Latin Names for Girls

Amica is a word meaning girlfriend that is not often used as a name in Italy, but it would sound pretty and name-like elsewhere.

Veruca is a name Roald Dahl made up for the horrid little girl Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A modern rock band adopted the name, though few parents familiar with the original namesake and meaning would choose to pass it on to an innocent child. Verruca is another spelling, but don't use that one either.

Doting parents have begun to use names like Precious and Treasure, which are sweet for a baby, but might not hold up over the years. Treasure was used for nearly 300 baby girls in one recent year.

Men may be from Mars as the saying goes, and the name may derive from the Latin maris meaning male, but soul singer Erykah Badu and Workaholics star Blake Anderson have given it potential as a unisex name after they both used it for their daughters.

A feminine form in France, this boyish choice could make a fresh alternative to Lauren or Laura -- or be an inventive way to honor Grandpa Larry.

Lucasta was invented by seventeenth century poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems dedicated to a lover named Lucy, and is familiar through the Eugene O'Neill play and film Anna Lucasta. Lucasta is a distinctive, rarely used choice and a logical extension of the Luke/Luc/Luca names.

A vivacious Italian name; also a diminutive of Annunziata.

Astrological sign with enough rhythm to make a plausible astral name.

An ancient Roman name rarely heard in modern times, though the related VARINA appears in Slavic families.

A generic possibility if you don't want to specify Spring or Summer.

An Emily or Emma substitute that may be prettier and more classic as Emmeline or Emeline.

Dulcibella is an old name that's fallen into disuse but may rise again with the new wave of fashionable names that end in -bel, -belle, and -bella. Behind the Name says that the medieval form of the name was the Dowsabel, which we definitely do not see making a comeback. But Dulcibel or Dulcibelle could work.

Petronilla is an ancient saint's name that relates to the Roman family name Petronius, thought to mean yokel or woodpecker, 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.

Related to the more common Solana, Salana has a pleasantly rhythmic pan-cultural feel.

Marcellina is one feminine form of the names derived from the ancient Roman Marcellus. There was a Saint Marcellina who was a 4th century virgin and the only sister of Saint Ambrose.

This name of a showy, lemony plant makes an unusual entry into the name garden.

This name of the goddess of peace creates a lovely ideal.

Lacks the vintage charm of the original Arabella, but with the love for all names Bella, it might appeal to some.

A 3rd century saint's name sometimes used in Catholic communities, and in Western European countries like Portugal and Italy.

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.