Halouise Favorite

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.

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..

Sholto is a traditional Scottish first name, especially within the Douglas clan. It's an Anglicized form of Sìoltach, meaning "sower".

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.

Shulamit--which has a variety of different spellings--is a serious-sounding Old Testament name that appears in the Song of Songs. Its common nickname is Shula, which is sometimes used on its own. Toni Morrison used the sleeker variation Sula in one of her novels.

Sidonie is an appealing and chic French favorite that is starting to attract some American fans as a fresher alternative to Sydney. Also spelled Sidony, Sidonie was the birth name of the French novelist Colette.

Signe could make an offbeat, more unusual alternative to Sydney or Sigrid. In Norse mythology, Signe was the twin sister of Sigmund. Can also be spelled Signy.

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

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.

While its Yiddish use has died out, Sirke is seen today in Nordic countries, most commonly Finland. Sirke is a form of Sirkka, but it may also be related to the Finnish word sirkeä, meaning "lively."

This strong Spanish name that refers to the Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Solitude) has been made accessible by broadcaster Soledad O'Brien -- who shows how well it combines with an Anglo surname. Her birth name was Maria de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien.

An attractive French word name known here via former child TV star Soleil Moon Frye, aka Punky Brewster. It started to be lightly used in the U.S. in the 1920s and is now attracting some attention as both a sunny nature and an international word name. It's currently in the Nameberry Top 500.

Solene is a variation of Solange fashionable in recent years in France and a new hit name on Nameberry.

Despite the reputation of the sagacious ancient Greek lawmaker, this name hasn't moved to the modern world.

Common in Scandinavia, this name has rarely come to our shores. The name of the heroine in Ibsen's Peer Gynt, Solveig is currently a widely-used name in Norway. Pronounced authentically, with a silent 'g', it becomes much more appealing.

A simple and pretty multicultural name: as a Japanese name, it's unisex and means "sky"; as a Korean name, it's feminine and means "conch shell".

This gentle Scandinavian name, soft and sensitive, is being discovered in a major way by parents in the US. It's most closely identified with the nineteenth century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, but there have been modern fictional Sorens as well, in The Matrix Reloaded and the book series Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Charlie and Lola, and Underworld.

A fragrant herbal and color name that could make a sensitive, distinctive choice.

Stellan is a strong, attractive, Scandinavian possible up-and-comer, known through actor Stellan Skarsgard, and his namesake, the son of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany. Its trendy 'an' ending and the similarity in sound to the popular Kellen/Kellan make it all the more accessible.

As a Japanese name, Suki has the sweet meaning "loved one". It's also an English diminutive of Susanna, making it a creative and modern way to honor a Susan in your life.