Down the Rabbit Hole Names

Gayel

Gayel is a feminine name with multiple possible origins. It may be a variant spelling of Gail or Gayle, which developed as feminine forms of the Hebrew name Abigail, meaning 'father's joy.'…

Happy

English word name

"happy, joy"

Many virtue names have long been in style or have seen a resurgence in recent years. Happy, however joyous, seems unlikely to join this trend. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of…

Ariadna

Spanish, Catalan, Russian, Polish variation of Ariadne, Greek

"most holy"

Romantic and elegant but tough and sparky at the same time, Ariadna is a variation of the Greek Ariadne, predominantly used among Spanish speakers. In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of…

Hella

Hella is a feminine name with multiple origins. In Germanic languages, it functions as a diminutive of names containing the element 'heil' meaning 'healthy' or 'whole.' It's also associated with Hel,…

Mayuri

Sanskrit

"peahen"

Mayuri is the feminine version of the name Mayur, which means peacock. The name has a mellifluous sound to it, which makes it well placed to make the transition to the West. Dancer and chorerographer…

Flavie

French variation of Flavia

"golden, blond"

That extra a adds a world of grace to this name.

Danisha

Danisha appears to be a feminine name that combines the familiar name root 'Dan' with the suffix '-isha.' The 'Dan' element may derive from Hebrew, meaning 'judge' or 'God is my judge,' as found in…

Tindra

Swedish

"to twinkle or sparkle"

Tindra is a new name in Sweden, used only since the 1980s, that has become enormously popular: It's in the Top 100 there. And while unknown in the US, Tindra certainly has possibilities as a…

Dodo

English diminutive of Dorothy, Greek

"gift of God"

Dodo is one of the few names of the cute repeating-sounds genre that is not alas so cute, being a slang word for someone brainless as well as the name of the infamous extinct bird. Dot, Dottie, Dory,…

Chela

Diminutive of Consuelo, Graciela, or Marcela, Spanish

"she who brings consolation; grace; warlike"

The beautiful Consuelo, with its compassionate meaning, is deserving of being used in full.

Dalilah

Variation of Delilah or Dalili

Names that sound and/or are spelled like Dalilah exist in several languages, from the Swahili Dalili to the Arabic Dalil to the Hebrew Delilah. While all these forms have pretty sounds, you'll…

Kaelyn

Spelling variation of Kaylin

Scotland

Place-name

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin's daughter Ireland opened up the map for names like Scotland, and now that it's been chosen by Kourtney Kardashian for her daughter Penelope's middle name -- in honor of…

Ayelet

Hebrew

"deer, gazelle"

Ayelet is an unusual -- and somewhat challenging -- Israeli name familiar thanks to sometimes controversial Jerusalem-born novelist-essayist Ayelet Waldman. Well used in Israel, the name was taken…

Hephzibah

Hebrew

"my delight is in her"

Hephzibah is an Old Testament name that came into use in the 17th century, but is not often used today. It does have less formal nicknames Eppie and Hepsie, which seem revivable. Hephzibah "Eppie"…

Feline

Feminine form of Felinus, Latin

"cat-like"

This Top 100 girls' name in The Netherlands is unlikely to translate to the U.S., where it would undoubtedly pronounced fee-line and mistaken for the adjective that means cat-like. While the name…

Eachna

Irish

"horse"

Eachna is the name of an Irish goddess renowned for her beauty, brains and stylishness; in early legend, a Connacht princess named Eachna was deemed to be one of the loveliest and cleverest women int…

Annistyn

Modern variant spelling of Anniston

Salvia

Latin

"whole, healthy"

Another name for the herb sage -- which sounds younger and more modern than this version.

Sequoia

Native American, Cherokee

"sparrow"

This name of a giant tree, itself named for a nineteenth-century Cherokee who invented a way to write his tribe's language, makes a strong, stately statement.