The Names on This Site I Like

For centuries this name was associated primarily with the towering figure of Italian Renaissance painter-scientist-inventor Leonardo da Vinci, and was scarcely used outside the Latin culture.

Leonie is a chic French and German form of a name that exists in a range of variations from Leona to Leonia to Leon to Leo to Lionel, all newly fashionable after a couple of generations in style limbo.

This aristocratic, somewhat formal Germanic route to the popular Leo is a royal name: Queen Victoria used it to honor a favorite uncle, King Leopold of Belgium. Though Leopold sounds as if it might be a leonine name, it's not really a relative of such choices as Leon, and Leonard.

Lettice is still occasionally heard in upper-class British families, but we fear it would cause too much salad-green teasing to be considered in the U.S. Calling your little Lettice Lettie could help make the name more user-friendly, or go all the way to the original Letitia.

Letty is a sweet vintage gem, playful and cosy and more unexpected than Lottie, the popular pet form of popular Charlotte. Originally used as a nickname for Letitia or Lettice, it could also work for Scarlett, Juliet, Violet, Leighton, Arlette, Loretta, Colette, or Liberty.

Levi, lighter and more energetic than most biblical names, with its up vowel ending, combines Old Testament gravitas with the casual flair associated with Levi Strauss jeans.

Less common than other virtue names, Liberty is nonetheless a name with a long American heritage.

A shimmering day name, with a bit of hippie residue.

Adds some thorns to the smooth texture of Lily.

Liliosa, one of the most extravagant forms of the ever-more-popular and varied Lily family, is an ancient saint's name that's a perfect candidate for revival by parents who love the double-L flower name trend but want a distinctive variation. Saint Liliosa was one of the martyrs of 9th century Cordoba, along with her husband Felix and cousins Aurelius and Natalia — all names newly fashionable in the modern world.

Cute and quirky Lily alternative.

Lillian has ranked among the US Top 50 for the past 20 years, making it Lily's less popular but more grownup cousin.

Lilo is the name of the spunky little Hawaiian girl character in the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch-- and is also Lindsay Lohan's nickname. Multi-cultural, it can be found in Hawaiian, German and Hebrew nomenclature.

This pretty, succinct Arabic name is also commonly used as a nickname for names like Carolina.