wonderful girl names

Intriguing name with great symbolic meaning in Eastern religions.

Sage is an evocatively fragrant herbal name that also connotes wisdom, giving it a double advantage. It entered the Top 1000 at about the same time for both genders in the early 1990s, but it has pulled ahead for the girls. Toni Collette named her daughter Sage Florence.

Samina is a little-known name in the US, given to only a handful of baby girls each year, that is prime for wider use. It's attractive, easy to spell and pronounce, and makes a perfect alternative to the waning Samantha. The only problem may be confusion over pronunciation. Native Arabic speakers may pronounce it with equal emphasis on all syllables, but English speakers will say sa-MEE-na (correct) or sa-MY-na (not, but be prepared for a lifetime of corrections).

Seren is a top girls' name in Wales – and a lovely choice almost unknown elsewhere. Seren, in the Sirona form, was an ancient goddess of the hot springs.

Shade can be cool and refreshing -- or negative and dubious. Shade was the name of the daughter played by Fairuza Balk in the 90s film Gas Food Lodging.

An over-elaborate Italian name associated with fashion designer Simonetta Colonna, a key figure in the emergence of Italian haute couture. Stop at SIMONE or SIMONA.

Could there be a more poetic name than Sonnet? Actor Forest Whitaker was inspired to choose it for his daughter.

Talula might be a streamlined spelling of either the Native American Tallulah or the Irish Talulla -- and very few namers know the difference as they sound identical. Investigate further and you decide, or you can just consider Talula a relative of both.

Made famous in fifties movies as a wholesome backwoods gal, Tammy was a Top 10 choice from the mid-60s to early-70s, but is now given to fewer than 100 babies per year in the US.

Tansy is a flower name rarer than Rose, livelier than Lily and a lot less teasable than Pansy.

The name of an area of Peru, this could be a possibilty for a springtime baby born under the sign of Taurus.

As Theo and Thea get more popular, so do Teo and Tea, short forms of the Latinate variations of Theodore and Matthew -- which include Dorotea and Mattea. But like Theo and Thea, Tea can stand perfectly well on its own and blends seamlessly into any Anglophone or European culture, if that is your aim. Some may argue that the Tea version is the prettiest and it's certainly the sleekest.

Teodora is an extremely attractive and international choice, with several equally attractive, user-friendly nicknames. Appealing short forms might include Tea, Dora, or Dory for English speakers, however, classic diminutives include the Spanish, Italian, Serbian and Portuguese Dora, the Bulgarian Todorka, and the Swedish Thea.

Terry hit the Top 30 in the fifties when it was seeen as a cool, sleek gender neutral name, but it's long since lost that edge. Today's Terry would probably be Tess or Tessa.

Though modern parents seeking to honor an ancestor named Thelma might opt for the airier Thea instead, Thelma is starting to make its way back onto adventurous vintage name lovers' radars. It is currently experiencing a modest revival in France, where it now ranks around the #300 mark.