Casimir II; Image via Wikipedia

He’s a Slavic import with a certain dashing style.

Thanks to Larkin for suggesting Casimir as our Baby Name of the Day.

Casimir comes from two apparently contradictory elements.  Mir means peace, but kazic means to destroy.  The original sense is probably something like “one who destroys the peace of his enemy,” but modern parents could focus on the peaceful part.

You can hear both French and Polish pronunciations here.  In English, kaz EH meer is probably closest.

Polish kings, nobles, and a saint have answered to the original form of the name, Kazimierz.  Neighbors in Pomerania had adopted it by the twelfth century, but it would be centuries until he reached Western Europe.

The quartet of Polish rulers make for a relatively admirable bunch.  Casimir III established the Jagiellonian University in Cracow in the 1300s, the oldest university in Poland and among the oldest in the world.

But perhaps Casimir IV’s son – the future saint – is the one that helped the name spread.  He was expected to inherit the Polish throne, and even served as vice-regent in his father’s absence.  But Casimir wasn’t willing to marry, and spent much of his time fasting.  He died in 1484, while visiting Lithuania.  He’s the patron saint of Poland, Lithuania, and youth.

A German prince is called Johann Casimir in the late 1500s, and over the next few hundred years, the name goes global:

• Spanish-born Casimiro Diaz evangelized the Philippines in the early eighteenth century.
• He’s also found in France by the eighteenth century, where Casimir, Comte de Montrond, was involved in various diplomatic affairs.
• Born Louis-Casimir Escoffer and known as Casimir Ney, the nineteenth century French composer was a master at viola.
• Casimir Dudevant was the French nobleman best known for marrying Aurore Dupin – the future George Sand.
• Count Kasimir Felix Badeni was a Polish aristocrat, who played a key role in administering the Austro-Hungarian Empire administration, though he was not particularly adept at his work.
• Casimiro de Abreu was a Brazilian-born poet who flourished in Portugal in the mid-nineteenth century.
• Casimiro is also in use in Italy around the same time, with a powerful Italian-born cardinal called Casimiro Gennari.
• Jean Casimir Guyon was a French surgeon and pioneer in urology in the early years of the twentieth century.

Casimir had a good run in France, peaking in the 1930s.  But in the 1970s, an orange dinosaur called Casimir dominated children’s television.  Just like Barney struggles to overcome his associations with a purple T-Rex in the US, I suspect it has put a damper on the name.

In the US, Casimir appeared at the fringes of the Top 1000 into the 1930s, but today is simply unknown.

Short form Cass leans a little girlish, though Cas, pronounced Kaz, is almost cowboy.  And if you think you’re likely to use all three syllables, just like so many kids called Sebastian and Isabelle do, then there’s no barrier to Casimir.  It’s a great Slavic option with plenty of history and style.

Photo by ambernectar via Flickr

It’s a classic cocktail and a medieval appellation.  Would it be a possibility today?

Thanks to Findley for suggesting Pimm as our Baby Name of the Day.

I first encountered Pimm as a nickname for the heroine’s friend in the chick lit-ish Me Times Three.  Then it was a mysterious concoction favored by all of the posh socialite types in Madeleine Wickham novels.

Pimm’s is a gin-based liqueur, touted as medicinal by inventor James Pimm in the 1820s.  The original drink is Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.  As the company expanded, additional blends were added, all with a number.  Although it is now owned by global spirits conglomerate Diageo, Pimm’s still has a certain cachet – at least from an American perspective – thanks to its associations with Wimbledon, polo, and all things English country house.

The surname predates James Pimm, found on families back to the Middle Ages.  There are two possible – and possibly overlapping – origins.

First Pimm could come from Euphemia - a Greek name that literally translates to “good speech.”  The second-century martyr St. Euphemia is a major figure in Eastern Christianity.  Chances are that she came to the attention of the English-speaking world thanks to the Crusades starting in the late eleventh century.  The saint’s relics were captured by Crusaders, and her name begins to appear throughout Western Europe around the same time.

Effie and Phemie are the logical short forms of Euphemia, but why Pimm?  It may have simply been a corruption, or it may come from the Middle English tendency to pronounce every letter.  Many medieval Euphemias actually spelled their name with an f – Effemy is one vernacular form.  Pymme, Pimme, and Pimm are all found, too.

Second, it could be derived from a Saxon masculine name Pymma.  But whether your surname related to the Saxons or developed later would be difficult to say.  A number of sites conflate the two, even though several centuries separate them.

There’s another masculine origin for Pimm.  In Dutch, he’s a short form of Willem.  Just like the English William can answer to Bill, Willem becomes Wim and Wim has morphed into Pim.  Anne Frank and her sister Margot used this nickname for their father, though his given name was Otto.

Today you might catch financial journalist Pimm Fox of Bloomberg News – I’m not certain how he came by his unusual name.

You won’t likely meet a child named Pimm, though.  It was given to fewer than five girls or boys in 2010, and has never registered in the US Top 1000.  It’s so little used that gender is impossible to assign.  On the one hand, Pimm has the same sweet simplicity as Nell or Ann.  On the other hand, with short names like Finn and Flynn on the rise for boys, parents are considering choices like Penn or perhaps even Pimm.

The alcoholic associations are probably why more parents haven’t landed on this particular sound, but there’s enough history here to consider Pimm a possible choice in the middle spot.  Or, if you dare, a simple, crisp given name that you can explain has origins that date back to well before happy hour.

She’s an alternative to the mega-popular Olivia, a classic boosted just the tiniest bit by a  sitcom staple.

Thanks to Dan for suggesting Cecilia as our Baby Name of the Day.

Cecilia’s meaning isn’t especially appealing.  She comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, derived from the Latin word caecus – blind.  The first Caeculus was the son of Vulcan in Roman myth, abandoned by his mother as a child, but eventually growing up to be a king.  The family claimed descent from Caeculus, and female members of the family answered to Caecilia.

Then along came a saint, a faultless woman of the second or third century, born blind.  A devout Christian, she went to her death for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods.  It took many attempts to execute Cecilia – or so goes the legend.  Despite many re-tellings of her tale, like some other early saints, there is little historical evidence to support her existence.

But no matter, because Cecilia has been wildly popular over the years, enough that other meanings have attached to her name, including:

• She of the shining light, a meaning that might be a play on blindness, or might relate to an archaic French word with a similar meaning.  While I can’t confirm the word’s use, light is a common image used with reference to many saints.  Saint Therese of Lisieux used the imagery in a poem she wrote to Saint Cecilia.
• In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Second Nun’s Tale lists a long string of possible alternate meanings for Cecilia, including Lily of Heaven.  Scholars speculate that Chaucer might have had access to more extensive accounts of Cecilia’s story.

Speaking of her story, it is said that she sang to heaven even as she was beheaded – and so Cecilia is the patron saint of music.

Handel composed the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, one of many works dedicated to her.  Rome is home to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – one of the oldest musical institutions, founded in 1585.

Then there’s Simon & Garfunkel‘s enduring single from their 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water.  While the lyrics lean PG-13, it is a bouncy, upbeat song.

Other uses abound:

• Popular eighteenth century novelist Frances Burney penned a novel called Cecilia, or Memoirs on an Heiress.
• The name is big name in the royal family of Sweden.  Cecilia was believed to be name of a twelfth century queen, the wife of King Canute I and mother of King Eric X.  Other princesses have worn the name since.
• A second royal connection is Cecilia of Normandy, said to be the firstborn daughter of William the Conqueror.

The Normans brought Cecilia to England, and in the medieval era she became Cecily.  Variants abound:  Sisley, Sela, Cecilie, Cecile, even the Irish Sheila.  The Shakespearean Celia has different roots, but sounds close enough that she’s sometimes grouped with the Cecilia names, too.

In more recent years, Cecilia has been a character in novels-turned-movies The Virgin Suicides and Atonement, plus the name given to Pam and Jim’s daughter on The Office.

Overall, Cecilia is steady.  She ranked #277 in 2010, #283 in 2000, #326 in 1990, #283 in 1960, #262 in 1930, and #199 in 1900.  She’s been more and less popular over the decades, but she’s always been present.  This makes her a great choice for parents seeking an alternative to Amelia or Sophia.  Cecilia is every bit as storied, but not nearly as common.

He’s a saintly Irish appellation and a sci fi warrior.

Thanks to Violet for suggesting Conan as our Baby Name of the Day.

It is tempting to add “the Barbarian” to this name auotmatically, but Conan has oodles of history before he was re-invented by a 1930s writer.

In Old Irish, cú referred to a dog or maybe a wolf.  The -an is that ever familiar diminutive form, so Conan is a pup or a little wolf.  Animal names have a long history of use, making Conan pretty ordinary.

