Awesome Slavic Names

Galena is the feminine of the Galen, which means calm. Galena is also a mineral-related name, a type of lead.

Two prominent literary namesakes make Gregor a somewhat risky choice. On the highbrow side, there's Gregor Samsa, the Kafka character who woke up one day to find himself turned into a cockroach. And then there's Gregor Clegane, one of the most feared and purely evil characters in the world of Game of Thrones.

Helena is one of those classic names that just misses making the US Top 1000 girl names for its entire history, falling off for a single year in 1992. Since then it's been drifting lazily up the charts, and makes a perfect choice if you want a name that both fits in and stands out.

This variant of Helen is used across Europe, in France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and it's native Hungary. Reminiscent of Elena, Leona, Ilaria, Fiona and Lola, it nevertheless remains a rarity in the US.

This form of Agnes, Ines has always been popular since the true story of the thwarted lovers Queen Ines of Castro and King Peter of Portugal. This has to be one of the most heartbreaking and bloody true romances in history!

A rarely used Slavic name until the Czech-born ex-Mrs. Trump took it over the top. Daughter's name Ivanka adds a dollop of charm.

High-profile First Daughter Trump bears a nickname for her mother's name, Ivana. But though quite common in Slavic countries, and despite its international appeal, Ivanka is likely to remain a Singe-Celebrity name in the US — the Oprah of the political world — for the foreseeable future. Ivanka's larger impact on names may be inspiring parents to name their daughters after their moms.

A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.