Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Quill , unisex, or Quilla if you prefer to add an a at the end for a girl, comes from Middle High German, meaning “hollow stem.” As a bird feather a quill was used for writing with ink. Be aware that Quilla was also the Hispanic spelling of Mama Killa, the Incan goddess, but it was pronounced KEE-lah, whereas Quill is KWILL. Quilla was used between 1902 and 1964, rarely, while Quill has not been used for either gender. Rada : a short form of the Czech girl name Radoslava (and in Slovak, and Polish Radoslawa), Rada, pronounced RAH-dah, means “good glory, eager glory” from rad “glad, eager” and mil “glory.” As a word, rada means “advice.” Radoslav is the masculine form. Rada has been used since 1893 in the U.S. but rarely, only given to 5 girls in 2017. Radoslav, on the other hand, was only given to 5 boys in 1976. Radoslav was a 9th century Serbian ruler as well as several after him.  Radič  is a diminutive mainly used in Serbian and Bosnian.  Sabelina : coming f...

Iskra : a Croatian, Russian and Polish girl name meaning “spark,” it is seeing the light of day in the U.S. thanks to body-positive model Iskra Lawrence. It was also the name of a newspaper founded by Lenin in 1900. The name is still not listed in U.S. statistics. Ingram : this name came to England from the Normans, and it likely means “Ing’s raven” or comes from the ancient Germanic tribe known as the Angles, combined with hraben , meaning “raven.” Listed in the U.S. starting in 1883, it has always been extremely rare, and was only given to 10 boys in 2017. Gram could make an easy nickname. Jacoba : everyone seems to love Jacob, but not as much love is given to Jacoba and Jacobina. Jacoba, always rare in the U.S., was used since 1900 and given to 5 girls in 2017. Jacobia was used only in 1991 and 1992, 5 times each, and Jacobina seems to have not been used at all. Jackdaw : this is a bird name, and one not usually seen among other bird name lists. It is one of few birds able to im...

Desdemona by Theodore Chasseriau Desdemona (dez-deh-MOH-nah) is an English literary name meaning "ill-fated." William Shakespeare used the name in Othello, but the play was based on the story Un Capitano Moro which was in Giovanni Battista Giraldi's Gli Hecatommithi, where the name was spelled Disdemona, from the Greek word dysdaimonia . It has never been a terribly popular name because of the character, who is murdered by her husband, and the name's meaning. However, Desdemona has been a character name in several other works of fiction since, including the Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and Jimmy Buffet's Where is Joe Merchant? Desdemona also features in two other plays - Toni Morrison's Desdemona , and Paula Vogel's Desdemona: A Play about a Handkerchief . It's also been used for four songs, is a moon of Uranus, and an asteroid demonically named 666 Desdemona. Desdemona Mazza was an Italian s...

www.culturespotmc.com Ruslan (ROOS-lahn) is a Slavic masculine name, and Ruslana is the feminine form. It is said this is the Russian form of the Turkic word arslan (and the Turkish name Aslan), meaning "lion." That may be true but there is also a possibility it comes from the Kievan Rus, called Rus, the Rusichan or Ruthenians, who came before Russia as we know it. If this is the case, Ruslan likely means "to row/rower," and shares an etymological root with Russia itself. Some of you may recognize Aslan as the name of the lion in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. This is used in Russia and the surrounding area, and it's also a Circassian name. Eruslan, Yeruslan and Uruslan have been seen as variants. One of the oldest uses of the name is of a legendary hero from the Pushkin poem/epic fairytale  Ruslan and Ludmila  published in 1820. The majority of namesakes are from the 1900's and includes plenty of footballers, other athletes, and politicia...

Greek, meaning "lover of flowers." This is also a moth in the genus Cosmopterigidae family, and the name was used in a novel by Eilis O'Neal titled The False Princess . As a given name it has been used every now and then. Philanthea is an alternate option. Nicknames for Philantha could include Fanny/Phanny, Filly/Philly, Fanna/Phanna, Lanthy or Anthy.

Gennadius II Gennady has a striking similarity to Kennedy, which is a popular unisex name in the U.S. Gennady, alternatively spelled Gennadiy, Gennadi, and Genndy, and  Геннадий   in Russian . This Russian boy's name comes from Gennadius, the name from Greek gennados , meaning "noble, generous." In Bulgarian and Georgian the name is spelled Genadi, while it is Ghenadie in Romanian. None of these are used in the U.S. Saint Gennadius was a martyr from Constantinople, the 21st Ecumenical Patriarch of that ancient city. He was born around the same time as Gennadius of Marseilles, the 5th century priest and historian who was called Gennadius Scholasticus. Perhaps ironically, there was later a man known as Gennadius Scholarius who was a Byzantine theologian and philosopher. There was also 7th century Gennadius II, a Byzantine general. In the 400's there was politician Gennadius Avienus. In the 9th century there was a Bishop named Gennadius of Astorga. Genndy Tart...

