Girls Considerations

Ivy

Botanical name

The quirky, offbeat and energetic botanical name Ivy is enjoying a deserved revival, propelled even higher by its choice by high-profile parents Beyonce and Jay-Z for daughter Blue Ivy. Ivy is also…

Emilia

Feminine variation of Emil, Latin

"rival"

Emilia is the feminine form of the Roman clan name Aemilius, which derived from the Latin aemulus , meaning "rival." In Shakespeare’s Othello , Emilia is the wife of Iago and confidante of Desdemona.…

Vera

Russian

"faith"

Vera was the height of fashion in 1910, then was for a long time difficult to picture embroidered on a baby blanket. Now, though, it has come back into style along with other old-fashioned simple…

Meadow

Nature name

Meadow's upward popularity trajectory certainly suggests that the name has transcended its connection to The Sopranos .. In the US, more than 750 baby girls were named Meadow last year, a number we…

Thea

Greek

"goddess, godly"

Succinct and stylish, sweet but vivacious, multicultural and versatile, Thea has a lot going for it. A Top 100 choice in Sweden, France, Norway, New Zealand, and the UK, it is also familiar in…

Helena

Latinate form of Helen, Greek

"torch; shining light"

Helena is one of those classic names that just misses making the US Top 1000 girl names for its entire history, falling off for a single year in 1992. Since then it's been drifting lazily up the…

Adriana

Latin, feminine variation of Adrian

"man of Adria"

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 . The name had…

Marigold

Flower name, from English

"golden flower"

Marigold, once found almost exclusively in English novels and aristocratic nurseries, is beginning to be talked about and considered here. It has a sweet, sunny, quirky feel. The marigold was the…

Elara

Greek mythology name

"hazelnut, spear"

A bright, airy choice, Elara appears in Greek mythology and is borne by a lover of Zeus who gave birth to a giant son called Tityos. One of Jupiter's moons is named after her, adding a celestial feel…

Adrienne

Latin, feminine variation of Adrian

"man from Adria"

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…

Io

Greek mythology name

Io may be one of the slightest names in the book, but there aren't many two-letter names with as much substance as this Greek mythological example. Io, a name used for the largest moon of Jupiter,…

Lark

English bird name

Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.…

Lenore

German variation of Leonora, Italian derivative of Eleonora, meaning unknown

A "modernization" of Leonora that has suddenly come back on the radar along with the many other Leo names--both male and female. With literary cred via a famous eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (and…