vintage girl names begging to be rediscovered

Sabina is a sleek but neglected name from an ancient Roman tribal name that's well worth consideration. The equally alluring Sabine is heard in France and Germany. Related names include the more popular Sabrina or Serena. All are equally lovely.

Selby, a rarely heard British surname, feels sleeker and more distinctive than Shelby. Todd Selby, known primarily by his last name, is a hip photographer of interiors.

Serafina is a name so lovely it's worthy of an angel. But the more stylish spelling today is Seraphina.

Serena in all its variant spellings is such a widely-used name that reducing it to its root word, Serene, might not occur to some. But like Pax and Clement, Serene is an excellent name for a calm child.

Not only stern and serious, but a little too severe.

Sigrid is a distinctly Scandinavian name that is starting to edge out into the wider world, a la cousin Ingrid. Unfortunately, short form Siri is now off the table, but Sigrid is still a possibility.

There's definitely a cold front of names for winter babies moving in, with Summer, Spring and Autumn giving way to Winter--plus North, January, Frost--and Snow. This name feels brisk, fresh, pure, evocative -- and magical. A haunting middle name choice.

This is a soft, soignée French girls' namethat has become familiar here via singer Solange Knowles, younger sister of Beyonce.

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 name some people first encountered in the old children's book series The Five Little Peppers, in which Sophronia, the youngest of the Peppers is nicknamed Phronsie.`It was also used by Dickens in two of his novels: The Old Curiosity Shop and Our Mutual Friend.

Most parents today would prefer the softer-sell Stella. But Star has symbolic power related to Christmas, so this could make one of the perfect names for December babies.

Unusual choice that was the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor, but is an interesting elaboration of Star, taking it into avian territory.

Stella is a name with star quality and sparkle, that manages to sound both ethereal and earthy. Celestial but not otherworldly, it lands somewhere between the popular Ella and bold Seraphina.

Upbeat nickname-name that can't help but make you smile. You might want to use it as a short form for a more "serious" name such as Sunniva, but Sunny is undeniably, well, sunny.