Fancy Names For Girls

Seraphine is the Gallic version of the angelic name Seraphina. But while Seraphina has been rising rapidly since Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck chose it for their second daughter, Seraphine has been largely ignored, though we believe the French vowel-sound ending will soon be more stylish than the a-endings that have predominated in girls' names for years.

A unique virtue name with a sound as happy and lively as its meaning.

The tale-spinning heroine of The Thousand and One Nights, Sheherazade is an extravagantly elaborate name for a little girl. Too extravagantly elaborate? It's lovely and beguiling, and with the rise of such evocative monikers as Persephone and Ophelia, Sheherazade may have a chance in the modern baby name world. Another accepted spelling is Scheherazade. While the origin of this name is Persian, there are also modern Arabic forms of the name.

Stella Maris ("star of the sea") is an historic title for the Virgin Mary, in use since at least the early medieval period. Although it actually arose from a scribal error in the etymology of the name Mary, it came to be seen as symbolic of Mary's role as "guiding star" on the way to Christ. Under this name, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of seafarers in particular, and many coastal churches are named Stella Maris or Star of the Sea.

Tamsin is an offbeat name occasionally heard in Britain and just waiting to be discovered here. U.K. actress Tamsin Greig is a star of the show Episodes, Tamsin Olivier is the daughter of Joan Plowright and Sir Laurence Olivier..

When Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman became one of the first Europeans to find Australia, he gave his name to a sea and to an island. in turn some parents have chosen to honor their homeland by choosing this name for their child. Tasma is the feminine version of his surname. A famous bearer of this name is Australian actress Tasma Walton.

Tatiana was derived from Tatius, a Sabine-Latin family name of unknown origin. Titus Tatius was the name of an ancient king who ruled over the Sabines, an ancient Italic tribe who lived near Rome. The Romans used the name Tatius even after the Sabines died out and created the derivative forms Tatianus and Tatiana. The names were eventually disseminated throughout the Orthodox Christian world, including Russia.

Taura is a possibility for a girl born between mid-April and mid-May, but, if a name is destiny, its meaning does suggest stubbornness. Consider Laura, Flora, or Honora instead.

Not too long ago, Temperance was found only on lists of Puritan baby names.

Theodora is one of the most revival-worthy of the charmingly old-fashioned Victorian valentine names, softly evocative but still substantial, as is the reversed-syllable Dorothea.

This feminine form of Theodosius has long been buried deep in the attic, but might be a good discovery for the parent who wants to move beyond Theodora. Vice President Aaron Burr named a daughter Theodosia ("Dear Theodosia" is a song in the smash musical Hamilton), and it was the birth name of silent screen vamp Theda Bara. Theodosia actually appeared on the US popularity lists in the 1880s and 90s.

Effortlessly stylish, with plenty of sweetness and strength, Valentina feels like a fresh alternative to Valerie, Victoria, or Vanessa.

Vanessa was invented by writer Jonathan Swift for a lover named Esther Vanhomrigh—he combined the first syllable of her last name with the initial syllable of her first. Swift used it in the poem Cadenus and Vanessa in 1713. A century later, Johan Christian Fabricius used Vanessa as the name of a genus of butterfly.

The name Veronica projects a triple-threat image: at once saintly, sensuous, and strong. The name derives from Berenice, the Latin form of the Greek name Berenike "she who brings victory", with the spelling influenced by the Latin phrase vera icon "true image". Veronica was the name of the compassionate woman who wiped Jesus's face when he was on his way to Calvary and whose cloth was miraculously imprinted with his image: she is now the patron saint of photographers.

Victoria is the Latin word for "victory" and a feminine form of Victor. It is the name of the ancient Roman goddess of victory, the equivalent of the Greek Nike, and also a popular third century saint.

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.

Viridiana is a frillier version of the medieval name Viridis, meaning green. Viridiana briefly made it into the top 1000 in the US in the 1990s.

Wilhelmina was long burdened with the Old Dutch cleanser image of thick blond braids and clunky wooden clogs, but that started to be changed somewhat by the dynamic Vanessa Williams character on Ugly Betty, and even further by the choice of Wilhelmina by ace baby namers Natalie and Taylor Hanson. For the less adventurous, Willa is, for now, still a more user-friendly female equivalent of William.