Names from a Night at the Opera

Ulrica has an Old World sound that may not be user-friendly in the modern US.

Urban was not an uncommon name through the 1930s (rising as high as Number 435), having been attached to several saints and early popes, but it has completely disappeared from the landscape--both urban and rural. Yet in this era of word name appreciation and trend for 'an'-ending boys' names, we're thinking it might be ready for a return.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.

Schoolchildren will recognize this name via Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

Victoria is the Latin word for "victory" and a feminine form of Victor. It is the name of the ancient Roman goddess of victory, the equivalent of the Greek Nike, and also a popular third century saint.

Violetta is a more vibrantly colored, feminissima form of Violet. It is the name of the heroine of the Verdi opera La Traviata--in fact Violetta was the original title of the work.

In literature identified with The Sorrows of Young Werther -- not much to wish on a child.

X marks the spot in names these days, usually at the middles or ends of names, but here is one that puts it squarely up front.

Peaking in the 1950s, Yvonne has now dropped out of the Top 1000 in 2003 and doesn't look set to return soon, although its rare Y initial might endear it to some. Yvaine, from Neil Gaiman's Stardust, has more modern appeal.

Zerlina is a variation of Zerlin, meaning "beautiful dawn". Zerlina is most famous as the wily, clever servant girl in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, where she is the only character to seemingly get her way.

A thirteenth-century Tuscan saint, patron of homemakers, Zita is the kind of name that sounded really creative in an earlier era.

This name of a beautiful Moorish woman character in Don Quixote is rarely heard.