Lyra's Wonderful Names

This Welsh nature name that can be pronounced exactly like the male Ira. Or, to avoid confusion, you could just name her Snow.

This marvelously medieval name had a moment in the 1910s and 1920s but has dropped completely off the radar now.

Though the tragedies of the Greeks and Eugene O'Neill that used this name are filled with incest and murder, Electra is still a brilliant choice. Isabella Rossellini chose the gentler Italian verson, Elettra, for her now grown daughter.

A beautiful modern Cornish nature name that is rapidly picking up steam in the States: even spawning variant spellings like Elowyn and Elowynn. In its native region, it wasn't widely used as a name before the twentieth century, when the Cornish language was revived. A (currently) unique member of the fashionble El- family of names, it has a pleasant, evocative sound.

First-wave Irish name and place name—the poetic name for Ireland—now supplanted by newer alternatives such as Maeve and Delaney.

The name of the Greek winged god of sexual love may seem a lot to live up to, but like other deity names, it's on the rise. He appears in DC comics as an ally of Wonder Woman, and is the alias of Marvel's Starfox character. Eros is also the name of an asteroid in our solar system. The name is more popular in Italy, where it's been in the Top 200 in recent years,

Eryx has a sci-fi sound and deep roots. In Greek mythology, Eryx was the son of Poseidon and Aphrodite and a king in Sicily. He was a great boxer, but was eventually beaten by Heracles. He probably got his name from Mount Eryx in Sicily, now known as Erice. Never used before 2005, this could be a mythological gem to watch - and an alternative way to honor an Eric.

Evanthe is a pretty Greek name not often heard outside its native culture. With its stylish Ev-begining, Evanthe could make an interesting choice if you're looking for a generic flower name.

Ever is a name we first heard via the now grown-up Ever Carradine, daughter of Robert. It's a truly unusual and simple name with an evocative meaning. Milla Jovovich and Paul Anderson chose it for their daughter.

Does Fay really need that e at the end? We vote no, but modern parents disagree: The Faye spelling was used for nearly 300 girls in 2014, vaulting the name back onto the Top 1000 after a 35-year absence, nearly ten times as many babies as received the Fay spelling.

Fiammetta, from the Italian word for flame, has both femininity and fire. Fiammetta could make a good alternative to more conventional Italian girls' names like Giovanna.

Francesca is a lighter and much more feminine choice than the classic Frances, and one that is increasingly popular with upscale parents.

Gabriel has become a biblical favorite, an angelic choice that's lighter and less patriarchal than some of his Old Testament brethren. Derived from the Hebrew name Gavri’el, Gabriel is taken from the elements gever, meaning "strong," and ’el, in reference to God.

Astrological sign with enough rhythm to make a plausible astral name.

Considered ultra debonair in the silent-movie era, Gilbert then went through a nerdy phase, a la Gilbert Gottfried. Now though, like Albert and Alfred and Walter and Frank, it could be in for a style revival.

Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.

This attractive Scottish surname choice, has a certain amount of glamour thanks to feisty British-born red-haired forties Academy Award winner Greer Garson, who was born Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson--Greer was her Irish mother's maiden name). Greer was chosen much more recently by Kelsey Grammer for his daughter and by Brooke Shields in the Grier form. As a surname, it's associated with feminist writer/activist Germaine Greer.