User-created list
By sablemae98 · Updated May 2023
Across 4 pages
of 4
Latin
"woman of honor"
Honora and Honoria are two ways of softening the severity of Honor, while retaining its righteous meaning. They were predominant until the Reformation, when the Puritans adopted the abstract virtue…
Greek
"golden, yellow"
X marks the spot in names these days, usually at the middles or ends of names, but here is one that puts it squarely up front. This extravagant name, which, like many Greek names beginning with X, is…
Greek, variation of Artemis
You might think Artemisia is the feminine form of the name, but in fact the original Artemis is feminine too, the name of the Greek mythological goddess of the moon. Artemisia Gentileschi was an…
Hebrew
"the moon, white"
Pretty and unusual, Livana may find a lot more fans as parents look for alternatives to Number 1 Olivia. Livana was used for only seven baby girls in the US last year.
"gold"
Cressida is a golden, mythological, and Shakespearean name, much better known in Britain than it is in the US. Given to just 11 American girls in a recent year — though still the highest number on…
"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…
"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…
"giant, great one"
This name of the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream has a delicate, lacy charm similar to Tatiana's, but that first syllable could cause embarrassing problems.
"sensible, prudent"
Stately and elegant, but with the familiar sounds of Sophia and Sophie, Sophronia was a familiar choice back in the 19th century but has since fallen into obscurity. Derived from the Greek sophron ,…
"over the moon"
Altalune is an invention used by Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson as one of several middle names for their daughter. It's evocative Latin meaning roughly translates to "over the moon." Celebrity baby…
"willow"
Unknown but eminently usable choice, especially for Jewish parents, with lovely meaning.
Feminine variation of Arkady
"from Arcadia"
Arkadina was thrust into the limelight as one of the (many) middle names of Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson's little girl. The Slavic or Russian feminine form of Arkady, which is derived from the…
"ill-starred"
Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time,…
"graceful"
Feminine but strong name heard in Israel.
"violet flower"
Iolanthe is known primarily through the 1882 Gilbert & Sullivan operetta of that name, in which the title character is a fairy. Iolanthe is a softer version of Yolanda, and is the kind of…
"she who disbands armies"
Literary and ancient, Lysistrata is the Latinized form of the Greek Lysistrate and the variation used by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophenes in his comedy of the same name. Set around the…
Polish, diminutive of Aleksandra
Sounds a bit pharmaceutical.
Greek mythological name, meaning unknown
Thisbe, the name of a beautiful but tragic lover in mythology, is lively and cute -- in a slightly thistly, prickly way. Ovid retold the story of Thisbe and Pyramus, young lovers in ancient Babylon…
"yellow horse"
Famous as the long-suffering wife of the philosopher Socrates.
Latin "chalice; cup"
"chalice; cup"
Calpurnia is a name with a massive history. As the third and final wife of Julius Caesar, Calpurnia has been forever depicted in literature (Shakespeare) and film ( Cleopatra ; Rome ) as a modest and…
