Vampire Names

A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing, by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence and Neil Gaiman. In real life, her two most well known representatives are writer Ursula Le Guin and actress Ursula Andress. In literature, there is also Ursula Iguaran, a key, long-lived character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's major work, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Irina is a Russian ballet-inflected classic, one of the Three Sisters in the Chekhov play. While some Americans will pronounce this like Irene with three syllables, the pronunciation used throughout Europe, where it's widely used, starts with a short i as in it or if and a strong emphasis on the second syllable.

The name of the Greek goddess of love has rarely descended to mortal use, though the Roman equivalent Venus, thanks to tennis star Williams, now seems completely possible. But with the new fashion for goddess names, we may see more little Aphrodites in the playground with Jupiter and Juno. Nineteen baby girls received the name in the US last year.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

This Slavic form of the Norse name Helga is a classic in many Slavic countries, including Russia and Poland, where it currently ranks within the Top 100 girl names. It has historically ranked among the most popular names in countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Spain, France, Serbia, Greece, the US, and many more. Olga is a common name even in Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden and Norway, despite Helga being a more traditional choice. Olha is the uniquely Ukrainian variation.

The first famous Paris was a mythological prince of incredible beauty. The most recent was media darling Paris Hilton, inspirer of a generation of baby-girl namesakes. But since Pierce Brosnan and other celebs have continued to use it for their sons, the name retains some masculine identity. For girls, it jumped from #464 to #412 in the past year alone.

Vladimir is a cultured and deep-rooted Slavic name associated in this country with cultural figures including piano virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz and the author of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov.

Most Bills today are dads...or grandpas. The younger Williams are usually nicknamed Will, or called by their full names.

An appealing Asian name with a nickname feel.

If Melody and Lyric are on your style sheet, the peaceful Harmony, popularized by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, should be too. Girls names starting with the "Har" sound like Harper, Harley, and Harlow have been trending in recent years. This musical choice fits right in, and it is no wonder that Harmony has been in the Top 200 since 2014.

Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....

A royal name in Spain, Felipe could make a lively alternative to the English sounding Philip. It has ranked on the US Top 1000 almost every year since the beginning of the twentieth century, but has never risen above the Top 300, making it a familiar without being overused.

Since the first production of Camille this has been considered one of the world's most romantic names, though it's one of those French names for boys rarely heard in this country.

An Irish last-name-first-name that could make a child feel distinctive, while still having the regular guy nickname of Quinn. Christine Taylor and Ben Stiller spelled their son's name Quinlin.

Zero has been documented as a given name before, but it's largely familiar as a stage name (such as Zero Mostel, born Samuel Joel Mostel) and comic book and anime characters.

This mild-mannered short form was Queen of the Prom in the fifties and sixties, but today is mostly heard on TV's The Office (and of course as one of the founders of Nameberry).

A strong and simple nature name from the Choctaw culture.

The feminine form of German and French name Augustin, ultimately derived from Latin Augustus. Names with the -ine ending are considered chic in France at the moment; Augustine re-entered the French top 500 in 2009 and is climbing fast.

Remilia was invented for the character Remilia Scarlet of the video game series The Touhou Project.

Grrrr.