Names Difficult to Say

Adler is a German-Jewish surname that is beginning to be used occasionally as a first and is among the stylish new German names for boys. Among the distinguished bearers of Adler as a last name are Freud colleague Alfred Adler, actress and influential acting teacher Stella Adler and Guns N' Roses drummer Steve Adler.

Star name that could also be another spelling of Asia or Aja.

A spin on Calia or Calla, with a lot of fashionable sounds.

A rarely used name meaning from Delos, a sacred island to the ancient Greeks. A more interesting and musical choice might be Delius, after the British-born composer of lush rhapsodies.

A rarely-used place name (probably because of the last three letters), Essex was the ancient kingdom of the East Saxons and is now a county in England. The singer David Essex used it as his stage surname, and reality TV couple JP and Ashley Rosenbaum used it for their daughter's name, though few have followed suit.

Letitia is a delicate, once prim and proper sounding name whose staid image has been unbuttoned by numerous phonetic spellings. The original, often used in Spanish-speaking families, would still make an attractive, delicate choice. After a solid century on the Top 1000 list, Letitia fell off in the early 1980s and has not yet returned.

An underused member of the Lily group of names. The spelling makes it clear you want it to rhyme with Willa.

Mazarine is a deep blue color also used as a first name in honor of Cardinal Mazarin, a leader of France in the 17th century. As a first name, Mazarine is as charming as it is unusual.

Most famously, the name of a 1920s alley cat.