Latin Names that Start With F

The association with the Cuban leader Castro is still strong, but he's by no means the only Fidel. This name was in the Top 1000 for over 80 years, from 1919 to 2005. From the late Latin name Fidelis, meaning "faithful", at its heart it has an uplifting meaning.

This Top 100 girls' name in The Netherlands is unlikely to translate to the U.S., where it would undoubtedly pronounced fee-line and mistaken for the adjective that means cat-like. While the name Feline -- and Felina and Felinus -- do have the same root, the considerably more charming pronunciation in modern-day Europe is fee-LEEN-ah. Some websites mistakenly relate it to Felix and give its meaning as happy or fortunate.

If January, April and August are useable and fashionable, why not February? February as a word derives from the Latin februa, which was the name of a purification feast coming at the end of winter, to prepare for the coming spring.

A contemporary sounding word name with an ancient history, widely used in the Roman Empire, and based on the mythic goddess of good luck and fertility.

Florence is back, and the adorable short form Florie (or Flory) is too. Or you could just name her Flora and be done with it.

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

One of the most attractive and unusual spins on the "Fran" franchise.

Fantine is a rarely heard French name except as a character in the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables.

Fabia is one of several pleasant international-accented female versions of Fabian.

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

Now that Courtney is becoming more unisex for babies, surname Fortney also seems like a viable name for a boy. It fits the trend for names with an -ey ending like Huxley and Finley, with an added dash of fortitude.

One of the many rhythmically appealing Italian names newly up for consideration, with more substance than the modelly FABIO. Variations: FABIO, FABIAN, FABRIZIO

Though the Fabian or Fabio versions are more often heard today, Fabius is the Roman family name they originated from. The general Quintus Fabius Maximum was famous for his strategic delaying tactics, so this might be a good choice for a child who is born late!

Faunia is more often rendered as Fauna, who was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing. Faunia was the downtrodden yet loving heroine of Philip Roth's Human Stain. Faunia and Fauna have more gravitas than the doe-like Fawn.

This Late Roman name is little-used in modern times, though the feminine forms Feline and Felina are popular in Europe. While some relate it to the happy-go-lucky Felix, it actually has a cat-like meaning. St. Felinus is a legendary third-century martyr.

This name of the wife of Mark Antony (no, not Marc Anthony) in ancient Rome sounds a tad too anatomical for a modern girl.

All but unheard of today, Floy was a popular Florence nickname used on its own in a century ago: it was Number 448 in 1914.

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.