Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Magali : this girl name is probably a Provence diminutive of Margaret, meaning “pearl,” or according to French sites it derives from Magdalene, meaning “tower.” Magaly and Magalie have been seen as alternate spelling options. Magali has been used in the U.S. since 1950 and was given to 53 girls in 2017. (Mah-gah-LEE and MAH-gah-lee seem to be both accurate pronunciations.) Marduk : a god of healing in ancient Babylon whose name means “bull calf of the sun god Utu.” A simpler meaning is “solar calf.” He could use magic and was given some of his power by an older god, Ea. Marduk has not been used in the U.S. Nigella : usually said to be the female variant of Nigel, Nigella actually comes from the Late Latin word nigellus , meaning “blackish.” And although most of the world is familiar with chef Nigella Lawson, the name still is not used in the U.S. Nicander : from Greek Nikandros, meaning “victorious man.” One of the first people with this name was a 2nd century BCE scholar. Being so...

Elbereth : this name has not been used in the U.S. it is a Lord of the Rings name meaning “star-queen.” Elynas : this name has not been used in the U.S. you may remember this as the name of the King of Albany (Scotland) from the story of  Melusine . Traditional searches for this name’s meaning turned up nothing until I found his supposed real name - Gille Sidhean, which might mean “steward of the fey,” or Elinas d’Albha. He is connected to the Vere and Anjou lines and said to be born circa 704, but with names this old sometimes there is more speculation than fact, although it becomes very interesting when the lines blur (like, some would say, King Arthur). At the end of  this  speculation there is a bit more of his ancestry connecting him to the Ulsters. Unfortunately I have yet to find the name’s meaning, but Helinus looks promising. Fruzsina : the Hungarian form of Euphrosyne, meaning “mirth.” It is pronounced fruuz-EE-nah. Eufrozina and Frosina are other variants. ...

This week I will cover 26 boys and 26 girls that are considered rare. Ashwin : a Sanskrit name meaning “light,” and possibly Anglo-Saxon meaning “spear.” As a given name it has been used since 1977 in the U.S. always rare, it was given to 56 boys in 2017. Amellina : a Spanish and Italian variant of Amelia meaning “rival.” This name is very rare, with no statistics. Brynja : a Norse name meaning “armor.” Pronounced BRIN-yah, this name has been used since 1993 in the U.S. but is very rare, given to only 7 girls in 2017. Bedivere : a Knight of the Round Table, his name means “birch man.” This name has not been used in the U.S. despite its chivalrous vibe, along with the possible unusual nicknames Bev, Bear, or Biv. Csilla : a Hungarian name meaning “morning star.” It was created by the Hungarian author Andras Dugonics in 1803. Pronounced tCHEE-luh. This name was only used 5 times, in 1961. Cain : a Bible name with a negative story, this Hebrew name meaning “acquired” was liked en...

Girls 1. Sophie/Sofie 2. Nora/Norah 3. Emma 4. Sara/Sarah/Sahra/Zara 5. Ella 6. Olivia 7. Maia/Maya/Maja (I am wondering why Mya isn’t here) 8. Emilie 9. Sophia/Sofia 10. Ingrid/Ingerid/Ingri Boys 1. Jacob/Jakob 2. Lukas/Lucas 3. Emil 4. Oscar/Oskar 5. Oliver 6. William 7. Filip/Fillip/Philip/Phillip 8. Noa/Noah 9. Elias 10. Isac/Isaac/Isak Check out  this  list from 2015.

Loki and Idun by John Bauer Here is a list of ancient Germanic goddess and personifications. There is some overlap with the goddesses of the Norse pantheon, and I've limited it to those names that I think would wear well today on modern babies. Of the following names, only the following were used in 2016. Sol was given to 91 girls, Ran to 5 girls, Saga to 9 girls, and Beyla to 6 girls. Beyla - as a possible agricultural personification, her name could mean "cow," "bean," or "bee," but she has been associated with bees and mead, so my guess is "bee." However, there's been a proposed connection to the reconstructed Proto-Norse name Baunila, which means "little bean." This is also a Spanish and Italian girls name. Fulla - possibly means "bountiful." Her other name is Volla, which I think is equally accessible as a name. She is a virgin goddess in Old Norse mythology. Gersemi - means "treasure." Sh...

