Names from the North

Manly almost to the point of macho.

Jasper and its many international variations, from Kasper to Casper to Gaspard, is finding new popularity.

Lovely, authentic name -- but any Kirsten will be condemned to a lifetime of hearing "Did you say Kristen?" They're both genuine Scandinavian names but too interchangeable.

A grandfather name in Norway, where it was a Top 5 name through the 1940s and '50s.

Attractive attenuated form of the popular Christopher, well used throughout Europe, appearing as Christophe in France and Christoph in Germany.

Lars is a perfect candidate for a cross-cultural passport: it has been heard often enough here to sound familiar and friendly, yet retains the charisma of a charming foreigner.

Leif is one of the most recognizable Scandinavian names, thanks to Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson, and is still one of the best, with a pleasant aural association with the word leaf.

This pet form of Helena and other ena-ending names, long used as an independent name, is attracting notice again as an option both multicultural and simple. Lena was a Top 100 name from 1880 to 1920.

Cute and quirky Lily alternative.

Linnea is an attractive Scandinavian name that derives from the renowned 18th century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who developed the Linnean system of classifying plants and animals.

Lise is most often found in the U.S. as the second half of the hybrid name Annalise. Canadian journalist Lyse Doucet bears a pretty alternative spelling, pronounced LEESE.

The fame of actress and Aerosmith daughter Liv Tyler helped to infuse life into this short but solid Scandinavian name that was chosen for her daughter by Julianne Moore.

In old Norse mythology Lifa/Liva is one of only two people that are destined to survive Ragnarok (Nordic armageddon) and will therefore be the parents of a new race of man.

Though it sounds like a chopped-off variation of Olivia, which means olive, the distinctively attractive Livia has been an independent name since the days of the ancient Romans, when it belonged to Livia Drusilla—the powerful wife of the Emperor Augustus—and is still commonly heard in modern Italy.

Lova, a Louise relative virtually unknown in the US, is one of the top girl names in Sweden.