Names That Mean Feminine

Ambrosia combines some of the more whimsical qualities of more popular Aurora and Isabella, with a heavenly meaning.

The straightforward Erica is a Norse feminization that was long associated with the complex, mega-popular character Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci for decades on the soap opera All My Children. Used in Scandinavia since the early eighteenth century, where it was usually spelled Erika, it was in the Top 50 girls' list in the USA in the 1970s and eighties.

Now more popular than Georgiana in Britain, this elegant Dickens. Jane Austen name deserves attention. Most American parents prefer Georgia to Georgina or any other feminization of George.

Philippa is a prime example of a boy's name adapted for girls that was common as crumpets in Cornwall, but rarely heard stateside. That was before the advent of royal sister-in-law Philippa Middleton, who goes by the lively nickname Pippa.

Though twin brother Gerald is still in baby name limbo, Geraldine is in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival—even though Gerry is not as spunky a nickname as Josie.

A Caroline abbreviation that was wildly popular with Mom's generation...or Grandma's. At one time it was a name for baby girls born at Christmas. because of its association with Christmas carols.

A lacy, lucky name very popular in the Hispanic community a decade ago, less so now.

Marcia is an ancient Roman name which derives from Mars, the god of war. It was used by Dante in the Inferno and later by Thomas Hardy and others.

This suffix is used as an independent name, but doesn't your little girl deserve more?

Nicola, an elegant Latinate feminization of Nicholas, has long been standard issue for English girls but for some reason has never voyaged across the Atlantic, which we consider a pity, especially as Nicole's standing has waned.

Justine is a French name that's never reached the popularity we think it deserves. Like its far-more-common brother Justin, Justine is sleek, and sophisticated, but still user-friendly.

Long a popular upper-crust form in England, where it's pronounced George-ee-AH-na, Georgiana has been been neglected here. But with Georgia growing more popular and the general fashion for elaborate feminine names, Georgiana might have room to grow.

There are much chicer versions of this name today, such as Claudie, Claudia, or Claude itself. Claudine is a name wobbling on the edge of extinction.

Caia Caecilia was the Roman Goddess of fire and women. The name Caia would make a truly fresh alternative to the flagging Maya, with which it rhymes.

This long-popular name in France sounds fresh, elegant and unusual here. Severine is the name of the most recent gorgeous James Bond Girl in the film Skyfall. Students of film history will associate the name with the complex character Catherine Deneuve played in the 1967 Bunuel classic, Belle de Jour..

Together with Julian, the name Juliana/Julianna derives from Julius, a Roman family name. Its origin is shrouded in history, but possible roots include Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthfu"; Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father".

This strong yet graceful feminine form of Gabriel is a modern favorite. The double L spelling is given to more than three times as many girls as the Gabriela version.

Nicolette is the ultra-feminine name of an enchanting princess in the medieval French romance, Aucassin et Nicolette, a name that got stacks of publicity in the heyday of Desperate Housewives and its star Nicolette Sheridan. It was also the name of Chloe Sevigny's character in Big Love.

Once seen as a dated French Claudette-Colbert feminization, along with Annette and Paulette, we can see Claudette moving into a more plausible Colette-Cosette arena. While some may be put off by the common "lame" meaning, some etymologists theorize that the name may relate to the word for enclosure or clause, an alternate meaning that may appeal to a child with a form of this otherwise-appealing name.

A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.