Girl Names Like Josephine

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

The female version of Emanuel could become more prominent, though for some it still carries a steamy image dating back to a then sensationally erotic French film. Singer and Shameless star Emmy Rossum's full name is Emmanuelle.

Antonella is a feminine form of Anthony growing in popularity throughout Latin America as well as in the US.

A rarely heard--even in France--name, most prominent as the third name of Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi, the daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco and granddaughter of Grace Kelly.

Pauline had its moment of glory almost a century ago, when movie audiences were thrilling to the silent serial The Perils of Pauline; it's a sweet and gentle name that just might be due for reconsideration. Off the list since the late 1990s, Pauline was a Top 50 name from around 1908 to 1930.

A particularly beautiful member of the Orane/Oriana clan, Oriane is the first name of a major character in Proust's In Search Of Lost Time, the Duchesse de Guermantes.

Miguel de Cervantes invented this elaborate-sounding name -- which roughly translates as "sweetness" -- for the beautiful maiden Don Quixote is obsessed with in his great novel. Even in the fictional world of the book, though, Dulcinea is not the woman's real name; Aldonza is. And because she never appears in person in the text, it's unclear whether she is as beautiful and saintly as the protagonist believes her to be. Probably not, given Don Quixote's track record.

One of the rarest of virtue names, Clemency could come back along with the more familiar Puritan virtue names such as Hope and Faith. It has a rhythmic three-syllable sound, and offers a more virtuous alternative to the more popular Clementine.

Has a musty 1940s feel. Try Georgia -- or Georgiana.

An odd name, with a pretty bad meaning, rescued by the reputation of the courtesan (more beautiful than Aphrodite) and the charming character Phryne Fisher from Australian author Kerry Greenwood's detective series Phryne Fisher's Mysteries, set in the 1930s. In the series Phryne is a wealthy Melbourne woman, but goes beyond her class and gender stereotypes - she can fly a plane, drives her own car and sometimes wears trousers. However, while displaying bohemian panache, she manages also to maintain style and class.

Sylvester Stallone used Sistine, the name of the Vatican chapel, the site of Michelangelo's magnificent frescoed ceiling, for one of his daughters -- an imaginative choice.

Angelique was the fastest-rising girl name of 2021, influenced by French-Mexican actress Angelique Boyer, who starred in the telenovela Imperio de mentiras (Empire of Lies).

Sweet and bright international form of Josephine, used in many European countries with various pronunciations of the initial J. A notable bearer is Josefina "Joey" Guerrero, a Filipina spy during World War II.

Veronica seems poised to rise again, along with many other V names, and with it may follow this more romantic French version.

Albertine and Alberta are old-fashioned feminizations ala Geraldine and Roberta. This is the kind of name that sounds very dowdy until a hip celebrity chooses it, at which point we don't know how we missed its coolness all this time.

This Dutch name stems from the Greek root word "philos" meaning "love". It is relatively common in the Netherlands.

Rare French option for girls, but feels familiar thanks to the popularity of Sebastian.

Maybellene is the true one-of-a-kind baby name that Taylor and Natalie Hanson chose for their daughter in 2020. It's a variation of Maybelline, which is itself an elaboration of the name Mabel. The Maybellene spelling makes it one step removed from the cosmetics brand.