On the heels of Aurora, here’s yet another princess name – but this time, one worn by a real life heir to the throne.

Thanks to Sophie for suggesting Zara as Name of the Day.

Strictly speaking, Zara Phillips isn’t a princess.  She’s 12th in line to the throne of England.  Her mother is Princess Anne and her grandmother is Queen Elizabeth II.  In the graphic novel V for Vendetta, Queen Zara rules over a dystopian version of the UK.  But in real life, Princess Anne decided against royal titles for her children.

Anne also made an unusual choice with her daughter’s name.  While royal monikers run the gamut from Anne and Mary to Pomeline and Sybil, there’s something nouveau, even unorthodox, about this pick.

Mom says that Prince Charles suggested the choice.  According to Hello! Magazine:  “The baby made a rather sudden and positive arrival,” recalled Princess Anne, “and my brother thought Zara (a Greek name meaning ‘bright as the dawn’) was an appropriate name.”

Charles might be a future king, but I’m not sure he’s right about the name’s origins.  There are plenty of contenders, including:

• Zahrah – An Arabic word meaning blooming flower;
• Zaharina – A feminine version of Zechariah used in Bulgaria.  Zechariah, of course, is Hebrew and means God remembers.
• It could simply be Sarah or Sara with a Z – and, of course, that’s one name that does indeed mean princess;
• Then there’s Zerah – a Biblical choice that does indeed mean something like bright or glowing;
• Zora means dawn in some Slavic languages;
• Zahra means brilliant or bright in Arabic;
• Zahara, the name given by the Jolie-Pitts to one of their three daughters, is an Arabic word for flower;
• Zahira is sometimes listed as a variant of Zahara, or may related to the Arabic term zahir – helper;
• Zarina is Persian – and sounds just like the Russian term for a female ruler, Czarina or Tsarina;
• Zaria is the name of a city in Nigeria;
• Vincenzo Bellini penned the opera Zaira back in 1829.

Zara is also the name of a popular Spanish clothier, appearing in more US cities in the past few years.

On the map, you’ll find Zara in Croatia, Turkey, Eritrea, Iraq and Tibet.  The Italian and US navies have called their ships Zara, too.

The name failed to chart in the US for years after Zara Phillips’ 1981 birth.  In 2005, Zara debuted at #919.  By 2008, she’d climbed to#774.  But the name was in use earlier.

Actress Zara Cully was born in 1892, but is best remembered as Mother Jefferson on televisions’ The Jeffersons.  Zara can be found in the Census records over the years, a rare but not unimaginable choice.

Today there’s also Pakistani model Zara Sheikh.  Plenty of other related names are heard, like Zariah (#581 in 2008) and Zaria (#682).

If you’re looking for something just a smidge unusual, Zara is a contender.  She’s familiar but not at all common, close to the evergreen Sarah and, unlike many of the Z-options listed here, quite straightforward.  And if you’re looking for a culture-spanning option, then Zara is a safe choice.