sappho's longlist - girls

A frilly southern-accented flower name yet to be planted on many birth certificates. In the language of flowers, the wisteria is a symbol of devotion. It is named for American horticulturalist John Caspar Wister.

Variation of Isolde, the name of a great Celtic heroine. The mononymous French singer Yseult is the most notable bearer today.

Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

A cute, zippy French saint's name that's picking up in popularity there, and starting to in the US as well. Zélie originated as a short form of Azélie, thought to derive from Adelaide via the Occitan form Azalaïs. Saint Zélie was born Marie-Azélie.

Zephyr may not be a name often heard in the U.S., but its variations are used throughout Europe. Zephyrine, a cousin in sound and feel if not in fact to such lovely names as Severine and Seraphina, has distinctive possibilities.

Not a spunkier version of Merlin, Zerlin has roots in the Middle East, Spain and Eastern Europe and is thought to mean "beautiful dawn". The countries where this name is most heard are Israel, Romania and the US, though it has never made it into the Top 1000. Italian and Spanish variant Zerlina and the French Zerline were once popular in the theatre for pretty and clever female characters.

Name of a fertility goddess said to confer luck on its bearer, though to avoid confusion you may want to use the phonetic spelling Anya or Enya.

Modern Irish form of the mythological name Étaín.

You could just spell it epiphany, but that's so much more pedestrian. It's also a holiday name, à la Christmas and Easter: the Epiphany marked the visitation of the Three Wise Men to Baby Jesus.

Novel French twist on Starr or Stella.