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Were these baby names used?

Last year I posted a list of names that either had less than five uses during the year or were not used at all. This year (for last year) I am checking to see if that changed. I think I was wrong about one or two of them, so I left those out. Also, there were a lot more names that were not used in 2010 and 2011, but I didn't get to them.

Here's the list, and how many times the name was used in 2011.

Araminta, 0
Amaranta, 5

Amarantha, 0
Anatolia, 0
Arianwen, 0
Atalanta, 0 (the goddess, not the city)
Beria, 0
Branwen, 5
Capucine, 0
Celandine, 0
Celesta, 0 (Celestia, Celestine 7, Celestina 19)
Ceridwen, 0
Chrysanthe, 0
Coriander, 0
Crisanta, 0
Cymbeline & Cymbelina, 0
Cypriana & Cyprienne, 0 (Cipriana 7)
Delphina, 0
Desdemona, 0
Diantha, 0
Dove, 8
Doveva, 0
Elowen, 10
Endrina, 0
Eulalie, 0 (Eulalia 25)
Fairuza,0 (Faiza 23)
Fenella, 0 (Fiorella 36)
Fifer, 0
Fiorentina, 0 (Florentina 5, Florence 73)
Fiorenza, 0 (Florencia 14)
Fortuna, 0
Fortunata, 0
Freesia, 0
Galadriel, 0
Galatea, 0
Galila, 0 (18 Gelila, 20 Galilee, 251 Galilea)
Garland, 6
Godiva, 0
Gregoria, 6
Gwyneira, 0
Isolda, 0 (Isolde 19)
Kasienka, 0
Laureline, 0 (Lauriana 10)
Lionella, 0 (Leonela 8, Leonella 6, Liona 5)
Lumina, 0
Maetel, 0
Megaera, 0
Miaka, 0
Myfanwy, 0
Nausicaa, 0 (Nautica 22)
Nerine, 0 (as in nerine lily)
Orlena, 0 (Orla 28)
Ostara, 5 (Wiccan holiday similar to Easter)
Raja, 9
Rudolpha, 0
Salvia, 0
Sendra, (Senna 18)
Severa, 0 (Sevana 5)
Silveria, 0
Tauria, 0 (Taura 5, Toria 8)
Thalassa, 0
Theria, 0
Ursa, 0
Verbena, 0
Vespera, 0 (Vesper, 33)
Zephyra, 9


So, what made people use Amaranta, Zephyra, Raja, Ostara, Gregoria, Garland, Branwen, Dove and Elowen? Well, Elowen is a recently coined Cornish name meaning "elm," Ostara appeals to Wiccans and Pagans in search of a distinct name, Zephyra could be noticed due to the male name Zephyr, Raja was the name of the tiger in Aladdin, Bronwen (with an O instead of an A) has had some love in the past, and Garland is likely for Judy Garland. As for Gregoria, Amaranta, and Dove...well, I have no clue.

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