Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Alastriona (ah-lah-STREE-nah, al-iss-TREE-nah) is the Irish version of the Greek girls name Alexandra, meaning "defender of man." It is just a bit different from Alasdair/Alastair, the form of Alexander. Many might be intimidated by the Irish spelling, but a simple explanation that the O is silent would clear things up, or you could use the Anglicized spelling Alastrina. This is an extremely rare name in the U. S.  with no data  Her native nickname is Triona (TREE-nah), but I don't see why other nicknames wouldn't work in the U. S. like Aliss, Listy, Lass, Allie, or even Alina/Lina. Ailstreena is the Manx form.

Ingram was on the U.S. top 1000 twice in 1883 and 1890, so it's been a long time since this name got a little love. It is even rare in the U.K. and Wales. From German, this name means "Ing's Raven," although the first element has contested meaning due to it's similarity to "angel" and "angle," with a possible connection to 'Anglo-Saxon, and a possible meaning of "Raven of Anglia." This medieval name has quite a few Noble namesakes dating all the way back to the 8th century. One famous modern namesakes is Ingram "Gram" Parsons, the country musician.

These watery baby girl names are almost the same, but Undine is a mythology word-name referring to the spirit of the waters, meaning "little wave" in Latin, first called so by Paracelsus in the 16th century, and Ondine is the same etymology but used in French. The defining characteristic of an undine is that she lacks a soul, but can gain one through marriage of love. These water spirits have been written about through the ages, sometimes called mermaids and other times water nymphs. Ondine appears in poem, plays, novels, songs, films, ballet and piano pieces. Undine appears in art, poems, novels, operas, piano and a silent film, as well as being an asteroid. It is also a popular name in comics and video games. Undine first popped into the SSA in 1912, and hasn't been seen since 1935. Undina is even more rare, never appearing in the data. Ondine jumped in later, in 1961, and is still used. In 2016 it was given to 13 girls, and Ondina was seen only once, in 1968,...