Celestian Names

Name for a seventh child, back when people had them.

Septimus is one of the more dashing of the birth-order Latin number names that were revived by the Victorians. So even if you don't anticipate son number 7, you might be bold enough to consider this relic, certainly preferable to sixth-son name Sextus.

This name of a giant tree, itself named for a nineteenth-century Cherokee who invented a way to write his tribe's language, makes a strong, stately statement.

Seren is a top girls' name in Wales – and a lovely choice almost unknown elsewhere. Seren, in the Sirona form, was an ancient goddess of the hot springs.

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.

A unique virtue name with a sound as happy and lively as its meaning.

Peaceful, calm, and untroubled: these are qualities parents may be hoping for, either on their parenting journey or in their child’s life. The name Serenity encapsulates these hopes, conjuring up a sense of balance, composure, and ease.

Not as common as brother Sergio, but still quite frequently heard in the Hispanic community, as in Bolivian singer Sergia Llanos.

Rarely heard in modern times, it was used by Norman Mailer for the hero of his book The Deer Park.

Servilia is best known as the name of a Roman patrician woman intimately involved with some of the most famed figures in ancient history: she was Caesar's mistress, Brutus's mother and Cato the Younger's half-sister. Her name derived from the family name Servilius, which stretches back to the earliest days of the Roman Republic.With interest in classical names exploding, Servilia might be worth a serious look, though its closeness to words like "servile" and "villain" could be a turnoff.

This long-popular name in France sounds fresh, elegant and unusual here. Severine is the name of the most recent gorgeous James Bond Girl in the film Skyfall. Students of film history will associate the name with the complex character Catherine Deneuve played in the 1967 Bunuel classic, Belle de Jour..

Nice sound, but double meaning -- shady glen or shady character.

Cool meets Born Again meets Brad and Angelina, who made Shiloh an instant star when they chose it for their daughter. While Shiloh has risen from obscurity thanks to its celebrity baby use, it hasn't become a star the way brother names Maddox and Pax have. It entered the Top 1000 in 2007, one year after the birth of Ms. Jolie-Pitt.

Popular Israeli choice, ripe for adoption here. Parents who great up in the 1980s may remember animated heroine Shira, Princess of Power.

Signy — also spelled Signe — would make another distinctively offbeat alternative to Sydney. Signy appears in Norse mythology as the twin sister of Sigmund.

The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.

Among the first wave of word names used in the hippie era, it actually is a legitimate girl's name with a lot of luster.

A Puritan-virtue type name that could possibly work for a modern baby with its rhythmic four-syllable sound and admirable meaning.