D - Girls' Names

Popular in Israel for girls and boys born on Shavout, a harvest festival. In Babylonian mythology, Dagan was the god of the earth and grain.

This royal Danish name has long been used across Scandinavia, Germany and Slavic countries and somewhat in the US around the turn of the last century --it was #622 in 1888. There were two notable silent screen stars named Dagmar, one with Polish, the other with Danish roots.

In the New Testament, Damaris was an Athenian woman converted to Christianity by St. Paul. Known for her charitable work, her name was a favorite among the Puritans. Having slid off the bottom of the Top 1000 in 2012, Damaris might be deserving of more attention by parents in search of a New Testament name that is unusual but accessible, especially since girls' names ending in 's' are coming back into fashion.

This Dana-Donna variation has started to carve out its own place on popularity lists; an interesting alternative to Daniella as a namesake for a relative named Daniel.

This sprightly Irish mythology name would make an attention-grabbing choice.

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy.

In the days of huge families, this name of the Roman goddess of prophecy and childbirth, and one of the Fates, would be saved for bambina number ten. Now it might be used for a girl born in October, the tenth month.

Delphine is a sleek, chic French name with two nature associations — the dolphin and the delphinium, a bluebell-like flower, a well as a link to the ancient city of Delphi, which the Greeks believed to be the womb of the earth. All of these derive from the Greek word delphus "womb".

The name of the wife of the Roman emperor Vespasianus and the mother of the emperors Titus and Domitianus. The variation Domitille has been heard in modern day France. Domitila is the Spanish and Portuguese version.

This modern form of the ancient royal name is used today, and is much fresher than similar-sounding Dominique.

Stylish and dramatic, a la Donatella Versace.

Miguel de Cervantes invented this elaborate-sounding name -- which roughly translates as "sweetness" -- for the beautiful maiden Don Quixote is obsessed with in his great novel. Even in the fictional world of the book, though, Dulcinea is not the woman's real name; Aldonza is. And because she never appears in person in the text, it's unclear whether she is as beautiful and saintly as the protagonist believes her to be. Probably not, given Don Quixote's track record.