Of Fan Fiction and Bigfoot

Eos -- that's pronounced with a short e like eros without the r -- is the Greek Titan of the dawn. Any ancient name with a sleek modern feel has definite revival possibilities. Eos could be an inventive way to honor grandma Dawn.

This unusual (to non-Welsh speakers) is near the top of the charts in Wales, carried by the recent taste for native Welsh names. Those in Wales say it's already on the way down, but for outsiders wanting to honor their Welsh heritage, it still makes an intriguing choice.

This name dates back to Arthurian legend, in which Angharad was the lover of Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table, and was used more recently for the name of the favorite wife of the warlord in Mad Max: Fury Road. It was quite popular in the Middle Ages and is still heard in Wales, but we doubt that even the glamorous Rosie Huntington-Whiteley could propel it to wider popularity.

Popular in Wales, familiar across the UK, and ultimately derived from the Germanic Adalheidis, this isn't a creative respelling of a classic, but the Welsh variant of it.

Santes Ffraid is the traditional Welsh name for St Bridget, the Irish national saint and legendary miracle worker. The connection becomes clearer through the Scottish form of the name, Bride. It's worth noting that it sounds like the English word "fried".