With Violet in vogue, this vibrant international variation has been on the rise since the 2010s. Vintage and floral like its more popular sister, Violetta has a slightly softer sound and a touch of extra flair. Given to 135 girls in a recent year, it also gets you to nicknames Etta, Vita, and Lettie.

This appealing multi-cultural name, pronounced KYE, is beginning to be used for girls as well as boys. Among its many derivations and meanings: "sea" in Hawaiian, "forgiveness" in Japanese, "willow tree" in Navajo, "food" in Maori, and "earth" in Scandinavian. For girls, it debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2010.

The name of a Christian saint and a city in Ohio, Xenia is one of the more accessible and intriguing x names. It is the name of one of the Bond Girls--played by Famke Janssen in the film "GoldenEye."

Ailsa is a traditional Scottish name for girls related to a rocky island in the Firth of Clyde called Ailsa Craig. It might make an interesting alternative to the outdated Ashley or overly popular Ella, and could also be thought of as a relative of Elizabeth or Elsa.

Love makes an endearing middle name, as in Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, more parents are considering Love as a first name — enough for it to enter the charts for the first time in 2022 as one of the fastest-rising names of the year. Other love-related alternatives include Juliet, Valentina, and Amor.

Common name in Wales that's all but unknown in the U.S. Certainly an attractive choice ripe for export. In the UK it sits at Number 330.

In Greek mytholgy, Antigone was the noble and courageous daughter of Oedipus, who acts as his guide after he blinds himself. Antigone is also the eponymous heroine of a play by Jean Anouilh.

With its relation to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and to the Olympic games, this name has an athletic, goddess-like aura, making it the perfect Olivia substitute.

Cerelia is a melodic and unusual choice, perfect for a child born in April or May. Another version is Cerella.

Anja is one of the most international of several versions of Ann/Anna now being imported, also including Anya and Annika.

The Anatolian mother goddess Cybele had a place in Greek, Roman, Trojan, and Anatolian mythology. Today, she has special meaning as a symbol of gender nonconformity.

A multicultural option that's equally intriguing but more unusual than Maia. Connected to water and the ocean, it is a Top 100 choice in Spain and Puerto Rico and has been rising up the charts in France and the UK in recent years. Alternative (and equally multicultural) spelling alternative Nya has also proved popular.

Little known name of the goddess of the harvest — her name literally means nourishment, and is the origin of the word cereal. A possibility for the parent seeking something original, but with the aura of Roman myth. Her Greek counterpart is Demeter.

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, there might be some adventurous parents willing to overlook that.

With other fruity names like Clementine, Olive and Plum ripe for the picking, sweet Cherry remains remarkably underused: just 27 baby girls received the name in 2017, down from 343 at its peak in 1948. The unsavory slang meaning no doubt goes a long way towards explaining its fall from grace.

The French Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne put the spotlight on this name when she made the charts with "Sk8er Boi". It is simply the French form of April, the fourth month of the year, whose name might derive from the Latin aperire meaning "to open" in reference to the start of spring in the Northern hemisphere. Other sources suggest it comes from the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.

Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and Indie/Indy/Indi is one of the hottest nickname names for girls right now.

The gorgeous Angelina Jolie has promoted the star power of her name and changed Angelina's image from delicate to intense, from older Italian mama to stylish multi-cultural child. Kids might relate to the dancing mouse in the series of charming children's books, Angelina Ballerina, or to the Harry Potter character, Angelina Johnson Weasley, a member of Dumbledore's army.

Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....

An intriguing mythological name whose one challenge might be pronunciation questions.