December Baby Names

In the days of huge families, this name of the Roman goddess of prophecy and childbirth, and one of the Fates, would be saved for bambina number ten. Now it might be used for a girl born in October, the tenth month.

Sounds like and is often confused with Asia, though it has an air of retro cool via the seminal Steely Dan album. Or, pronounced eye-ah, it can be an alternate spelling of the international favorite Aya.

Capella, the eleventh brightest star in the sky, carries much mythological and astrological significance. In Roman mythology, Capella represented the goat that suckled Jupiter, whose horn became the Cornucopia or horn of plenty. In Hindu mythology, Capella is called the heart of Brahma, while English legend calls it the shepherd's star. Australian Aboriginal myth calls it the kangaroo, while in Persian mythology it's a metaphor for both great distance and the color light red. Astrologically, Capella symbolizes wealth and military honor. As if that wasn't enough, CapPella (two p's) also has a musical reference to a cappella singing.

Perfect for that winter baby, when Snow isn't subtle enough. The feminine version is Edurne.

Turquoise is similar in hue to Aqua, which is one of the cool new color names on the palette. Other blue-hued options: Cerulean, Cyan, Indigo, or Blue itself.

Surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options.

North's image and gender status was irrevocably changed when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their newborn daughter. But why not? West is firmly established as a name, Easton is coming up strong, and North has a nice solid sound as well -- certainly as appropriate for either gender. South, though, not so much.

With the rise of all those other popular feminine W names, like Winnie, Willa and Winona, why not consider the lovely Winika? Win and Winnie are likely nicknames and it is associated with a dainty Pacific orchid that blossoms at Christmas time. If you're looking for international names for Christmas babies, this is one for the short list.

A Blaise/Blaze hybrid that maintains neither the history of Blaise nor the wordiness of Blaze.

While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

Diminutive form of Tholf

Very occasionally given to boys born on that day; Noel is a more common name for Christmas babies.

Magi, as in the Three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus, is a new word name appropriate for Christmas babies. It might also be a way to spell Maggie, but you can see the problems that's going to cause.

A word name that's appealing when applied to a person boogying or doing ballet; a different story in the context of Santa's reindeer.

Although it's more commonly seen as a surname, Haviland is occasionally used as a first name, particularly for girls.

Asella is ultimately derived from the Latin word asinus, meaning "donkey." As a word, asella would have been used to refer to a small female donkey.

Sagitta is not a part of the Sagittarius constellation, but rather its own collection of stars. However, its meaning, "arrow," would make it ideal for a Sagittarius daughter.

Two completely different images come from its national pronunciations -- BOY-err or boy-AY -- the latter giving it an effete French accent.