Fanciful Names for Girls

Citrine is a type of quartz named after its citrus-colored hues. if Amethyst, Jasper, and Onyx (all other types of quartz) can be used, why not Citrine, which has a lovely French-sounding suffix. Citrine is one of the many rare and attractive girl names starting with C.

A poetic name first used in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" in 1596, it had a literary vogue in the 18th century, especially favored by Robert Burns. "inda" names--Melinda, Belinda, Linda" are not particularly in right now.

Once seen as a dated French Claudette-Colbert feminization, along with Annette and Paulette, we can see Claudette moving into a more plausible Colette-Cosette arena. While some may be put off by the common "lame" meaning, some etymologists theorize that the name may relate to the word for enclosure or clause, an alternate meaning that may appeal to a child with a form of this otherwise-appealing name.

Claudia is a classic name with ancient Roman roots. Never truly in or truly out, Claudia feels like a strong, modern choice that hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual..

Made familiar by poet William Blake. According to Blake, after her death, Conwenna "shines ... over the north with pearly beams gorgeous and terrible". Make of that what you will.

Coralie is a French name not often heard here, though she's gaining some recognition via Neil Gaiman's similar sounding spooky and lovely children's book, Coraline. Other literary appearances: Coralie is the stage name of an actress in Balzac's Lost Illusions, and a French girl in an 1850 Thackeray novel.

Coralie is currently very popular in French-speaking Quebec, and there is a contemporary French singer named Coralie Clement.

Coraline may not be original to Neil Gaiman's wonderful book of the same name, but it might as well be. Gaiman's young heroine Coraline Jones is constantly called Caroline but as a name Coraline is more distinctive and has a more mysterious feel. The 2002 novel Coraline was made into a 2009 animated film voiced by Dakota Fanning and nominated for an Academy Award.

Delicate and gentle old-fashioned name, the kind found in early English poetry. While Corinna and the original Green Korinna are technically diminutives of the ancient Kore, now the popular Cora, this name will often be mistaken for other similar-sounding though unrelated names, such as Karenna. But it's pretty and is backed by more tradition than you'd guess.

Corsica, the picturesque Mediterrean island birthplace of Napoleon, makes an easy switch from atlas to baby name book, with its delicate, feminine ending. Just don't consider neighboring island Sardinia.

Corvina sounds too much like a car model.

Cosima, the kind of elegant and unusual name the British upper classes love to use for their daughters, is given to a handful of baby girls in the US after being chosen by two high-profile celebs in the same month; cool couple Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars as well as supermodel Claudia Schiffer. It was used earlier by celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, while the male form, Cosimo, was given to the son of Marissa Ribisi and Beck.

Cressida is a pretty mythological and Shakespearean heroine name much better known in Britain than it is here — an imbalance the adventurous baby namer might want to correct.

Crisanta, while not related to Christine, would make a pretty and highly unusual alternative to that tried-and-true name. Because of its relationship to the chrysanthemum, the flower of the month of November, it's one of the recommended names for Scorpio babies as well as names for November babies. Crisanta might also give you a fresh route to nicknames like Cris, Crissy, or Cristie.

One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.

While Danica may sound similar to Dana, Danielle, and Daniela, Danica is not a variation. Danica, a delicate and unique Slavic name meaning "Morning Star," is synonymous with Venus in many countries.

In the days of huge families, this name of the Roman goddess of prophecy and childbirth, and one of the Fates, would be saved for bambina number ten. Now it might be used for a girl born in October, the tenth month.

Delia is a somewhat neglected southern charmer that stands on its own but also might be short for Adelia or Cordelia.

A punchy modern Cornish name derived from a place name, which is of disputed origin. It is sometimes said to derive from a rare Welsh name, Maeldaf, plus dinas, the Cornish for "fort". Another theory is that it comes from Cornish ty "house" plus malsai "eel" – likely a reference to Cornwall's fishing trade.

Nine little goddesses got this lovely name in the US in 2021, making it a usable yet unusual entry in the popular mythological category. Devika is a diminutive of Devi, the head goddess of Hindu mythology. English speakers might make Devi the short form.