Fantastical Names

As represented by supermodel Laragh McCann, gives the ordinary LAURA or LARA a soft Irish accent.

Laurel takes Laura back to its meaning in nature, resulting in a gentle, botanical option. Even more directly than Laura, Laurel relates back to the laurel wreath signifying success and peace in ancient Greece and Rome.

Lavinia is a charmingly prim and proper Victorian-sounding name which actually dates back to classical mythology, where it was the name of the wife of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was considered the mother of the Roman people.

Leandre, the French form of the name of a Greek mythological figure, the doomed lover of Hero, is gaining modern notice in France. Leandre is one of many leonine names, including Leopold, Leo, Leonie, and Leon, that are fashionable now.

Leonidas is an ancient name that has started rising again along with centuries-old names such as Augustus and Cato. The original Leonidas was the most famous of Sparta's warriors, sacrificing his life at the Battle of Thermopylae; there is also a saint Leonidas.

Leonie is a chic French and German form of a name that exists in a range of variations from Leona to Leonia to Leon to Leo to Lionel, all newly fashionable after a couple of generations in style limbo.

Liam is the top boys' name in the US, holding the Number 1 spot for the past seven years and also ranking as one of the most popular boys' names around the western world.

Lilah may be a simple spelling variation of Lila—or you might think of it as a shortening of Delilah or an Anglicization of the Hebrew Lilach, which means lilac. Whatever the root, it's a beautiful and stylish name. The final h adds balance or creates needless complications, depending on your viewpoint.

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.

Although the accent in Linnet is on the first syllable, it could be confused with the dated Lynette.

Can Linus lose its metaphorical security blanket and move from the Peanuts page onto the birth certificate? We think it has enough charm and other positive elements going for it for the answer to be yes.

A beautiful Hebrew name that would work perfectly for a child today.

Llyr is a name with a great meaning and a lovely sound, but that sound is going to be next to impossible to get non-Welsh speaking people to pronounce (google the double L sound in Welsh). If you are outside Wales, you may wish to consider the Irish alternative Lir, which has the same meaning and an easier sound.

The lovely Lorelei, a name from old German legend, was a beautiful Rhine River seductress whose haunting voice led sailors to hazardous rocks that would cause them to be shipwrecked. And this siren image clung to the name for ages.

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

Lovella is most likely a feminine variation on Lovell, a surname. While it feels one of the invented-yet-antiquated girls' names, has the obvious attraction of containing the word "love" within it, as well as the opportunity to use "Ella" as nickname.

Lucasta was invented by seventeenth century poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems dedicated to a lover named Lucy, and is familiar through the Eugene O'Neill play and film Anna Lucasta. Lucasta is a distinctive, rarely used choice and a logical extension of the Luke/Luc/Luca names.