These medieval names still have potential for the right parents. Here they are with U.S. statistics when applicable. Boys Ailwin Alden (still in use with 388 boys in 2016) Alric (13 boys in 2016) Anselm (12 in 2016) Ashwin (70 in 2016) Beric (6 in 2016) Bertram (6 in 2016) Birstan Blacwin Brynstan Caedmon (30 in 2016) Cenhelm or Kenelm Cenred Cynric - prn. KIN-rik Delwyn Dunstan Edric (42 in 2016) Elstan Elwin (13) & Elwyn (12) Everard (none, but 87 Everardo) Fordwin Godric (36 in 2016) Harold (285 in 2016) Herbert (80 in 2016) Holbert - gives the nickname Holt easy Jaruman Lambin Lanfranc Leofred Leofric Mervin (53 in 2016) Norbert (5 in 2016) Nordman (0), Norman (180) Nothelm, possibly Northelm Ordric Osborn (16 in 2016), Osmer, Osmund, Osric, Oswin Randal (190 Randall compared to 24 Randal) Roderic, Roderick (7 Roderic & 199 Roderick) Rodney (338) Roger (407) Sabert Selwyn (6) Sperling Swithin - a bit of an oddball but I could ...

Girls 2016 1. Emma - Ima, Imma, Ema,  Ermintrude, Trudy, Irma , & connected to Emily which is #7 2. Olivia - Oliviera, Olivera, Olivette, Olivie 3. Ava - Eve, Eva, Hava/Havva, Chava, Evelia, and Evita 4. Sophia - Sofia (which also ranks), Sonya/Sonia/Sonja, Sophie/Sofie/Sophy, Zofia, Zosia, Sohvi, Zsofika, and Zsofia 5. Isabella - Isa, Sabella, Belle, Babette, Elisa, Elisavet, Elizabeth (#10) and her variants 6. Mia - as a variant of Maria this one has too many to list, but examples include Moira, Mariska, Mariella, Miriam, Marika, Mirja, Maureen, Mimi, Marietta, Maiken and Mya 7. Charlotte - Charlotta, Lottie, Lotte, Lotta, Charlize, Carolina/Karolina, Carla/Karla, Carola/Karola, Searlait, Carlita, Charlita, Charletta 8. Abigail - other than the Biblical Greek variant Abigaia, Abigail really only has spelling variations such as Abigayle and Avigail 9. Emily - see Emma which is #2, also Aemilia, Amalia, Amelia, Amma/Ama, Emelina, Emmeline, Emilia, Emilita and Emmy 10...

Here are the 2016 statistics for all girl names starting with Cat, in order of appearance. Catherine, 1660, #195 Catalina, 1024, #314 Cataleya, 606, #510 Cattleya, 119 Catarina, 60 Cathy, 53 Catalaya, 51 Caterina, 43 Cathryn, 39 Cate, 37 Cattaleya, 29 Catelyn, 27 Catelynn, 18 Cataleyah, 16 Catalyna, 16 Cathleen, 16 Catrina, 15 Catriona, 15 Catalea, 12 Catalia, 12 Catharine, 12 Catie, 12 Catalena, 10 Cathalina, 10 Cataleia, 8 Cateleya, 8 Cataleah, 7 Catalya, 7 Catori, 7 Catalayah, 6 Catia, 6 Cataliya, 5 Cathaleya, 5 Catharina, 5 Catherina, 5 0 births in 2016 include Catriana, Catrin, Catrinella, Catharinella, Catrine, Cathrine, Catina, Cateline, and Cato.

Here's another giant list of super-rare names, none of which were used in 2016 (and likely for several years beforehand). See the last list  here . As you'll notice, some of these treasures could be mixed in with today's popular names with no trouble, and some are still very unusual. Some of them might be too pretty to pass up! Aarona Abyssinia Acelina & Ascelina Aebfhinn (EEV-in) Aenor (AY-nor) Affery Afina Aikaterine Ailbhe (AL-vah) Ainsel (AYN-sell) Alberie Alcina Alzira Amandine Ametrine Amicia & Amisia Ancelina & Anselina Ancora Andelia Anemone Bedelia Bethan Bethia Betula Beyza Bibia Blanchefleur Blodwen Blondine Brightwen Brilliana Brisen Bronmai Bryonia Bryndis Caesia Calamint Caliadne Calistine, Calixtine Calligena Camena, Casmena Careen Carmine Carvilia Caryatis, Karyatis Castina Cat Catanance Catiline Chantilly Chervil Cherwell Chicory Chione Chloris Circaea Cissaea Citrine Claretta Cliona...

The Valkyrie by Arthur Rackham Valkyries are a magical, powerful, bold choice for parenting inspiration, and some have considered using Valkyrie itself as a given name - 48 in 2016, the highest number so far. But after seeing the imagery of a beautiful warrior from myth, we have to face the fact that Hrist and Sigrdrifa are not going to go over so well in the U.S. Using Valkyrie as a name, then, might just be the way to go, but Valkyrija and Valkyria (both val-KEER-ee-uh / val-KEER-yah) have been used - officially accepted as a name in Iceland in 2015. Here are a few others to mull over: Brynhildr - could be shortened to Bryn (or just go with Bryn as an "honor" name). It could mean "armor battle" or "bright battle." Eir - pronounced AYR, this is easy to say and short, but the spelling and pronunciation is not intuitive to a native English speaker. It means "peace, mercy." Herja - prononced HARE-yah, its a lot like Freja or Anja, so if...

