Names from Operas

Softer and more romantic than Octavia, this is a name once used when it wasn't uncommon for families to have eight children. A possible substitute for the epidemically popular Olivia.

Spirited Italian form of Octavius

This operatic Italian name -- it appears in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" -- is a more unusual route to the nickname Pam/Pammy.

Penelope is an unlikely 21st century baby name success story. Off the Top 1000 for 25 years, Penelope jumped back on in 2001 and has been heading uphill ever since, propelled by the trend for mythological names, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, and some high-profile celebrity babies.

Notably the pseudonym used by Mulan in the Disney film Mulan.

The Roman equivalent of Persephone, making her a goddess of spring, and queen of the underworld. Also spelled Proserpine.