Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Savia is a very old Italian [feminine singular] word name meaning "wise." It was a medieval augural name, and the masculine form is Savio. It also happens to mean “tree sap” in Spanish. It is not a name that has been used in the U.S. Sabia comes from the Irish mythology name Sadb, meaning “sweet” in Gaelic. It is also sometimes regarded as another form of the name Sabina, whose meaning (the closest we can guess) is “of one’s own kind.”  Sabine and Sabina are quite well known, with the saints of their name, ancient Roman town and the story of its women to give them historical credibility. Sabine was first seen on 5 girls in the U.S. in 1916, until 2007 when it was finally given to more than 100 girls in a year, but it is hovering now, with 94 girls in 2017. Sabina was more popular and was used since before 1880 and consistently afterward, but now it was given 94 times last year as well. Sabia, on the other hand, was only used 5 times in 1996 and 5 times in 2007. I have inc...

Myrddin Wyllt is the Welsh legendary character that became Geoffrey Monmouth's Arthurian character Merlin, who may have also been inspired by the legendary Welsh figure Emrys. To be clear, Merlin, Latinized as Merlinus, came after Myrddin. His own tale closely resembled Lailoken, a British figure found in the 12th century Life of Kentigern , but in the 15th century they may have blended a bit. A madman living in the Caledonian forests, he was an ex-bard reflecting over his life, who'd become wild and mad, and may have had some power of prophecy. The name Myrddin derives from the capital of the Demetae tribe called Moridunum, meaning "sea fort." As an important note, the place Caerfyrddin means "Myrddin's castle" and was supposedly his place of birth. Myrddin can also be found as a Stargate character, and it was the name of Welsh writer Myrddin Fardd. Mryddin has never shown up in U.S. data, while Merlin has been used since at least 1885. It started w...

This girl's baby name is Welsh in origin, and it derives from Arianrhod, meaning "silver circle." Arianrhod was a Celtic goddess associated with the moon. Pronounced arh-ee-AHN-wen, it means "blessed silver."  Arianell  is a related name meaning "shining silver." Arianwen verch Brychan was the daughter of legendary 5th century Welsh chieftan Brychan Brycheiniog, and in more recent times we can find the name on celebrity Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood, and even in the book series The Magician Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo as the character of the Snow Spider. Arianwen had no U.S. data, nor does Arianell or Arianrhod.

From Germanic rodinus, composed of  hrod,  meaning "glory." It was transfered to use as a surname in France and is now several French place names. Since 1990 only 7 or so boys were given Rodin as a first name in France. World-renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin was perhaps the most well known namesake for Rodin as a surname. Rodel and Rodon are other forms from the same root that are found in France, as well as the diminutives Rodilon/Rodillon and Rodineau, each suffix in the last two denoting the region it comes from. They are not related to the similar names Roudic, Roudel, Roudet et al, which comes from Latin rota , meaning "wheel," nor are they related to the French names Rodde and Rodiere, which come from Occitan roda , meaning "bush." But they are all great surnames which would make nice modern given names. Rodina, however, is not a feminine form - it is a Russian political party.

Morgan le Fay by Frederik Sandys Morgana is one of those names a good majority of people have heard of, yet rarely, if ever, see on a real person. It might really be the perfect “beautiful-dark” name, as it conjures the same imagery of sorcery, a dark haired maiden, and ancient magic in almost everyone’s mind, seeing how the most well known namesake was the legendary Morgan le Fay of Arthurian tales. She’s seen many variants over time, including Morganna, Morgen, Morgaine, Argante, Feimurgen, and her sister is similar-sounding Morgause. Morgana, half-sister of King Arthur, is a sorceress who shows signs of being both good and evil (here’s a nod to feminine duality in literature) and she undeniably has healing abilities along with several other magical abilities. In early versions of Arthurian legend, Morgana was called Queen of Avalon. Morgana is an Old Welsh name meaning “sea-born,” the earliest form being Morgen. The male version is Morien in Old Welsh. The name Morgen is ...