Phoenix Beatrix Calytrix Imperatrix Venatrix Viatrix Tamarix Bellatrix Alix Aurembiaix Salix Trix Bix I might also mention Helix, which might make it onto a Sci-Fi fan's list.

I often wonder what makes Rose a more popular choice for a baby girl than Hyacinth, or River more chosen than Ocean, and in the case of herbs, why Sage is taking off but Sorrel is still quite rare. Here is a list of herbs and spices that have baby name potential with how many times they were used in 2016. Tarragon, 0 Chervil, 0 Calamint, 0 Belladonna, 22 girls Lavender, 82 girls Celandine, 0 Chicory, 0 Anise, 13 girls Verbena, 0 Dittany, 0 Damiana, 22 girls Thistle, 0 Centaury, 0 Chamomile, 0 Pandan, 0 Bay, 33 girls, 8 boys Clover, 172 girls Basil, 22 girls, 60 boys Marjoram, 0 Parsley, 0 Artemisia, 12 girls Caraway, 0 Betony, 0 Vervain, 0 Vetiver, 0 Galingale, 0 Coriander, 0 Hyssop (which reminds me of Aesop), 0 Korarima, 0 Koseret, 0 Cicely, 16 girls Gentian, 0 (the nickname Gent would be adorable) Orris, 0 Valerian, 0 Valeriana, 6 Perilla, 0 Cayenne, 8 girls Rue, 35 girls Nigella, 0 Hawthorn, 0, but 36 spelled Hawthorne Paprika, 0 Ginger...

Unless noted, none of these names were used by either gender in 2016. All listed would be considered rare. Ambrette Anise - 13 girls Bay - 33 girls, 8 boys Basil - 22 girls, 60 boys Betony Birch - 11 boys Blossom - 40 girls Briony - 6 girls Caraway Catkin Cedar - 40 girls, 132 boys Celandine Chamomile Cherry - 40 girls Chervil Chicory Clary - 11 girls Cloud - 31 boys Clove Corbeau Cypress - 43 girls, 64 boys Damiana - 22 girls Davana Delta - 39 girls Flower - 5 girls Henna - 27 girls Hickory Jessamine - 11 girls Lilac - 17 girls Lotus - 88 girls Neroli Onycha Palmarosa Parsley Perilla Petal - 5 girls Plumeria Prairie - 16 girls Ravensara Ravine Siasmin Sorrel Sova Spruce Sunflower - 7 girls Swan Tamarix Tannen - 6 boys Tarragon Thistle Tigris/Tigress Tonka Tonquin Valerian - (6 Valeriana) Valley - 15 girls Vervain Vetiver Vivendel Warionia Yarrow

Apis mellifera, aka Western Honey Bee The suffix -fera for girls and -fer for boys (as in Lucifer) is a New Latin nomitive neuter plural meaning "bearing." Some examples of plant and animal related words with the suffix -fera are as follows: Caelifera, "heaven-supporting," which is a taxonomic suborder of grasshopper Ensifera, "sword-bearing," which is a genus of hummingbird Indigofera, "bearing indigo," a genus of beans Loricifera, "breastplate bearer," marine animals with a protective casing Porifera,"pore-bearing," sea sponges Mangifera, "mango-bearing," the mango tree Stolonifera, "branch-bearing," types of sea coral Rotifera, "wheel-bearing," a phylum organism There are other words ending in -fer, such as bellifer , "making war," and mellifer, "carrying honey," where the word could be used in the feminine sense, so I will put an asterisk next to those. Fo...

Here's a list of boy names that were not used in 2016 in the U.S., many of which have not been used for decades - or ever. Acis Acteon (and Actaeon) Aether Alcide Alderic Amadis Ardal Ariodante Auberon Balint Bard Bas Baudelaire Belisario Bramwell Cadmael Cadman Cadmar Cadmus Cadwallon Caliban Cassio Cathal Cicero Claren Clasien Cobalt Corentin Cyrano Daan Dalibor Dardanus Drystan Elderic Eleazer Eltanin Endymion Ernani Faust Ferre Florent Gabin Gabor Galt Ganymede Gawain Geo Glastian Gower Guiscard Gulliver Heliodor Humphrey Hyperion Iridian Janus Jaromir Jessop Kassian Kermit Kitterick Levente Lothar Lowie Ludo Ludovic Melchior Melior Mingus Moe Nat Night Odalric Orfeo Orpheus Osgood Paladin Pascale Pastor Pelleas Peregrino Pherrick Pieran Pim Piran Placido Priamus Puck Radovan Raoul Rastaban Reynard Rinaldo Roald Romaric Rudyard Ruggiero Runyon Salazar Scipio Septimus Seraphim ...