Except the first Conan was extraordinary – a semi-legendary figure who gets credit for founding Brittany.  Geoffrey of Monmouth references him, but he’s not the only source.  Several Breton families trace their roots to Conan, including the powerful Rohan family.  He also features in medieval politics, as a claim to such an ancient ruler would’ve helped with machinations as leaders tried to claim rights to various thrones.

There’s also a warrior in Irish myth called Conan mac Morna, a friend and ally of Finn McCool.

Then along came:

• Saint Conan, an Irish missionary and early Bishop of the Isle of Man from the sixth century or so.  At least two other minor saints share the name.
• In the tenth century, Conan became Count of Rennes and later Duke of Brittany.  At least three of his descendants wore name into the 12th century.

This takes us into the modern era.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is remembered as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, another enduring character.  Conan is sometimes mistaken as part of his surname – Conan Doyle – but it appears to be one of his three given names, Arthur Ignatius Conan, and a nod to his godfather’s surname.

Then in the 1930s everything changed.  Robert E. Howard invented the character Conan the Cimmerian, a hero from a fictional world not unlike ours, but rich with magic.  Conan had strength aplenty, brains, and a serious way with the sword.  He started out in pulp fiction.  After Howard’s death others wrote Conan tales, and over the years the character appeared in books, comics, video games, television series, and, of course, movies.

The big moment for Conan was 1982, when the future governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, starred in the title role.  Conan the Barbarian was a hit, combining elements from different Conan tales.  A 1984 sequel followed, and a trilogy planned, but the third movie was never made.  In 2011, Jason Momoa hefted the sword as a new Conan, but the reboot was not successful.

The very Irish Conan O’Brien emerged in the same time, helping return the name to its roots.  The Harvard alum worked as a writer for Saturday Night Light and The Simpsons before getting his first late night talk show in 1993.  He’s been on television ever since, with the exception of a contract dispute with NBC for a few months.  Unlike many a high-profile controversy, the comedian came away with his integrity intact, and proof of a devoted fan base.  O’Brien can now be seen on TBS.

Overall, this makes Conan a weirdly perfect name.  He’s never been in the US Top 1000, even as Irish names from Ryan to Aidan have caught fire.  Conan is familiar to all and easy to spell.  He’ll fit with aggressive boy names like Slade and Cannon, but he also blends in with literary, legendary picks like Arthur.  If you can live with the occasional question about whether you’re big fans of the Governator, this might be one to short list for a son.

Lars Ulrich of Metallica; Image via Wikipedia

Laurence wears a bowtie, but this Scandinavian variant is pure heavy metal.

Thanks to Kristin for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Lars.

I’m quite fond of the story of Saint Laurence.  The name probably started out as a reference to Laurentum, an ancient city pre-dating Rome.  The city likely took its name from the laurel.  Laurence and company have been common for centuries.  In the 200s Saint Laurence was martyred after being ordered to round up the riches of his church and hand ‘em over.  Laurence gathered the poor and presented them as the true wealth of his faith.  Legend has it that he was roasted alive.

Despite this gutsy and grisly tale, Laurence feels like an academic today – an English professor, or maybe a banker or a graphic designer.  Larry - a short form that was a Top 20 pick from 1937 through 1955 – is your grandpa, or maybe your neighbor who can fix anything, the one whose kids are all in high school or out of the home.

As for medieval diminutive Larkin?  He could be spotted on a boy, but Lark is almost certainly a new baby girl.

Then there’s Lars.  He has a long history of use in Scandinavia, where he’s not a nickname – he’s just the Swedish and Norwegian and Danish form of Laurence.  He’s also heard in Dutch, and popular in Belgium and Germany.

Like the white-hot Axel, this import has a certain heavy metal undercurrent.

• Guitar legend Yngwie Malmsteen’s given name was Lars.
• Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen was born in California, but his mom was born in Denmark.
• Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich truly puts the heavy metal umlaut in Lars.  The Danish-born drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has had a successful career since the early 1980s.  Metallica has racked up nine Grammy awards – and I have to add this: they’ve just collaborated on a new album with Lou Reed called Lulu.

In 2007, quirky little indie flick Lars and the Real Girl made waves.  Danish film director Lars von Trier has been sparking controversy and winning accolades since his career took off in the late 1980s.  Von Trier’s latest film, Melancholia, helped Kirsten Dunst nab a best actress award at Cannes.

All of this lends Lars some serious edge.  But in the US, his sound is slightly out of step with current trends.  In fact, Lars did appear in the Top 1000 steadily from 1958 through 1976, and a few times before and since.  His last appearance was 1984.

Overall, this makes Lars a heritage choice with a certain offbeat vibe.  His sound is masculine, but not nearly as aggressive as Slade or Cannon.  Thanks to his saintly origins, Lars has a certain evergreen quality that makes him a good choice for parents who want unusual something that screams tough guy while still staying within the lexicon of established appellations.

M by Mary Hockenbery via Flickr

Matthew was a Top Ten staple from 1974 through 2007, a Biblical boy with a long history of use.

Today parents are borrowing the Italian form for a name that’s fresher and more interesting, but every bit as enduring.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Matteo.

Call out Matteo on a Hollywood playground, and you’d expect to see little heads swivel.  In recent years:

• Colin Firth welcomed a son called Matteo in 2003, a big brother for Luca.
• Benjamin Bratt called his son Mateo Bravery in 2005, a brother for Sophia Rosalinda.
• Ricky Martin named one of his twins Matteo, a brother to Valentino in 2008.
• Tom Colicchio is the most recent member of the club, with son Mateo Lev born in 2009.  Mateo’s brothers are Dante and Luka.

Strictly speaking, the single t spelling is Spanish – and common throughout the Spanish-speaking world – while the double t is Italian, and a Top Ten choice in Italy today.  But Ricky Martin used Matteo, and Tom Colicchio opted for Mateo, so in the US, that’s not necessarily a meaningful distinction.

It is no surprise he’s so very international.  Saint Matthew was one of the twelve apostles, a witness to the Resurrection, the presumed author of the New Testament’s Gospel of Matthew.  You would expect to find a version of Matthew in every European language, and so there is – from Mads in Danish to Matvei in Russian.  Mathias and Matthias are very common, too.

But parents are embracing Matteo for another reason – his ends-in-o sound.  As boys’ names have become softer, vowel endings like Joshua and Noah have become far more common.  Ends in -o options are especially stylish, with Leo (ranked #193 in 2010) and Theo (Theodore ranked #263, with Theo at #915) at the top of the pack, followed by Milo, Marco, Arlo, and Rocco.

Factor in names popular with Spanish-speakers but very wearable in the English-speaking world, like Diego, Antonio, and Santiago, and it is easy to see Matteo’s appeal.

Mateo is more popular in the US, charting at 221 in 2010, with Matteo more than two hundred spaces back at #428.  Doubtless Mateo is boosted by Spanish-speaking parents seeking a crossover name.

But despite Matteo’s lesser use, he seems like the spelling to watch – a good choice for parents seeking a name that embraces their Italian heritage, or even just a name for parents who want something only a little bit different.  Matteo can still answer to every-guy short form Matt, but his overall sound is distinctive.

Today’s parents grew up with Matthew.  We all knew at least one, and actors like Matt Dillon, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, and Matthew Broderick keep the name visible.  That’s without counting historical figures like nineteenth century sailor Commodore Matthew Perry, part of the first Western mission to Japan.

Matteo has history aplenty, too.  Matteo Visconti ruled Milan in the 1300s; in the sixteenth century, Matteo Ricci was one of the first Jesuit priests in China.   Field Marshal Mateo de Toro Zambrano, was a major figure in Chile under the Spanish Empire, and was the fledgling independent state’s first president in 1810.

Matteo bridges a gap between the familiar, boy-next-door name and a modern, international one.  He’s a great choice for parents seeking a culture-spanning name, and an equally good option for families intent on finding a not-too-familiar, but not-too-out there option for a son.

B is for buried; image by WagsomeDog via Flickr

He’s a stylish surname bounding up the charts.

Beckett debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2006 at #749, and he’d raced up to #356 by 2010.  He shows no signs of slowing down, either.  At this rate, he could zip right past other boys’ -ett appellations, like:

• Garrett, #189
• Emmett, #273
• Bennett, #279
• Everett, #287
• Jett, #353

There’s also Wyatt and Elliott.  In fact, I guessed Beckett might share something with Elliott and his cousin Elliot - I expected to see Becket gaining, too, but that’s not the case.  The single t spelling is pretty rare.  You’re more likely to meet a Beck or a even a Beckham.

Both Beckett and Becket share their origins:

• Beckett is a place name, found on the map in England.  Beck is an Old English term for a stream, and that’s the most likely origin, but it might also be related to a given name combined with the word cot, shelter.
• It might have described someone with a prominent nose – a beak!  In Middle English, the word was beke; in French, bec.  Alternately, someone who gossiped could’ve been called a beke, too.

Image via Wikipedia

She’s a spiritual place name and a mobster’s missus.

Thanks to Brieta for suggesting her daughter’s name as our Baby Name of the Day: Carmela.

From 1999 to 2007, the world tuned in to HBO to see what would happened to conflicted mob boss Tony Soprano and his family – kids Meadow and A.J., plus wife, Carmela.

Carmela knew how Tony brought home the bacon, and while she put up a good front, she found some of her husband’s dealings troubling.  Their marriage was also strained by Tony’s philandering, though at the end of the series, it looked like those two crazy kids were going to work it out.

Even without the series, Carmela reads Italian-American matriarch.  The name peaked in the 1920s, and last charted in the US Top 1000 in 1976.  She’s not gone – 93 newborns received the name in 2010, plus another 193 girls were called Carmella.

Some of those little misses are Spanish, too – the folk song “Ay, Carmela” is tied to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, but dates back even farther – and continues to be used in reference to the era.

In Hebrew, karmel means garden.  The name was given to a mountain in Israel.  Today Mount Carmel can refer to an entire mountain range, starting at the Mediterranean and stretching 24 miles inland.  The city of Haifa is located on its slope today.  Carmel appears in the Old Testament, and there’s evidence that the area has been inhabited for roughly 2.5 million years.

Long before the advent of Christianity, ancient historians suggest that there were altars on the mountain.  The story of the prophet Elijah is wrapped up with Mount Carmel.  The story goes that he had a showdown with the prophets of competing god Ba’al on the mountainside.  Elijah was able to call down holy fire to ignite his altar, while the others failed.

Fast forward to the twelfth century, when a Crusader inspired by vision of Elijah became a hermit on the mountain.  Saint Bertold gathered a following, a small community eventually known as the Carmelites.  Distinguished members include:

• Titus Brandsma, a Dutch priest who spoke out against the Nazis and died at Auschwitz;
• Christian convert Edith Stein did the same;
• Saint Therese of Lisieux was also a Carmelite.

Because the order is especially devoted to Mary, one of her many styles is “Our Lady of Mount Carmel.”  Carmela sounds as Catholic as other Marian appellations, from Assumpta to Lourdes.

But just like Lourdes has some currency apart from her religious meaning, Carmel conjures up other things.  California’s Carmel-by-the-Sea has been an artists’ colony since the early twentieth century, with notable residents from Sinclair Lewis to Clint Eastwood.

While there’s no connection between the word caramel and Carmela, the similar sound lends a certain sweetness to the name.

Masculine form Carmelo has fared well in recent years, but that’s almost certainly due to the popularity of hoop star Carmelo Anthony.

Overall, Carmela is an interesting case.  She reminds me of Carlotta or Loretta.  They’re not quite vintage revivals, nor are they clunky hipster choices like Opal or Trudie.  Instead, she’s almost a 1950s throwback, the kind of name you expect to see on a beauty queen with a bouffant.  She can blend in as Carrie, Callie, or Cammie - or she can stand out, an unusual appellation with deep and meaningful roots.

Where the Wild Things Are graffiti in Saskatoon; Image via Wikipedia

On a girl, this choice is as dated as Mrs. Brady’s bellbottoms, but how about on a boy?

Thanks to Charlotte for suggesting Carol as our Baby Name of the Day.

Karl started out as a Germanic name meaning man.  The name was Latinized as Carolus, imported into French as Charles and as continued to travel the globe, morphed into Carlo and Carlos and Karol and yes, Carol.

For girls, feminine forms Charlotte and Caroline both have long histories of use.  Carol likely emerged as a short form of Caroline, rather than a borrowing from the boys.  From 1936 through 1950, Carol ranked in the Top Ten given names for girls in the US.  She’s been unranked since 2006, and today seems an unlikely appellation for a daughter.  Accomplished female Carols are many, but they’re all of a certain age – more Carol Burnett than newborn babe.  Plus, with Charlotte and Caroline in the US Top 100, you can easily honor a grandma Carol with a very similar – and far more current – name.

But what about a son called Carol?  He appeared in the US Top 1000 for boys every year from 1909 through 1962, and was on the fringes before and after.

