User-created list
By eviecheesey · Updated January 2024
Across 10 pages
of 10
Latin gem name
"pearl"
Pearl, like Ruby, has begun to be polished up for a new generation of fashionable children after a century of jewelry box storage. The birthstone for the month of June, Pearl could also make a…
French, from German
"wealthy"
Odette is the good swan in Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake , a role for which Natalie Portman won an Oscar ---and it would make a particularly sophisticated yet upbeat choice. In fact, it charted in…
English, Sanskrit, German
"knowledge, rule"
Vada is a feisty retro choice that feels like a fresh spin on the likes of Ava and Ada. Its bold V initial is bang on trend, although Vada remains very uncommon in the US. It is perhaps best known as…
Italian, Spanish, Germanic
"renowned warrior"
Sleek, classic and streamlined, this is the Italian and Spanish form of Louisa, ultimately from the Louis, the French variant of Germanic Ludwig. Slightly airier in sound than the English form, Luisa…
German, Dutch, Danish, English, variation of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
This spelling of the classic name is found in France, Germany, Greece, and other cultures, and is worn by such notables as Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth Shue, Elisabeth Moss, and Elisabeth…
Latin variation of Josiah, Hebrew
"God supports, heals"
An attractive, surprisingly uncommon variation of Josiah. To give you an idea of how comparatively rare Josias is, there were about 200 baby boys named Josias in the US last year, versus nearly 6000…
Norman
"man power"
This image of this distinguished Anglo-Scottish surname, drawn from the French place name of the ancient castle of Saint Foi de Montgomery, is rapidly shifting from fusty and formal to cool. And…
Latin; Celtic
"heart; daughter of the sea"
Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both…
Arabic
"premature child"
The Prophet Muhammad's first wife and the first convert to Islam, and a very popular name in the Muslim community. It ranks in the Top 200 girls' names in France, Italy and England & Wales (alongside…
Latin
"young warrior"
This ancient Roman family name, first borne by the distinguished Marcus Claudius Marcellus and later by two popes, is a possibilty in the hot new category of names from antiquity.
English color and flower name
"purple flower"
Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names…
French or Breton
"chief or prince"
The name of a fifth century Breton saint, Mael is a popular boys' name in contemporary France, though it is usually spelled with a diaeresis or umlaut - Maël. Mael is the Breton spelling, and the…
Russian form of Odesa, Ukrainian place-name
"voyage"
Odessa, (transcribed as Odesa in Ukrainian) is a Ukrainian port city and was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey . It would make an original and intriguing…
Welsh, variation of Ambrose
"immortal"
Magical and powerful, but gentle and approachable too, Emrys is a Welsh name which may be worth considering if you're looking for something less common that Dylan, Evan, or Morgan. An offbeat epithet…
Greek
"with healing power"
Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at…
Spanish, feminine variation of Noel
This name of an admired Puerto Rican pop singer has been picked up by hundreds of Hispanic parents.
Macedonian, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, and Greek form of Katherine, Greek
"pure"
Katerina and its near-identical twin Katarina have a pleasingly lilting European sound, though for some Americans they may be uncomfortably close to Katrina, which will be linked for a long time to…
"lion-man"
Leander was once an almost unknown name, however, with the popularity of Leo and the rise of Leandro, it now feels like a perfectly accessible alternative to Leon or Alexander. In Greek legend,…
"soft horse or pretty rose"
Rosalind has a distinguished literary history – used and popularized by Edmund Spenser and Shakespeare via one of his most charming heroines, in As You Like It . Along with a bouquet of other Rose…
French
"one who pierces the valley"
There are several Percivals scattered through the Harry Potter series, which might help transform the old-fangled, fussy image it has accrued. Actually, the original Percival was the one perfectly…
