Cool Baby Names That Start with L

Lior is a unisex name frequently heard in Israel, capturing the popular light theme through its meaning. For English speakers, the one down side is possible pronunciation confusion with "liar," though it's really lee-OR, with a long e sound and emphasis on the second syllable.

Lilou is a charming, rarely heard import. Occitan is a language spoken in Provence, in the south of France, in which the suffix "ou" denotes a pet form — thus, Lilou as a short form of Liliane or its Occitan form Liliana or Liliano. Its popularity in France--where it's currently Number 12--can be traced to the 1997 film The Fifth Element.

Leandro is a variation of the Ancient Greek name Leander, created by combining the Latin words leo and Andro together, to get a meaning that suggests strength, power, and bravery. The Hero and Leander myth lends the name a romantic, poetical feel, while it's association to Bishop Leander of Seville gives it a more saintly quality.

While Larkin takes this name from girlish bird to boyish surname, there are actually more female Larkins these days than male, and it's a name that works as well for either gender.

Somewhat dated Hebrew name that appears more modern when spelled Liora.

A pretty and plausible Latin name that's gotten a bad rap through the years via a link to Lucrezia Borgia, who, though long considered a demon poisoner, was actually a patron of learning and the arts.

Usually adding an e to the end of a name makes it more feminine, but Locke is at most recent count used only for baby boys. Still, this stylishly strong one-syllable name is theoretically gender-neutral.

Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend") and to denote a person who is fantastic "what a legend"). Who can live up to that?

Saint Eulalia was born in Spain and is the patron saint of Barcelona, so her name and its derivatives are popular throughout the land — especially in her native Catalonia.

This streamlined variation of Eleanor is common in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, particularly Portugal itself, where it has ranked among the Top 3 baby girl names for over a decade.

Lemuel is a neglected Old Testament name, with the friendly nickname Lem, that we're surprised hasn't been picked up on by parents who have known too many Samuels.

A musical name with Greek roots, appealing to parents who like such other names as Harmony, Melody, and Cadence.

Euro-cool. Heard more in Scotland than in England or the US, Ludovic Lesly is a character in the Sir Walter Scott novel Quentin Durward and Sir Ludovic Kennedy was a noted Scottish broadcaster and writer. Cute nickname: Ludo.

One of the fierce new animal names new to name lists, helped by its strong x-ending.

Letitia is a delicate, once prim and proper sounding name whose staid image has been unbuttoned by numerous phonetic spellings. The original, often used in Spanish-speaking families, would still make an attractive, delicate choice. After a solid century on the Top 1000 list, Letitia fell off in the early 1980s and has not yet returned.

Lotus is one of the most languorous of the flower names, with intriguing significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism, symbolizing purity, grace and spiritual growth — not to mention a familiar yoga position.

A common girl name in Israel that could travel well to the US.

Either an Armenian name meaning "moon" (also spelled Lusine) or an elaboration of sweet classic Lucy.

Levon, an unusual alternative to Levi. has two musical associations: it's the title of an Elton John song, inspired by late, great drummer for The Band, Levon Helm--whose birth name was Mark. Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke chose Levon for their son.

Lettice is still occasionally heard in upper-class British families, but we fear it would cause too much salad-green teasing to be considered in the U.S. Calling your little Lettice Lettie could help make the name more user-friendly, or go all the way to the original Letitia.