Best of Scandinavia

Ada, yes. Ida, maybe. But Oda, a Scandinavian version of Odelia, not really. To English speakers, it sounds too much like "odor".

Too tied to those well-publicized twins.

A strong Greek name with pan-European charm, Petra is a relatively recent feminization of Peter, though it relates back to an incredible ancient city in Jordan that was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century.

Pippi may be cute but isn't very practical. In addition to being forever Pippi Longstocking, there is that variant pee-pee spelling to consider. Try Pippa instead.

Virtually never heard in this country, with a quirky quality.

Original and straightforward, but with little appeal.

Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of sight now, the quirky Roscoe deserves a place on every adventurous baby-namer's long list. It joins Rufus, Roman, Remy, Romulus, and Ray as one of the R names that sound fresh again after too many years of Robert, Richard, and Ronald.

It may surprise Americans to hear that Ulrik is a fashionable choice elsewhere in the world, as U is the least-used letter for given names in the US. In recent years, Ulrik has been one of the fastest-rising names in Norway.

This striking name has a lot going for it: it's a self-confident Spanish surname, it identifies one of the most brilliant stars in the sky, and it has a musical reference to singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega.