Latin Names

You'll probably be hearing more of this name thanks to the newest Pixar film, featuring Princess Merida, the first Pixar princess--a feisty, athletic, independent medieval Scottish girl with wild red hair. Her name, however, is not Scottish, but a Spanish place name found in both Spain and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Adventurous parents are venturing deeper into the garden in search of fresh names, but remember that this also makes for an alcoholic brunch.

Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the mythology names for girls that might appeal to adventurous feminist parents. With Juno and Jupiter, she made the Capitoline triad, whose worship was at the very center of Roman religion.

Mirabel is one of those names that's not on the Top 1000 but ought to be, and undoubtedly will be soon following the release of Disney's 2021 Encanto. Mirabel is the film's quirky and highly relatable heroine. Mirabel had a significant rise in 2022, going from 34 births in 2021 to 153 births in 2022. Read more about Mirabel and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

A recently popular spiritual name that entered the Top 500 in 2003.

Miranda, a shimmeringly lovely, poetic name that was invented by Shakespeare for the beautiful and admirable young heroine of his play, The Tempest, is still a recommended choice even though its popularity peaked in the 1990's, partially as an antidote to Amanda. But while Amanda now sounds dated, Miranda retains a good measure of its charm.

Modesty is a virtue name dating to Roman times, but never widely used, except for hot 1960s movie spoof heroine, Modesty Blaise, based on a comic strip.

A musette is both a dance and an antique instrument, but the name is most associated with the classic opera La Bohème.

Could be the next Nova, now that celestial baby names are in the ascendent.

The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories.

Introduced to the American public by actress Neve Campbell; it was her Dutch-born mother's maiden name. Neve is an interesting and fresh new possibility, one which Conan O'Brien chose for his daughter.

More often spelled Nika, this is a well-used diminutive for the Eastern European Veronika, and there's no reason that the same principle can't apply in the West. It makes a venerated saint's name sound fresh and cute.

An interesting and unusual member of the "Nic" family--far more distinctive than NICOLE or NICOLA.

With parents beginning to show an interest in virtue names for boys, this Puritan favorite just might be revived, for what could be more admirable than nobility in terms of having strength of character, dignity, and high moral ideals?

Nola, a name with a sleek, enigmatic quality, was used for the much-pursued heroine of Spike Lee's 1986 breakout film, She's Gotta Have It, and again by Woody Allen in Match Point. It's a short form of the traditional Irish name Fionnuala. Nola reentered the US Top 1000 in 2008, for the first time in 50 years.

Nona is a name sometimes given to the ninth child -- but unlikely to serve that purpose today. Musical cred: the name of a song by Motley Crue.

Nova has the feel of both newness, from its meaning, and great energy as an astronomical term for a star that increases suddenly in brightness before fading.

Very rarely used, could provide a distinctive alternative to Lydia.

Octavia began as the Latin, then Victorian name for an eighth child. While there aren't many eighth children anymore, this ancient Roman name has real possibilities as a substitute for the overused Olivia; recommended for its combination of classical and musical overtones. It was chosen for his daughter by Kevin Sorbo.

With the rise of ancient Roman names, Octavian suddenly seem plausible again. A variation of Octavius and relative of the more modern Octavio, it's an equally attractive member of the trio.