Character Names + Name Ideas

A bird name from the same Latin root as Aurelia, Oriole is extremely rare as a name: No babies were given the name in the US in 2022. But most people are aware of the Oriole bird, which makes this name uncommon yet possible.

Shakespeare's moor has exclusive ownership of this name.

Philippa is a prime example of a boy's name adapted for girls that was common as crumpets in Cornwall, but rarely heard stateside. That was before the advent of royal sister-in-law Philippa Middleton, who goes by the lively nickname Pippa.

The name of the wife of Alexander the Great, more attractive than the better-known Roxanne. Roxana was first used in the English-speaking world in the 1600s and was popularized by Daniel Defoe's novel Roxana, published in 1724. An underused and attractive possibility and perfect if you're searching for names that mean new beginnings.

Scheherazade -- or Sheherazade --is a legendary Persian queen immortalized as the narrator of all one thousand stories in the One Thousand and One Nights. Her story is even more remarkable than the tales she tells.

Not only stern and serious, but a little too severe.

Talisa is a recent addition to the Tali family, brought to light by actress Talisa Soto.

Not too long ago, Temperance was found only on lists of Puritan baby names.

The simple, sleek Vera gave birth to the more elaborate Veradis and Veradisia. Neither name was used for any baby girls in the US last year.

Verena is pleasant but old-fashioned. Whether that's the outdated kind of old-fashioned or the so-out-it's-in-again kind is your call.

If you love Puritan virtue names and want to move beyond Hope and Faith and Grace, this is a wonderful choice, both for its meaning and its sound. A rare find here, though occasionally heard in England. It was used in Winston Graham's Poldark novels, was Madonna's name as James Bond's fencing instructor in Die Another Day, and made a brief appearance in Harry Potter. Not to mention being a fixture on British and Australian soaps. Verity also appears in one of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries.

This is one of the most vibrant and feminine of the names meaning life, and it's sure to gain more attention as the whole sisterhood of Viv- names rise.

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.