Guilty Pleasures

The beguiling Darya is the name of a character in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. As a Russian name, it's a spelling variation of Daria, while in Iran, it's a girl's name that means "the sea".

This Irish Gaelic name would be more accessible in other cultures in its modern Dervla form.

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy. December gets its name from the number ten as the old Roman calendar only had ten months, and as now, December was the last.

Delphina is another form of the sleek French Delphine, rising in popularity. The Blessed Delphina was a Provencal nun.

Delta is an unusual vintage option with a lazy-day-down-by-the-river feel. Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet and also the geographical name given to an island formed at the mouth of a river.

Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time, there might be some adventurous parents willing to overlook that.

Diablo Cody, self-named (she's really Brook Busey) screenwriter of Juno, singlehandedly helped popularize not just her heroine's name and her own but all o-ending names for girls. You don't need us to tell you that it takes a brave parent, in every way, to name a baby Diablo. Diablo is one of the Spanish baby names that diverges furthest from the well-paved camino.

Diantha, a mythological flower of the supreme Greek god Zeus, is a melodious and more unusual cousin of Diana, heard most often in The Netherlands.

Diarra has a nice meaning, but we could see it leading to possible teasing re association with a certain digestive problem.

Pleasant-sounding word that could morph into a unique Sunday-picnic-type name.

One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace.

For as long as we all shall live, Harry Potter's sneering nemesis.

St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, and her feast day on January 25 is the equivalent of Valentine's day in Wales. The short form Dwyn may be more manageable for the non-Welsh.

Anglicized spelling of the difficult-to-decipher Gaelic Aoibheann, the name of several Irish princesses, this name rhymes with Steven. Eavan Boland is a distinguished Irish poet who teaches at Stanford University.

Feels like a hybrid. Better go for Edith or Evelyn.

Edwina may still be taking tea in the parlor, but we can see her joining friends like Matilda and Josephine for a comeback, especially if pronounced like Edwin rather than Edween.

Creative gem perfect for an architect's son, in tribute to modern Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen.