This a-ending feminine form of Adrian, from the northern Italian city of Adria, is a soft and lovely Italian choice. It appears as a character in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

A long-integrated French feminine form of Adrian, now overshadowed by the a-ending version, but still a valid option, with considerable substance and dignity—though these days more parents would probably choose Adriana.

Sweet, nicknamey name belonging to the tragic heroines of both La Bohème and Rent. Mimi might feel too slight for many parents to use on the birth certificate, but as a short form, it's one of the cutest of the cute baby names.

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.

Annabella is one of a constellation of names that include Anabella, Annabelle, Annabel, Anabel, Annabelle, and Annabell -- all lovely names that have suffered from their association with the eponymous horror movie. Annabella fell off the US Top 1000 in 2021, and ironically, the only version of the name that hangs on in the Top 1000 is Annabelle, the spelling used in the movie.

Velvet is a name that couldn't possibly be softer or more luxuriant. Many people have fond memories of it via the character of Velvet Brown, played by the young Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, an intrepid young woman willing to masquerade as a boy to race her horse in a dangerous steeplechase.

Long before the vogue of using Irish surnames for girls, writer Flannery O'Connor gave this one some visibility. It has a warm (flannelly) feel and the currently popular three-syllable ee-ending sound.

Lucienne is a soft and ultra-sophisticated French-accented option in the Lucy family, one that could provide a fresh alternative to such fatigued Gallic choices as Danielle and Michelle.

There are many variations of this name, with or without the initial T and the final h, with one p or two. In the Bible she was the wife of Moses.

Vivi is a short form of all the Vivian and Viveca forms that is sure to get a lot more attention now that a little Jolie-Pitt girl has been named Vivienne.

Why is Evangeline so popular -- close to Number 200 in the US -- while Evangelina hasn't charted in the Top 1000 since the early 1950s? The stardom of Evangeline Lilly has something to do with the relative popularity of that form, but Evangelina is just as pretty and romantic but given to only 10% as many baby girls.

A euphonious and lovely name with a dark-eyed, long-flowing-haired image, Raphaela is, like Gabriella and Isabella, beginning to be drawn into the American mainstream.

Old Irish name that's taken off in its Anglicized forms, mainly Ashlyn or Ashlynn. Nonetheless, this more traditional version debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015.

The Spanish version, with its -eena ending, takes the name out of the Oh My Darlin' realm, which for many American parents may be just the thing.