Awesome Norwegian Names

Julia was an ancient Roman imperial name given to females in the house of a Julius, as in Caesar. Its origin is shrouded in history, but possible roots include Latin iuvenis, meaning "youthfu"; Greek ioulos, meaning "downy-bearded"; or Jovis, a form of Jupiter, which means "sky father".

The new Maia, the next Kayla, Kaia has been on the charts since the year 2000. You might see it as a female form of the also-rising Kai, which means sea in Hawaiian and is sometimes used for girls as well, or as a Kardashianization of the ancient goddess name Caia.

Kamilla is the usual spelling of Camilla throughout Scandinavia and in Finland, Iceland, and Greenland. Kamma is an appealing short form.

Kari and all her many sisters, from Carrie to Carey to Kerry and onward, originated for the most part as short forms of either CatherineKatherine or one of the Charles feminizations such as Carol or Caroline.

This sweet and loving name, favored in recent years by a mix of Hispanic-American parents and Bob Dylan fans, was chosen for her daughter by TV actress Melina Kanakaredes.

The once super-popular Karen has gotten a bad name of late. Is Karine different enough to survive? Perhaps, though it may take a generation or two for a real comeback.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

Both Karla and Carla are sliding down the ranks, though Karla remains far more popular in the USA than Carla.

Jasper and its many international variations, from Kasper to Casper to Gaspard, is finding new popularity.

The Russian version of Katherine is usually Ekaterina, but this Slovak form is used throughout Eastern Europe and may be more friendly to the American ear.

Kevin came to the US with the large wave of Irish Immigrants after World War I, hitting the US Top 1000 list for the first time in 1921 and never leaving.

German, Scandinavian and Polish spelling of Konrad, borne by several German and Polish rulers throughout history, as well as the German chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

Beguiling and lovely, Laila is one of the lilting variations of Leila and Layla. It's the name of the former-boxer daughter of Muhammad Ali and of actor Shawn Wayans. In Finland, the Sami people use this in place of the Scandinavian name Helga.

Laura is a hauntingly evocative perennial, never trendy, never dated, feminine without being fussy, with literary links stretching back to Dante. All this makes Laura a more solid choice than any of its more decorative counterparts and one of the most classic girl names starting with L.