Below are the names that were not used on any baby girls in 2016, and most have never been recorded in the U.S. at all. These are all legit, and many have historical, mythological or literary backgrounds. If you named your child one of the following names, yes it still shows up as unused because the Social Security Administration, for the sake of privacy, only mentions names given five times or more. I have now (as of 5-12-18) updated this list with the applicable 2017 stats. Abigaia Acantha Accalia (suddenly 7 in 2017) Acrasia Adamina Aegina Aeronwen Aetheria Alastrina/Alastriona Aleydis Alienor Alifair, Allifair, Alafare, Alafair Allegria Alsatia Altamira Aludra Alula Amabilia Amapola Amarantha Ambroselle, Ambrosine/a Amelina Aminta Amoret Anatolia Anaxandra Angerona Angiola Angiolina Antalia Antalya Aphra Aquamarine Aquilina Aradia (5 in 2017) Araminta Archina Ardith Argenta Arianell Arianella Arianwen Aristea (11 in 2017) Aristella Arma...

Female : Adelaide Adelia Adriana Agrippina Aida Alceste Alcina Alexandra Alzira Amelia Angelica Anna Antigone Ariadne Ariane Armida Beatrice Beatrix Bertha Bess Carmen Céphise Charlotte Dafne Dalila Daphne Dido Djamileh Dolores Elektra Esclarmonde Euridice Evangeline Fedora Fifi Florencia Francesca Galatea Genevieve Genoveva Giaconda Giovanna Gloriana Gretel Helena Helene Iphigenie Iolanta Iris Isolde Jenůfa Judith Julie Juliet Káťa (Katerina) Kate Lakmé Loreley Louise Lucia Lucretia Lucrezia Luisa Lulu Lyudmila Manon Margaret Maria Marilyn Martha Mavra Médée Mélisande Mignon Mlada Nina Norma Oresteia Patience Polixène (Polyxene, Polyxena) Polyphème Poppea (Poppaea) Rodelinda Rogneda Salammbô Salome Šárka Semele Semiramide Susannah Szibill (Cybil) Thaïs Tirésias (Therese) Tosca (this is a surname in the opera but I couldn't resist) Treemonisha Turandot (Turan-Dokht) Vanessa Venus Ver...

Love Emily, but wish it wasn't so popular? Or do you have a grandma Sophia you'd like to name your baby after, but you wish you could make it a little more her own? Read on, as this is a list of familial variants to the top 50 most popular baby names from 2016 - legit alternatives to the most popular girl's names last year. 1. Emma - relations include Emmy, Ima, Erma/Irma, Irmuska 2. Olivia - Scandinavian Vivi, French Olivie, Croatian Olivera, literary Olivette, and Italian Oliviera 3. Ava - ancient Germanic Avila and Aveza are ripe for the picking, classy Evelina/Avelina and Eveline/Aveline are uncommon, and medieval Avis is short and spunky 4. Sophia - try European Sonia, or one of the two Polish versions: Zofia and Zosia 5. Isabella - short and sweet Isa, Disney beauty Belle, older English form Sabella, Basque Elixabete, Armenian Zabel, Biblical Elisheba, the Welsh version Bethan, international Elisaveta/Elizaveta or Elizabeta/Elisabeta, Scottish Elspeth, or the cl...

With names this long, usability is questionable, but it truly depends on how long your last name is and how easy the name will be to read in the country you live in. Be sure to check out my list of  5 syllable girl's names  as well. Feminizations : Maximiliana Victorianina Apolinaria Alexanderina Alexanderia Spanish : Espiridiana Emerenciana Purificacion Hawaiian : Kaleoaloha Hokuleialani Kaponianani Kakielekea Hoalohalani

We all know the planets, and some are brave enough to use Venus, Mercury, Mars, and even Jupiter or Neptune on their bundle of joy. Some get creative and use names from other languages, such as Sol or Soleil. Some parents use different names associated with the moon - Selene, Luna, Phoebe. Let's look at the other starry baby name options; names used for the moons of other planets, dwarf planets, stars or constellations can be just as celestially appealing. Many things in space were named after characters in Shakespeare, Pope, Spencer and other literature, named after real people (especially those that discovered the object in space), and Greek and Roman mythology (sometimes other, older mythology as well). Stars with proper names that have been or could be used as baby names : Alcyone, Capella, Altair, Aludra, Alula, Ascella, Alya, Atlas, Bellatrix, Castor, Chara, Electra, Eltanin, Izar, Fafnir, Lesath, Maia, Meissa, Merope, Mimosa, Mintaka, Mira, Mizar, Nashira, Pleione, Polar...