525+ European Names for Girls and Boys

Sóley is the Icelandic word for the buttercup flower, derived from the words meaning "sun" and "island." It is also used on the Faroe Islands as a short form of Sólja.

Zadig is the name of the hero of a novella by Voltaire, gaining popularity in modern France as a quirky-chic choice.

Nope, not a misspelling of Sexton or a number name. This Old Norse name is actually a name denoting victory and in the Swedish Top 100..

Variation of Thaddeus.

Eliška is warm and friendly, in the Misha, Sasha mode.

Festive name of the wife of Salvador Dali. In Spanish, Gala comes from the Roman name Galla, a feminine form of Gallus meaning "rooster" or "a person from Gaul".

Pascoe was popular in medieval times and is definitely deserving of revival, especially for a child born in the Easter season. Other spellings are Pasco and Pascow.

Some sources say Artis is a form of Arthur, and it certainly has the same root and meaning of bear. But Artis is a name in its own right with a 60-year history on the US Top 1000, from about 1900 until the early 1960s.

Ylva may look like it belongs with the Eva family of names, but it actually derives from Ulf, a name meaning "wolf." It's not a very intuitive name to English-speakers, and likely won't get picked up in the US anytime soon. At last count, it was only given to five American baby girls.

Faustine has a positive meaning, although the association with the character who sold his soul to the devil may be off-putting. This name is among the Top 100 girls' names in France, but was given to fewer than five baby girls in the US last year.

Madelief is an uncommon name but not unheard of in the Netherlands, where 123 girls were called Madelief in one recent year. With its soft sounds and similarities to all those "Madeleine" type names as well as names ending in "eef/eev" sounds (Aoife, Eve, Genevieve), Madelief has potential in English-speaking countries to be a fresh and pleasant change from Daisy, Margaret and Madeleine.

A romantic take on Ariadne, who in Greek mythology was the daughter of King Minos of Crete. She saw over the labyrinth, where she later helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur.

Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren invented the name Ronja for her book Ronja, the Robber's Daughter. She was inspired by the lake Juronjaure, located in Norrbotten, Sweden.

Widespread popularity in the Latino community has propelled this name up the charts in the US. Ximena is the more popular version, given to about three times as many baby girls as Jimena, maybe because of that edgy initial X.

Piero is elegant, melodic, appealing. Just picture the muted frescoes of Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca.

Putting the emphasis on the "elle" softens a name that seems at once futuristic and medieval.

Commonly heard in its native country, and might get a boost here too, now that Alanis Morrissette has used it for her son Ever's middle name.

Also seen as Alyenor and Eleonore, this is an old French name dating back to the Arthurian romances and still heard today.