Girl Names

Anglo parents are taking note of this Latina classic, thanks to actress Rosario Dawson and a character on Will & Grace.

A paramour of Alexander the Great and the heroine of a Jules Massenet opera based on the life of a fourth century Egyptian saint, this name is nothing if not dramatic. Often spelled with a diaeresis or umlaut -- aka two dots -- over the letter i, Thais is a Top 100 girls' name in France and is also popular in Spain. 

Viridiana is a frillier version of the medieval name Viridis, meaning green. Viridiana briefly made it into the top 1000 in the US in the 1990s.