Dance Baby Names

Frisco is a frisky, roguish semi-place-name (San Francisco natives never call it that) that could make a lively, unusual o-ending choice.

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.

Overly ambitious choice, recently borne by the hapless hero of cult movie hit Napoleon Dynamite.

Coppélia is the name of the life-sized doll created by Doctor Coppélius in the eponymous 1870 ballet, based on short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Coppélius' name may be derived from the Yiddish Koppel, a diminutive of Jacob.

This topographical name, more suited to a girl than a boy--though it would inevitably be confused with SARAH--has some distinguished bearers: famous Spanish missionary to Mexico Father Junipero Serra, and sculptor Richard Serra, known for his challenging large-scale metal works.

Also spelled Sigfrid, this hefty German name has an appropriately majestic meaning: "victorious peace". Fittingly, a famous bearer was the English World War I poet and pacifist Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon was named after the hero of a Wagner opera, which in turn was based on a tragic hero from German legend.

A South American dance style whose name derives from Latin tangere "touch". It's also a popular orange-flavored fizzy drink in the UK, as well as the word for the letter T in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

These days Albrecht is mostly seen as a surname, although it was historically a well-used first name in Germany. The surname was derived from the given name.

Short for Samuel or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.

Sean and Robin Wright Penn chose this name for their son to honor their friend Dennis Hopper; others might associate it with the painter Edward. Couldn't be more spirited.

Fanciful image distinguishes this Native-American name.

Suzie (and Susie) was the one of the It Nicknames of midcentury America, right up there with Debbie and Kathy.

The name of a small yellow bird that hasn't taken off in the way that some of its avian sisters – like Robin, Wren or Lark – have.

A rare and romantic take on Basil.

A wonderful meaning for a bright and musical West African name.

Musical choice that may be a short form of Jasmine or Jazlyn, or might stand on its own like this or as Jaz, the spelling used by tennis duo Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.

Personification of pep.

An offbeat approach to Bella. Also a Yiddish form of Bilhah, one of the four women who gave birth to the tribes of Israel.

Juba, a strong and resonant unisex name, belonged to an ancient African king, is a city and river name, and is traditionally given to Ashanti (of Ghana) girls born on Monday.