S- Girls

Sonora may be a more unusual and melodic choice than Sierra, but this Mexican state name may sound too much like Senora to work as a name.

A simple and pretty multicultural name: as a Japanese name, it's unisex and means "sky"; as a Korean name, it's feminine and means "conch shell".

A fragrant herbal and color name that could make a sensitive, distinctive choice.

Sunniva was an Irish-born saint who fled to Norway, where she hid in an island cave with her followers and eventually died. After miracles were reported on the island, the cave was excavated and Sunniva's intact body was found. Sunniva is the patron saint of Western Norway. Her name would make a fascinating and unusual choice for a modern baby girl, and if her story is a bit grim, you can take refuge in the upbeat nickname Sunny or Sunni.

Although Susan had her heyday from the thirties to the sixties, and is now common among moms and new grandmas, and though most modern parents would prefer Susanna/Susannah, we have spotted some flickers of interest in a revival. It still retains a certain black-eyed-Susan freshness.

To the non-Scandinavian ear, a cute and unusual nickname name, used by Finnish supermodel Suvi Koponen.

Suzette has a kind of clunky retro charm – so kitsch it's almost cool again.

More Scandinavian names are making their way into English-speaking homes. If Sven and Freya are useable, why not Svea?