User-created list
By redwoodfey · Updated May 2023
Across 9 pages
of 9
Lore is a feminine name with multiple cultural origins. In German tradition, it's a shortened form of Eleanor or Lorelei, while in Spanish it can be a diminutive of Dolores. The name literally means…
Biblical place-name
Anatolian city visited by Paul in the Bible, though risks sounding a tad antiseptic.
Greek
"middle"
Mythological princess who killed her kids. Eternal no-no.
French form of Millicent, German
"strong in work"
This old-time fairy tale name is rarely heard in the modern English-speaking world, but it's so, well, mellifluous, that it would make a lovely choice for a twenty-first century girl--a romanticized…
French, folkloric name
Melusine was a figure from early European folklore, associated with the water. Her legends are especially connected with the northern and western areas of France, as well as the Low Countries. She is…
"daffodil"
This Greek flower and mythological choice doesn't make it into the pantheon of possibilities because of its association with narcissism. But narcissa is December's flower of the month, so Narcissa…
Welsh
"white footprint"
Olwen is a Welsh favorite, the name of a legendary princess in what is believed to have been the earliest Arthurian romance, and in fact one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose. In this…
Latin
"little wave"
Mythological spirit of the waters; spelled Undine, she was an Edith Wharton heroine.
"breath"
This name of the mortal girl loved by Eros is too loaded with psyche/psycho/psychic associations. The mythological Psyche became goddess of the soul.
French, musical term
Could be seen as extravagantly ecstatic for a baby name, though feel free to rhapsodize about your little girl, whatever her name.
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…
This ancient name, belonging to a Byzantine empress, may be difficult for a modern child to carry, though it can be an original way to get to cute nickname Thea or even Theo or Teddie. The English…
Greek mythological name, meaning unknown
Thisbe, the name of a beautiful but tragic lover in mythology, is lively and cute -- in a slightly thistly, prickly way. Ovid retold the story of Thisbe and Pyramus, young lovers in ancient Babylon…
Place name, surname, and literary name
Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work. A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a…
