Think of Judy Garland (real name Frances Gumm), Hollywood starlet, or musician Garland Jeffries when considering Garland, unisex, as a baby name. Transfer this traditional surname into a modern holiday name, and suddenly Christmas garlands will be special to them. Garland is from Old English and Old French origins, meaning "land of the spear," "wreath," or "prize." Garland ranked until 1984 on the Social Security Administration's list of the top 1000 baby names, albeit low on the list. Nameberry says Garland is "fragrant and celebratory." For a boy, nicknames include Garry or Lando (as in Orlando), and for a girl, Laney or Galla, perhaps. In 2010 there were 14 baby boys named Garland but no baby girls named Garland. In 2011 there were 21 baby boys named Garland (also in 2015) and 6 girls named Garland.
I grew up on a street that was named an Italian variant of Roger. When I got married and we bought our first house, it turned out to be on Roger Street. Once noting that coincidence, I started searching for other variants of the name. However, female variants turned out to be pretty nonexistent. Save for Roxeria, which I later discovered was the Galician female form, possibly pronounced rohz-AIR-ee-uh. That led me to a few lists of female Galician names, ranging from common to rare. Here is a sampling of names not often heard here in the states... Albina Alda Alma Alodia Aloia Amada Amadora Amalia Amparo Anisia Antia Araceli Aranzazu Artemisa Avelina Azucena Baia Balbina Baltasara Beatriz Benvida Berenice Bieita Branca Braulia Caetana Carola Casilda Casimira Ceferina Celsa Cipriana Cira Clorinda Coralia Cornelia Cosima Davinia Delfina Desideria Dionisia Dominga Dorinda Dorotea Dositea Edelmira Edenia Elba Elvira Emiliana Etelvina ...
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