User-created list
By Lyraslife · Updated May 2023
Across 8 pages
of 8
Persian
"noble lineage"
The tale-spinning heroine of The Thousand and One Nights , Sheherazade is an extravagantly elaborate name for a little girl. Too extravagantly elaborate? It's lovely and beguiling, and with the rise…
Variation of Sukey, pet form of Susanna
"lily"
This spelling seems to be taking off as a result of media appearances as characters in first "Gilmore Girls" and then as Sookie Stackhouse, the Anna Paquin character in "True Blood," based on "The…
Variation of the word wild or German
"to strive"
Wilda (or Wylda) has two widely divergent images. Pronounced vill-da, it feels like a cousin of Hilda: a sturdy and none-too-attractive prairie settler. But you can also think of her as wild-ah, as…
Welsh
"fertile upland"
An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan , Yale Pollack is…
"shining, holy"
Nolwenn is popular in Wales but would be a very adventurous choice in the US. Though with the increased visibility of names like Arwen, thanks to Lord of the Rings , it may not feel as odd going…
Greek
"she who disbands armies"
Literary and ancient, Lysistrata is the Latinized form of the Greek Lysistrate and the variation used by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophenes in his comedy of the same name. Set around the…
Italian
"spring"
A bit syllable-heavy, but a pretty name for a springtime baby.
Irish
"sweet; goodly"
Sadbh is the modern Irish form of the more streamlined but equally confusing Sadb or Sadhbh: these names are pronounced to rhyme with five. In Irish mythology Sadb or Sadbh or Sadhbh, a goddess lover…
Slavic, Russian
"star"
Zvezda, which means star in several Slavic languages, is a traditional established name in Eastern Europe and Russia. While names with celestial meanings have an intrinsic appeal, that initial Zv may…
