Potential Girls' Names

Rosalie

French variation of Rosalia, Latin

"rose"

Rosalie hit its apex in 1938 and then slid straight downhill until it fell off the U.S. Top 1000 completely in the 1980s, only to spring back to life in 2009 as the name of a character in the…

Carolina

Variation of Caroline; also place-name

"free man"

Romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent. A popular choice in Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and Italy, it recently entered the US Top 500.…

Amarys

Spelling variation of Amaris, Hebrew

"God has said"

Amaris and Amarys are pretty modernized versions of the ancient Hebrew Amariah. Almost 300 baby girls were named Amaris in the US last year, along with nearly 100 boys, but only seven baby girls were…

Cassia

Feminine form of Cassius or Greek

"cinnamon"

Cassia is related to the cassia tree, which has yellow flowers and produces a spice that can be a substitute for cinnamon. Keziah, the name of Job’s daughter in the Old Testament, derives from the…

Moana

Maori, Samoan

"deep ocean, sea"

This Maori name, often heard in New Zealand, is an attractive, evocative choice for lovers of the ocean made famous – perhaps too famous – by the Disney heroine. Moana was also an alternate name for…

Nerida

Greek; Aboriginial

"sea nymph, mermaid; red waterlily"

This is one of the more unusual examples of a group of Greek names connected to the sea, which makes sense for a nation of coastline and islands. The Nereids or water nymphs were the daughters of sea…

Nerissa

Greek

"from the sea"

An offbeat possible replacement for the overused Melissa and Marisa, Nerissa was used by Shakespeare for Portia's witty confidante in The Merchant of Venice . Queen Elizabeth has a cousin named…

Rosaline

Medieval variation of Rosalind

Rosaline, which can be pronounced to rhyme with mine or mean in its final syllable, has a deeper, richer pedigree than it might seem. Rosaline was used twice by Shakespeare and was also used in the…

Rosanna

Combination of Rose and Anna

Rose lovers today would probably prefer Rosemary, Rosamund, or even Rose itself, all more stylish variations of the name. Some may associate this form of the name with actress Rosanna Arquette and…