebrew name relates to the month of Israeli independence, while the Slavic Ziva (also spelled Živa and Siva) is a goddess of love, life and fertility.

Liev Schreiber's birth name is Isaac Liev, Liev after his mother's favorite Russia author, Leo Tolstoy. Though Liev is increasing in popularity in the secular world thanks to the actor, it originated as a Yiddish diminutive.

Mabli is the sweet Welsh form of Mabel; like its English cousin, it’s starting to make a modest comeback in Wales as part of the trend for vintage baby names from a century ago.

A form of ancient name newly popular in Eastern Europe, Rasmus is rugged and distinctive - and on trend in Estonia and Finland. Virtually unknown in the U.S. but with its philosophical roots and uplifting meaning, Rasmus seems prime for use. The Rasmus is a Finnish rock band.

Amabel is an older name than Annabel and a lot more distinctive. Amabel was a very common name in the twelfth and thirteen centuries, then was revived during the nineteenth century British fad for medieval names.

The name of the Roman god of love, the son of Venus, considered so romantic as to be unfit for mere mortals. Yet now that Romeo and Venus herself are fair game for modern babies, why not Cupid?

Conor's more popular brother name Connor has been in the Top 100 for long enough that both are ready to make way for a new generation of Irish boys' names.

The name of the Greek goddess of love has rarely descended to mortal use, though the Roman equivalent Venus, thanks to tennis star Williams, now seems completely possible. But with the new fashion for goddess names, we may see more little Aphrodites in the playground with Jupiter and Juno. Nineteen baby girls received the name in the US last year.