Twilight Names

Thanks to its dashing British image and c-initialed two-syllable sound, Colin/Collin has enjoyed a long run of popularity.

A short, bright name which originates as a short form of names including Tiana, and Tatiana. Not as popular as Mia – a plus if you're seeking a short and pretty but less common name. In Spanish and Portuguese tía/tia is a word meaning "aunt". In Haida culture in indigenous Canada, Tia is a goddess of peaceful death.

A French accent makes almost everything sound better, especially when attached to a Twilight vampire. Laurent also has a high-style feel via designer Yves St-Laurent. Laurent de Brunhoff is the French author-illustrator who continued his father Jean's series of Babar books. 

Senna is a flowering bush common in the tropics, with bright yellow flowers. In herbal medicine, Senna has gained some notice as the active ingredient in so-called "dieter's teas," which works mainly as a laxative. While that is a less-than-savory association, Senna has a pretty sound and is a fresh entry in the flourishing botanical names genus.

Vladimir is a cultured and deep-rooted Slavic name associated in this country with cultural figures including piano virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz and the author of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov.

An elegant, continental name for the post-Steve era. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1949 and has been on the list every year since except for a year off in 2008.

Irina is a Russian ballet-inflected classic, one of the Three Sisters in the Chekhov play. While some Americans will pronounce this like Irene with three syllables, the pronunciation used throughout Europe, where it's widely used, starts with a short i as in it or if and a strong emphasis on the second syllable.

Makenna can be considered a member of the McKenna, Mackenna, Mckenzie and Mckayla family: surname style names that are popular for girls. It translates to "son of Kenneth", or taking Kenneth's meaning into account, "son born of fire". This particular spelling peeked in 2010 when it reached #201 on the US charts, and while it remains in the Top 500, it has declined in popularity in recent years.

Medieval name without much of a future.

This stuffy English surname and hotel name took on Twilight cool when attached to vampire Carlisle Cullen. Inspired by the character, it's more popular in this spelling than as Carlyle and more widely used for boys than for girls.

Eleazar is a distinguished Biblical name--in which it appears several times-- ripe for the picking following the stardom of Eli, Elijah, and other similar names.

Invented by author Stephenie Meyer for the Twilight series for the half-human, half-vampire daughter of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, it's an amalgamtion of the names of Bella's mother Renee and Edward's adoptive mother Esme. Much to our surprise, some people are trying this at home.

A short, breezy name with a sophisticated yet upbeat image, that doesn't betray its Irish roots. Bree first came to notice here in 1971 via the complex prostitute character in the movie Klute, which earned Jane Fonda an Oscar. More recently, it was tied to the character of Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives.

Long integrated into the U. S. name pool but still retaining some Slavic flavor, Tanya feels a bit tired; it's ready for replacement by cooler Russian choices like Sasha, Mischa, or parent name Tatiana.

Unlike Jake or Sam, few parents put Mike on the birth certificate.

Much-used midcentury diminutive, now fallen far from favor even as a middle name.

Embry became viable as a first name when it was used for the (male) werewolf character Embry Call in the Twilight series. But its Em- beginning and -y ending give it a feminine sound, so we call it perfectly appropriate for a girl. Embry or Embury is an established English surname.