What About?

Awkward, dated feminization of Samuel we can't imagine anyone choosing over Samantha.

Santiago is a spirited Spanish name with great crossover potential. It's a place-name (a city in Chile), a surname, and the name of the patron saint of Spain.

Savita is among the most popular Hindi names for girls, and one that could easily immigrate. Want more ideas? How about the Italian or Spanish Sarita or the simplified Vita or the Scandinavian Sunniva?

Place names can be a nod to your cultural heritage or a commemoration of a favorite destination. Scotia comes from the Latin name for Scotland, which may be a perfect fit for a family of Scottish heritage if Scotland feels too on-the-nose. Caledonia is another possibility, used by the Romans for the land north of Hadrian's Wall in England, which marked the upper boundary of the Roman Empire. And Nova Scotia (meaning "new Scotland") is also the name of a Canadian province.

Sebastiane is not a common feminization but may become more so as Sebastian achieves international popularity.

This anagram of Agnes is not related to that name; rather it comes from the Gaelic word seang meaning "slender".

Serena, a name used since Roman times, was given fresh life by tennis star Williams, and then again with the leading character on Gossip Girl, Serena van der Woodsen. There have also been Serenas on soap operas and other shows from Bewitched to Law & Order.

The common name for the invasive weed scientists call Lespedeza cuneata has a Roman feel that's become sought after among certain parents. But soundalikes Circe and Servilia have much longer histories as first names.

Author Toni Morrison is an acknowledged master of naming, and Sethe, the name of one of the main characters of Beloved, which can be pronounced as Seth or Seth-eh, relates to the male biblical name Seth but is also the name of the Egyptian god of confusion.

Shivani sounds fresh and powerful.

Shoshanna is a variation of one of the best-known original Hebrew baby names for girls , the original of Susanna. This is the spelling used by Shoshanna Lonstein, a designer who creates the Shoshanna clothing line and also the name of one of the four leading characters on the TV show Girls, Shoshanna Shapiro.

Shreya is an Indian name with several positive meanings--beautiful, fortunate, auspicious, favorable--and ties to the goddess Lakshmi.

Simple and pretty and user-friendly, the Welsh Sian was used by U2's Dave "the Edge" Evans for his daughter. In Welsh, it is also spelled Siân.

This elongated form of Sibyl is dainty and delicate -- dare we even say demure? It's got deep history, a powerful namesake, and it's extremely rare -- zero baby girls were named Sibylla or Sybilla in the US last year.

Siena is a soft and delicate Tuscan town name given a big fashion boost by lovely young actress/gossip column staple Sienna Miller. A real up-and-comer.