Latin Names

Sounds like a child in a Gothic novel.

The perv connection crosses this name off the list.

Brimming over with a sense of good fortune. Could make a little girl feel very lucky.

Accalia was the human foster-mother of twins Romulus and Remus. Her name is even more obscure than theirs.

Marciana is a cooler (much cooler) elaboration of Marcia.

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.

Related to the Roman name Titius and the more modern Titus, the "tit" syllable would be problematic for any modern girl. Try the similar Russian name Tatiana.

An adolescent boy might have problems with the first syllable.

Taura is a possibility for a girl born between mid-April and mid-May, but, if a name is destiny, its meaning does suggest stubbornness. Consider Laura, Flora, or Honora instead.

Seems to cry out for another syllable.

Once a birth order name, now might work as a cool x-ending nickname. But be warned that it sounds very close to an unfortunate slang term.

A poetic name first used in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" in 1596, it had a literary vogue in the 18th century, especially favored by Robert Burns. "inda" names--Melinda, Belinda, Linda" are not particularly in right now.

A place name relating to the tropical palm tree.

Petronilla is an ancient saint's name that relates to the Roman family name Petronius, thought to mean yokel, though some connect it with Petra or Peter, meaning stone. With the resurgence of so many ancient Roman names, the elaborate and pretty Petronilla or its French form Petronille seem more usable these days than they have in centuries.

Unfortunately, everyone will hear Crispina, the feminine form of Crispin, as Christina.

Grandmas will remember the old TV detective show; playmates won't. This is a name that has many variations in different cultures, from Columbus to Columba to Colum to Colm.

Rarely heard in modern times, it was used by Norman Mailer for the hero of his book The Deer Park.

A feminine form of Rufus, which has potential in the current trend for ancient Roman names.

Columba is an early saint's name that rhumbas to a modern beat. While the original St. Columba is male, the name sounds more appropriate for a girl in the modern world. Leave variations Colm and Callum for the boys.

Variant of Hortensia, an unusual floral name and the name of a secondary character in Roald Dahl's Matilda.