ethelmary's little ladies

The super-success of Adele, both the singer and the name, has brought attention to all her cousins — Adela, Adeline, Adelina — and the lovely Adelia. An undiscovered gem just waiting to be discovered.

A medieval French name which belonged to the mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine (incidentally, Aenor is thought to be an older form of the name Eleanor). Its etymology is uncertain, but it may derive from the Germanic name Audamar, meaning "famous wealth'.

Albertine and Alberta are old-fashioned feminizations ala Geraldine and Roberta. This is the kind of name that sounds very dowdy until a hip celebrity chooses it, at which point we don't know how we missed its coolness all this time.

In European countries where it's regularly used as a form of the Amelia family of names, the pronunciation is very similar to the a-ending form, Amalia.

The name of the sainted mother of the Virgin Mary was among the top girls’ names for centuries, in both the original English Ann spelling and the French Anne. Both left the Top 100 around 1970 but Anne is still among the most classic names for girls, although others are more likely to choose the original Hannah, the Anna variation, or even Annabel or Annabella.

Anneliese is a German and Dutch combination of Anna and Liese (a form of Elizabeth) with an Old World feel but modern appeal. The Anglicized Annalise spelling in in the US Top 500, but this authentic German version has only ever broken into the US Top 1000 once, back in 2005.

This name of a third-century Christian martyr has an romantic, appealing feel in the modern world. It first came to American attention via Prince's love interest in the film Purple Rain.

If you're looking for a girl's name that honors an ancestral Arthur, try Artis.

Aurembiaix was an impressive medieval countess, whose father Ermengol fought for her to inherit his lands, title and estate. Aurembiaix later fought for her right to succeed her father, and being a skilful negotiator was able to convince her local nobles to back her, despite being a woman. She later saved her city from invaders by dressing local women in men's clothing to give the appearance of greater military might. A year before she died she married Pedro, exiled prince of Portugal. When she died, she had no children and therefore she was the last of her dynasty.

Beatrice is back. Stored in the attic for almost a century, the lovely Beatrice with its long literary (Shakespeare, Dante) and royal history is being looked at with fresh eyes by parents seeking a classic name with character and lots of upbeat nicknames, like Bea and Bee.

Although feminizations ending in "ette" are not particularly popular now, Bernadette is a pleasant, feminine, but strong name that doesn't feel prohibitively dated. And though strongly associated with the saint who saw visions of the Virgin Mary—Saint Bernadette of Lourdes—it is now no longer strictly inhabiting the Catholic diocese.

A widely used name in medieval Europe that's been almost completely forgotten. Blanche still reads as old lady-ish, and the frilly "-fleur" doesn't make it feel younger. But it could be a striking, not to say iconic, choice for a bold parent, especially if they had some sort of connection to white flowers or the Middle Ages.

Variant of Brunhild, still clad in heavy armor. Though the heroine Brunhilda of Quentin Tarantino's recent film Django Unchained may have given this version of the name new appeal.

Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.

Clarimond is related to the Occitan name Esclarmonde, and is probably the more wearable of the two variations.