It may be that parents were using a mother’s maiden name.  Often spelled Carroll, the Irish surname comes from Cearbhall, which might have meant hacking – and thus be a name given to a warrior, or possibly a butcher.  A seventeenth century poet and a twentieth century president of Ireland both answered to Cearbhall.

In other cases, Carol is simply the standard masculine form.  That’s true in Romania, where two kings answered to Carol.  Then there’s the late Pope John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła.  He was a big deal – a long-serving head of the church, the only Polish pope, present at the fall of the Soviet Union, and now fast-tracked for sainthood.  I’ve met more than one little boy named John Paul.

We do seem to recall that Carol has a history of use for men.  30 Rock gave the name to Liz Lemon’s love interest, a pilot played by Matt Damon.  That sounds promising, but let’s not forget that Liz’s love life isn’t exactly the stuff of Harlequin romances.  James Gandolfini voiced a creature called Carol in 2009′s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.  (The beasts were unnamed in the original.)

In real life, parents aren’t using Carol for their sons.  But Carroll registered as a tiny blip – the name was given to 9 boys in 2010.  In fact, that’s the spelling with a longer history of use for boys – he charted from 1880 through 1977.  Figures like actor Carroll O’Connor – you know him as Archie Bunker – and legendary race car designer Carroll Shelby reinforce his masculine roots.

Right now, Carol still feels like a risky choice to bestow on a son.  But it feels like we might only be a decade or two away from reconsidering him.  Or if you’re eager to honor a grandma Carol, this would be an inventive choice in the middle spot.  Should you be determined to use the name for a son in 2011, the Carroll spelling leans slightly more masculine.

Image via Wikipedia

Looking for a given name as storied as Isabella, as elaborate as Samantha, and yet not nearly as common?

Thanks to Lauren for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Magdalena.

Magdalena sounds like a foreign variant of Margaret, but it isn’t so.  Instead, Magdalena comes from Mary Magdalene, a reference to Magdala – the village of her birth.  Magdala is derived from a word meaning tower, in both Hebrew and Aramaic.

All of this makes Magdalena a religiously significant choice.  Even if you skipped that day in Sunday School, you probably know that Mary Magdalene kept company around with Jesus.  He saved her, and she was steadfast and loyal through his death, remaining at his tomb to be the first one to witness his resurrection.  She’s a major New Testament figure, and is considered a saint.

She’s also – at least by some – characterized as a prostitute.  The association is a long one, though there’s no historical basis.  Beginning in the eighteenth century, reformers established Magadelene asylums for fallen women.  Depictions in popular culture reinforce the idea.  But if Delilah can overcome her Biblical bad girl baggage, why not Magdalena?  Like Delilah, Magdalena has been re-examined and even re-invented as feminist figure by some.  The Da Vinci Code made her Jesus’ wife.

As it happens, parents are naming their daughters after her in droves.  The saint was wildly popular in Middle Ages, and in England the name Magdalen became Madlin – or Madeline.

But Magdalena has never been common in English, and she’s truly fading in recent decades.  The name ranked #981 in 2009, and left the rankings in 2010.

Still, there are a bunch of intriguing references:

• German nobles used the name for their daughters in the sixteenth century;
• Christian missionaries were active in seventeenth century Japan.  The future Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki met her death during a wave of persecutions in 1634.  I’m not certain that was her birth name, but her parents were also observant Christians, so it is possible;
• Italian soprano Magda Olivero was born Maria Maddalena;
• Hollywood icon Marlene Dietrich was born Mary Magdalena;
• Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor have a big sister called Magda;
• In the 1983 James Bond adventure Octopussy, Magda is a henchman of the provocatively named jewel smuggler;
• Supergroup A Perfect Circle included a song called “Magdalena” on their first album, Mer de Noms in 2000.  “Magdalena” was not released as a single, but the album was a hit, and at least a few parents have referenced the song as a reason for considering the name;
• From Frank Zappa to Brandon Flowers, plenty of other musicians have recorded songs by the name;
• Speaking of music, a short-lived musical titled Magdalena: A Musical Adventure debuted on Broadway in 1948, and is occasionally revived.

There are plenty of place names, too, like the Magdalena River in Colombia.  There’s also Magdalene College and Cambridge and Magdalen College at Oxford, both named after the saint.

With a history of use from Eastern Europe to South America, there’s something globe-trotting about Magdalena.  Her nicknames range from the quirky cool Magda to less dramatic options like Maddie, Maggie, and Lena.

If you’re looking for an elaborate name that will fit in with popular choices while standing out, Magdalena is a great option.