Aesthetic Names: Beautiful and Bohemian

Starling

Bird name

Unusual choice that was the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor, but is an interesting elaboration of Star, taking it into avian territory.

Gardenia

Flower name, from English surname

"Garden's flower"

More uncommon and powerful than garden varieties like Rose and Lily. Named for Scottish botanist Dr Alexander Garden.

Titania

Greek

"giant, great one"

This name of the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream has a delicate, lacy charm similar to Tatiana's, but that first syllable could cause embarrassing problems.

Demelza

Cornish

"eel house or Maeldaf's fort"

A punchy modern Cornish name derived from a place name, which is of disputed origin. It is sometimes said to derive from a rare Welsh name, Maeldaf, plus dinas , the Cornish for "fort". Another…

Isabeau

French variation of Isabel

"pledged to God"

With Isabel getting so popular, parents are searching for new varieties of the name, and Isabeau is one that makes a lovely French twist. Isabeau of Bavaria was the wife of King Charles VI of…

Plum

Fruit name

British-born novelist Plum Sykes has taken this rich, fruity name out of the produce section and put it into the baby name basket. It's more appealing than Apple, more presentable than Peaches. The…

Charlett

Charlett is a feminine name that represents a more distinctive spelling variant of Charlotte. Derived from the masculine name Charles, which comes from the Germanic word 'karl' meaning 'free man' or…

Hero

Greek

"demi-god"

Despite the possibility of gender confusion, the Hero in Greek myth was a woman. Myleene Klass got that when she chose Hero for her daughter, and Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson used it as their…

Bathsheba

Hebrew

"daughter of an oath"

Popular with the Puritans, this name of the shrewd and beautiful wife of King David and mother of King Solomon could be a bit of a load for a modern girl to carry. Bathsheba is the name of the…