Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Italian and Spanish variation of Basil, Greek
"regal"
A rare and romantic take on Basil.
Word name
Musical choice that may be a short form of Jasmine or Jazlyn, or might stand on its own like this or as Jaz, the spelling used by tennis duo Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.
English or Dutch
"leaper, dancer; hop grower"
Sean and Robin Wright Penn chose this name for their son to honor their friend Dennis Hopper; others might associate it with the painter Edward. Couldn't be more spirited.
Italian, Portuguese and Catalan
"ridge"
This topographical name, more suited to a girl than a boy--though it would inevitably be confused with SARAH--has some distinguished bearers: famous Spanish missionary to Mexico Father Junipero…
German
"victorious peace"
Also spelled Sigfrid, this hefty German name has an appropriately majestic meaning: "victorious peace". Fittingly, a famous bearer was the English World War I poet and pacifist Siegfried Sassoon.…
Russian and Slavic feminine form of Galen, Greek
"calm, healer"
Commonly used in Russia, has an Old World Slavic feel. The original Galen can be used for girls as well as boys.
Greek
"mother's gift"
Medora is a Greek name much less common here than, say, Melanie or Melissa. It has some literary references, including as the beautiful and passionate heroine of Lord Byron's poem The Corsair, and in…
English
"small bird"
The name of a small yellow bird that hasn't taken off in the way that some of its avian sisters – like Robin, Wren or Lark – have. Given to a small number of girls across the 20th-century, the 2020s…
Chinese
"to dance in the air"
Fei would make a great way to honor Chinese roots in the US, thanks to its similarity to the fast-rising Faye.
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Yiddish diminutive of Hanna or Johanna
"grace; God is gracious"
Hanya, made famous by American novelist Hanya Yanagihara and German dancer and choreographer Hanya Holm, is a simple straightforward name rare in the US, where only a handful of baby girls are named…
French
"air spirit, sylph"
The anime-inspired Sylphiette made the charts in a recent year, so how about this intriguing, ballet-inspired alternative? Derived from the French word for sylphs or air spirits, it appears in the…
Latin
"born feetfirst"
A name with a rich history in Ancient Greece and Rome, Agrippina was the sister of Caligula and mother of Nero, who had her murdered. The original male version, Agrippa, can also used for girls. The…
German variation of Albert
"noble; bright"
These days Albrecht is mostly seen as a surname, although it was historically a well-used first name in Germany. The surname was derived from the given name. Notables Albrechts include Renaissance…
"German Dance"
An Allemande is a renaissance musical form meaning 'German dance" - Handel composed many famous allemandes. As a name, Allemande has the advantages of being unusual whilst still having a history, and…
French word name
"ballet position; ornate design"
Fanciful, edging toward bizarre.
Surname
"from Austerlitz, Moravia"
Dancer Fred Astaire lends a heavy dose of glamour to his surname, an Anglicized version of the Austrian-Jewish name Austerlitz. Austerlitz is a habitational surname denoting someone from Austerlitz,…
English word name
"ballet dancer"
Actor Jeremy Sisto put this word name on the map in 2009, when he used it as the middle name for his daughter Charlie.
English from French
"balletic leap, skip"
A cabriole is a classic ballet move that could easily be adopted by dancer as the first or middle name for their child.
Portuguese type of dance
The Chula is a traditional type of dance.
Literary name
Coppélia is the name of the life-sized doll created by Doctor Coppélius in the eponymous 1870 ballet, based on short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Coppélius' name may be derived from the Yiddish…