Charis anius Chariton (KAR-ih-ton), male, and Charis (KAR-iss), female, both mean "grace" in Greek. It is from these that we get the names Carissa and Charisma, and Haris (not to be confused with Harris). Chariton of Aphrodisias was a 1st century Greek novelist. Saint Chariton the Confessor was a Christian saint native to Iconium. Charis is a fictional nation in the Safehold series by David Weber. Charis is a metalmark butterfly genus in the species Riodinini. In Greek mythology, a Charis is one of the Charites - goddesses of grace, beauty, charm and feminine warmth. Charis was given to 70 girls in 2016, slowing down a bit in use since its high of 127 girls in 2006. It has been used in the U.S. since 1924. Charissa and Carissa are much more well known than Charis, and yet they're still pretty uncommon. If you look at the statistics for Carissa, she shoots straight up from 8 girls in 1053 to 1157 girls given the name in 1992, then straight back down to a mere 1...

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

Adopt a snowy owl Here's another could-be name - one that exists as a word, but not as a name in the U.S. Sova (SO-vah) means "owl" in Czech, Slovenian, Slovakian, Bosnian and Croatian. This feminine noun comes from Proto-Slavic sova . "Little owl" is cute as a nickname, but short and elegant Sova really brings something special to the table as a given name. In the U.S. this has not been used as a name more than 4 times in any given year, leaving us no SSA data. It does not appear on recent popularity charts in the countries in which it means "owl."

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...

At first glance, Urraca (oo-RAH-kuh) may not seem like a good name for a newborn. I'll admit it has a clunky oddness about it, and a weight to it. However, like Roxelana ,  Tomyris ,  Zenobia and  Melisende , a couple of the namesakes for Urraca qualify as some of the most powerful female rulers of all time - at least in Spain. Like many historical names, Urraca has no U.S. name data. This name may ultimately be of Basque origin, but is likely from Latin furax , meaning "thieving," in reference to the magpie's behavior. The Spanish meaning is "magpie," the beautiful black and white bird. There are a handful of historical women named Urraca. In historical records the name has also been spelled Hurraca, Urracha and Orraca. Most of these women were princesses or queens coming from the original Kingdom of Asturias, which was divided into Galicia, Asturias (which became Castile), and   León. A couple others were from Pamplona (Navarre), and Portugal.  Li...

This boy's name is of Old English origin, pronounced RAM-zee, has a few possible meanings. One is the seemingly obvious "ram island," while another is "raven island." In Old English ,  hræm was raven, and ramm was ram. In Old Norse, rammr was strong, giving this a third meaning of "strong island." The name comes from the Clan Ramsay, dating back to the 11th century, beginning with Symon de Ramesie. As a surname there are dozens of namesakes, but the spelling Ramsey is more popular for namesakes as a first name. The Baron de Ramsey is also a title in the Peerage of the UK. It seems that the spelling Ramsey comes as a toponymic surname. The spelling Ramsay was given to only 7 boys in 2016, hinting that it is still primarily a surname, while Ramsey was chosen for 150 boys, definitely falling in the category of place-name turned baby name. Perhaps the only well-known literary & TV character is Ramsay Snow (aka Ramsay Bolton) from the Game of Thro...

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.

Corbeau (kor-BOW) is French for raven, from Old French corbel , and ultimately Latin corvus . While Corbeau can be found as a surname, this word has given us other surnames , such as Corbus, Corvo, Corvino, Corbinien, Corbin, Corby, and Corbelin. Of those, Corbin gained use as a given name in the U.S. with actor Corbin Bernsen and it now ranks at #239. Change the spelling to Korban or Corban and it is an unrelated name found in the Bible. Saint Corbinian was a Frankish bishop who lived between 670 and 730. The name Corbeau is not used in the U.S. as a given name.

The U.S. top 1000 baby names and extended list is here (thank you Social Security Administration!), and my priority is picking out the gems from the very bottom of that list. While Emma and Noah are the current rulers of popularity, names like Cassiana, Euphemia and Faustine were only given to 5 baby girls into 2016, and Pippin and Lonan only given to 5 boys in 2016. In this post I'll talk about names that really stood out, and legitimate names at the very bottom of the barrel. One thing I noticed right away was a large amount of boy names ending in -iel at the bottom of the list (5 boys in 2016). The letter Y had four - Yaciel, Yassiel, Yekusiel, and Yatniel. There was also Remiel, Raniel, Lexiel, Keriel, Joxiel, Joriel, Jazziel, Jaydiel, Ithiel, Eddiel, Doniel, Deriel, Azariel, Audiel, Andiel, Alexiel and Avriel. For girls, I noticed the Brazilian (and Venezuelan?) -y ending on popular girl's names: Gabrielly, Isabelly, and so on. I also noticed a decline in Renesmee ...

Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie  Perdita (per-DEET-uh) may sound familiar to you for one of two references: either the mother Dalmation from "101 Dalmatians," the Disney movie (or the Dodie Smith novel The One Hundred and One Dalmatians ), or the Shakespeare character from The Winter's Tale . Despite her familiarity, she's exceedingly rare - given to only about 30 girls in the U.S. between 1950 and 1980. In fact, the Social Security Administration shows no record for her after 1970. She was not given to any girls (at least not more than four) in 2016. Which is mind-boggling given her literary credentials and upbeat, classy sound. The name is even rare in its home country, where only 7 girls were named Perdita in the U.K. and Wales as of 2013. They say Shakespeare invented the name. Meaning "lost," from Latin perditus , it suited the character. In Perdita's story, she is left as an infant to die. Her mother, Queen Hermione, is imprisoned because ...

 Byblia ilithyia butterfly Ilithyia (ill-ITH-ee-uh), or Eileithyia, comes from  Εἰλείθυια (Eleuthia),  which could be Pre-Greek in origin. The spelling Ilithyia is the Latinized form of Eleuthia and may have first been used by Horace, and Eileithyia is the Greek form, and she is also sometimes refered to as Elysia. She was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and her name means "to bring," or "to come," making her The Bringer . On a related note, some research into etymology points to Elysia meaning "to come" as well, and not necessarily the meanings like "blissful" or "joyous" that have been recorded in the past. Elionia may have been another name of hers - she was worshiped at Argos as a goddess of birth. Elithyia has been recorded as a simpler spelling of Eileithyia. Zeus and Hera were her parents. She is also likely the same as Eileithyia, a Minoan goddess that was slightly older. Eileithyia/Ilithyia was written abo...

Coral is one of those names that everyone knows, yet no one really uses. When is the last time you actually met one? While Coral saw 199 births in 2015, it is not in the top 1000 - even though it has so much to offer. Your first introduction may have been to coral reefs (marine invertebrates) or the precious coral gems made out of the underwater living "bushes." There's also the color coral, given in reference to the polished material. Coral jewelry has been used as far back as the ancient Egyptians and then some. It had great popularity in Victorian times, which may have been when the name started being used in modern times. The U.S. records specifically for names started in 1880, and we know Coral was being used at that time, which was just before the end of the Victorian period. Coral comes from Greek korallion , given to mean a shade of red. It could mean "small stone" in Semitic. Elaborate versions of Coral include Coraline, Coralie, and Coralia. Co...

www.learnaboutbutterflies.com The girl's baby name Castalia  ( Κασταλια) is pronounced kah-STAH-lia, and/or KASS-tah-lee-uh. She  was a nymph, daughter of the river Achelous, who gave her name to the Castalian Spring near Delphi, Greece - home of the prophetic Oracle of Delphi. According to some legends she married the King of Delphi (possibly King Delphus who gave his name to the city) and had a son with him, who was named Castalius. According to other legends, she became the Castalian Spring itself by diving into the fountain at the foot of Mount Parnassus after being pursued romantically by the god Apollo. Now she is a muse who inspires poetic genius to those who touch her waters, and the other muses are sometimes called Castalides, or it is used as their surname or collective name, because they are associated with this spring. 'Castalian' is now a word, meaning "pertaining to Castalia, fountain of Parnassus." Virginia Woolf used this name for a char...

This is a rare female form of Cassian (KASH-in, though KASS-ee-an is accepted), Cassius (KASH-us), and the Roman family name Cassianus. It is of Latin origin, meaning "hollow, empty." The girl's name Cassiana is pronounced KAH-shah-nah, KASS-ee-ah-nah, or KAH-see-ah-nah. Cassiane/Kassiane (KAH-see-ah-neh) and Cassia (KAH-shuh, KASS-ee-uh accepted) are other female forms. Recorded in the years 1992, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, and 2016 (5 births) never more than seven times in a year, the baby name Cassiana is definitely rare. The spelling Casiana was only used in 1996 on 7 girls and 1998 on 5, and there is no recorded spelling of Cassiane. The spelling Kassiana was used in 2011 on 5 and 2014 on 6 girls. Cassia was used 61 times in 2015, making it the most popular option. Although these are rare feminine names, they do have a nice history of use and a broad range of countries it is used in. However, I do think people confuse Cassiana for a smoosh of Cassie/Cassan...