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Pollyanna
English compound name, Polly + Anna
"beloved + grace"
Has become a byword in English for an overly optimistic person, thanks to the eponymous children's book heroine. Polly is an antiquated short form of Mary.
Prima
Latin
"first"
Will assure your daughter she's numero uno.
Prue
Short form of Prudence, English virtue name
"caution"
After a long time in limbo, Prudence is now so clunky it'a cool, and it's starting to make a comeback, along with other Puritan virtue names like Mercy, Patience, and Constance. Its short form, Prue,…
Rialta
Italian
"deep brook"
Unique choice, with a pleasant antique feel.
Roma
Italian place-name
Never as popular as Florence; today's parents might prefer Venezia, Verona, or Romy. It is also a Hindu name meaning "one with shiny hair" and is another name for the goddess Lakshmi. In Roman…
Rosalba
Latin, from the phrase rosa alba
"white rose"
One of many Spanish elaborations of Rosa.
Rosalind
Latin
"soft horse or pretty rose"
Rosalind has a distinguished literary history – used and popularized by Edmund Spenser and Shakespeare via one of his most charming heroines, in As You Like It . Along with a bouquet of other Rose…
Rosamund
German
"horse protection"
This lovely, quintessentially British appellation, also spelled Rosamond, is the name of a legendary twelfth-century beauty. Rare on these shores, it is more than worthy of importation. There was a…
Rosella
Rosella can be seen as a nature name (a rosella is the name of a variety of beautiful Australian cockatoos and an Australian flower) or a diminutive version of Rose.
Rosellen
Combination of Rose and Ellen
Another of the Rose-plus names, now far out of fashion.
Salana
Latin
"sun"
Related to the more common Solana, Salana has a pleasantly rhythmic pan-cultural feel.
Scheherazade
Persian
"noble lineage"
Scheherazade -- or Sheherazade --is a legendary Persian queen immortalized as the narrator of all one thousand stories in the One Thousand and One Nights . Her story is even more remarkable than the…
Sedona
Place-name
"quince plant; like Sidon"
Sedona is an Arizona city name renowned for its beauty and tranquillity and easily could translate into an agreeable baby name, along the lines of Siena, Sierra, Astoria, and Sidony. The city itself…
Semiramis
Queen of Babylon
Semiramis was the most important Queen of Assyria, who conquered much of Asia. Semiramis restored ancient Babylon and protected it with a high brick wall that completely surrounded the city. Then she…
Sigrid
Norse
"fair victory"
Sigrid is a distinctly Scandinavian name that is starting to edge out into the wider world, a la cousin Ingrid. Unfortunately, short form Siri is now off the table, but Sigrid is still a possibility.
Sunniva
Scandinavian
"sun gift"
Sunniva was an Irish-born saint who fled to Norway, where she hid in an island cave with her followers and eventually died. After miracles were reported on the island, the cave was excavated and…
Swanhild
Saxon
"battle swan"
An ancient name belonging to "the most beautiful of all women" in Germanic mythology, whose tragic story features in many northern European legends. The daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, her jealous…
Sylvana
Latin
"from the forest"
Sleek, woodsy European choice.
Taliesin
Welsh
"shining brow"
Taliesin is a name an architecture-minded parent could love, because of its close association with Frank Lloyd Wright.
Tegwen
Welsh
"fair, white, blessed, beautiful"
Tegwen is a Welsh name that balances between clunky and mystical, sweet and tough. Created back in the 19th century by blending the element teg "beautiful, pretty", with the element wen "fair, white,…