Useable names from Shakespeare

With the rise of ancient Roman names, the now-obscure Silvius may be rediscovered. Sleek and silvery, Silvius was the name of several legendary kings and an early saint. It survives in the contemporary world in its Spanish and Italian form Silvio, used for the character played by Steven Van Zandt on The Sopranos.

Upscale and upstanding.

His nickname would inevitably be Bull.

Kids would be more likely to associate this name with the hyperactive meercat in "The Lion King" than with the ancient Greek philosopher or Shakespearean character, which could cause playground problems.

A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing, by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence and Neil Gaiman. In real life, her two most well known representatives are writer Ursula Le Guin and actress Ursula Andress. In literature, there is also Ursula Iguaran, a key, long-lived character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's major work, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Valeria -- the original form of the name, used by early Christians --has been experiencing significant popularity in recent years. While Valeria was nearly always on the charts, the name peaked in 2009 at #72, surpassing the longtime Franco-American version Valerie. Today Valeria and Valerie are at about equal rankings, sitting in the 150s.

Once aristocratic British surname yet to be revived. Vince Vaughn recently gave his son the same double initials as his own when he named him Vernon Vaughn.

Viola has several positive elements going for it: the rhythm of the musical instrument, the association with the flower, the trending 'Vi' beginning and its leading role in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

William is one of the most enduring of classic names for boys. It's also among the most popular boys' names, as American parents see it as being ideally conservative yet contemporary, and hands-down the most popular baby name beginning with W of all time.