Aries inspired names

Onetime superstar name (Number 4 in the seventies) that's now in steep decline. Today's feminine is more likely to be some form of Michaela...or Makayla.

Marchesa, pronounced with a K sound rather than a CH, fits right in with all those boys named Messiah and King. In Italy, a marchesa is the wife of a marchese. In France, the equivalent titles are marquis and marquise, and in England, marquess and marchioness. The title is most familiar today thanks to Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig's fashion house, Marchesa.

A possible Born Again name -- Amen -- in the same class as the still-popular Nevaeh (that's Heaven spelled backwards) and Trinity.

A more substantial but less-popular feminization of Tristan, the originally-male mythological name now used for girls as well as boys.

Potentially a cool route to Ellie and similar in sound to Alexa and Elisha, Elixir is a word name associated with healing, magic, and gold. Yet to appear in the US stats, it would make a very cool choice for a fictional character.

Talitha appears in the Bible as words Jesus says to awaken a young girl whose parents feared she was dead. It has been used in the US since colonial times. Talitha is also the name of two stars in Ursa Major, where it's related to the Arabic word for "third." Talitha definitely makes a fresh spin on Tabitha or Talisa.

Not manly enough.

Justina was the pre-Justine feminization of Justin, now a possible alternative to Christina. Oddly, while Justine feels like a name unto itself, Justina feels like a pinned-together feminization in the mold of Richarda or Benjamina. Still, it may appeal as one of the unusual-yet-familiar girl names starting with J.

Though it's French, most Americans would pronounce it as the stone.

Galena is the feminine of the Galen, which means calm. Galena is also a mineral-related name, a type of lead.

Energetic Maori form of Andrew.

A new entry is the fashionable new occupational name category -- and a jolly job it must be -- with the added attraction of relating to the great early 20th century American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler, of "Whistler's Mother" fame.

Ida itself is a rare name, ranking outside of the US Top 1000. But the four-letter variation Idah is even rarer, having been given to fewer than 5 baby girls in the most recent year on record.

A French surname turned Spanish masculine given name, Rosamel likely derives from the combination of rose + Greek mel "honey".

A once-popular nickname for Albert and Bertram now being polished up by hip Brits, but still hibernating in the Land of Nerd over here.

The name of the beautiful Italian city of Florence in its native language. JK Rowling famously used the name for a character in the Harry Potter books – a centaur turned Hogwarts teacher.

Attractive form still très Parisienne.

Juana has not achieved the popularity in the U.S. of the male version Juan. Whereas Juan has made it almost to the Top 50 on the U. S. hit parade, sister Juana has barely entered the thousand most popular. It is nevertheless a popular choice in Mexico.

This Westernized form of the name of an ancient Mongol warrior, remembered primarily today through the works of Christopher Marlowe and Edgar Allan Poe, runs the risk of sounding pompous and pretentious.