Bethany; Image by See The Holy Land via Flickr

She’s a Biblical village, and a reality superstar.

Thanks to Clio for suggesting Bethany as our Baby Name of the Day.

Bethany appears in the New Testament, first as the home of Mary and Martha.  You might recall that Mary of Bethany sat and listened to Jesus’ teachings while her sister Martha bustled about.)  Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in Bethany.  And, according to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus ascended into heaven from an earthly spot – in Bethany.  It’s an awful lot of action for a Jerusalem ‘burb.

There’s a second place, a village on the Jordan River, sometimes called Bethany in the New Testament, too.

With all of this significance, no wonder scholars have been eager to unpack Bethany’s origins.  There’s general consensus that her first syllable – bet – means “house of” in Hebrew and Aramaic.  A few theories for the second syllable include:

• Hini – figs.  House of figs is the preferred definition in many a baby name book;
• Ananiah – the name of another town outside of Jerusalem, possibly related to a feminine given name;
• Anya – poverty.  The Biblical village was the site of a large almshouse for the poor, and Jesus cured Simon the Leper in Bethany.  While this may not be the most appealing option, it is the one that most scholars agree is likely accurate.

You can find Bethany on the map throughout the US.  There’s Delaware’s Bethany Beach; Connecticut’s Bethany, just outside of New Haven; and a pair of colleges, one in West Virginia, one in Kansas.

Odds are that some parents embraced Bethany for her status as a place name, but many more parents simply liked her sound.  She first appears in the US Top 1000 in 1949.  Bethany climbed steadily until she peaked at #87 in 1987.  She reached even greater heights elsewhere in the English-speaking world.  She’s been sliding ever since, reaching #369 in 2010.

It’s easy to see why she caught on in the 1980s:

• Another three-syllable, starts-with-B, ends-in-y, girl’s name with a geographic bent entered the US Top Ten in 1986 – Brittany;
• Bethany’s first syllable links her to the evergreen Elizabeth;
• While the connection is less obvious, Bethany also contains the classic Ann or Annie as a nickname option;
• As an independent given name, Beth had a good run in the 1960s, with a spike in 1977 thanks to Kiss’ power ballad of the same name.

Bethany is still around.  Reality star turned SkinnyGirl entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel is one of the most famous bearers of the name, and she has a show about raising daughter Bryn – and fitting into a size 4 less than a month postpartum.  There’s also actress Bethany Joy Galeotti, known as Haley on One Tree Hill.

All of this makes Bethany feel a little bit dated – more of a mom name than an obvious choice for a newborn baby girl.  Fresher alternatives could be Hollywood surname Bettany, Belle-inspired surname option Bellamy, or even three-syllable noun names with a vaguely spiritual bent, like Harmony or Amity.

And yet she’s not impossibly faded, and her Biblical status and sound-a-like qualities to so many classic girls’ picks give her some staying power.  You won’t meet many little girls called Bethany these days, but that could make her a good option for parents seeking the familiar, but not too common.

Photo by takomabibelot via Flickr.

She’s vaguely botanical, slightly invented, a little bit hip hop, too.

Thanks to Emily of It’s All In The Name for suggesting Nolia as our Baby Name of the Day.

You might have stumbled across Nolia on Namberry’s Lost Names of 1880 list. Along with Letta and Rella and a long list of others, Nameberry describes them as “lopped-off pieces of longer names.”

Rella stumps me, but in the case of Nolia, Magnolia comes immediately to mind.  Nolia ranked in the US Top 1000 just three times – 1880, 1897, and 1901, but Magnolia was relatively common.

Check the US Census records, and there’s no shortage of women named Nolia.  One of the interesting quirks is that a number of Nolias seem to have made names for themselves in Oklahoma.  One that stands out was Mrs. Nolia Johnson, the wife of Nolia, Oklahoma’s first postmaster – the town was named in her honor.  Not so far away, Durant, Oklahoma hosts the Magnolia Festival every June and calls itself the Magnolia Capital of Oklahoma.

Another notable Nolia was the mother of Alabama-born Dean Jones, the actor who played race car driver Jim Douglas in Disney’s Love Bug movies.

Magnolias do conjure up the American South, with or without moonlight and hoop skirts.  1989′s enduring Steel Magnolias was set in Louisiana.  Nolia, too, conjures up Louisiana, but not necessarily in a positive light.

New Orleans’ CJ Peete Projects were long known as the Magnolia Projects – or just Nolia.  Nolia was notorious for crime and violence, but also for launching a number of hip hop artists.  A trio of rappers known as UTP scored a Top Ten on the Rap and Hip Hop charts with “Nolia Clap.”

It’s catchy, but not much in the way of inspiration for a child’s name.  Neither is Nolia Chapman, an obscure actress with one credit to her name – a bit role in 1962′s Satan in High Heels.  The movie is remembered partially because it was an early role for actress was Grayson Hall.  She had a long career in television and film, even garnering an Oscar-nomination.

And yet it almost doesn’t matter.  Nola has been on an upswing.  Pronounced NO lee ah or no LEE ah, she fits with classic three-syllable names like Julia.  Or pronounce her NOL yah, and she works as well as up-and-coming two-syllable choices like Anya.

According to Nancy’s 2009 list, there were fewer than five Nolias born in the US  in 2009.  The Spanish Noelia – a feminine version of Noel – was given to 200 girls.  With more parents saying yes to No- names, from Noemi to Noa, it seems like the kind of choice that more parents could discover.

Image via Wikipedia

Barbara is your aunt, the mom who called her daughters Ava and Madison.  But this exotic nickname spin might just revive her from a middle aged slump.

Thanks to Jana for suggesting Basia as Baby Name of the Day.

In Polish, Basia is a pet name for Barbara.  The pronunciation is a bit too close to bash for some – BAH sha.  But with the equally Slavic Sasha growing up in the White House and Anya leaping up the popularity charts, it isn’t unreasonable to look around and consider what other names we can import from Warsaw and Moscow, Kiev and Prague.  After all, Tanya spent a decade in the US Top 100 during the 1970s.

The saintly Barbara – she was a third century martyr, though there’s speculation that her story is too fantastic to be believed – spent the years 1927 through 1958 in the US Top Ten, peaking at #2.  Many of us have a beloved Barb on our family trees.  The first President Bush married a Barbara; the second President Bush passed the name on to his daughter.  But few parents are doing the same today.  As of 2009, Barbara had fallen to #656.

Despite her long history, it is more challenging to update Barbara than some other names.  American parents called their girls Barbie and Babs and Bobbie, but it is a relatively small stable of nicknames compared to Margaret, Elizabeth, or Katherine.  International variations also tend to look an awful lot like Barbara – the Czech Barbora, the Russian Varvara.

The -sia ending is unfamiliar in the US, and tempts some to say bah SEE uh.  Other Polish diminutives share the form, like Gosia from Margaret and Kasia from Katherine.

There’s a second possible source for Basia.  The Hebrew Bithiah, Bethia, or Batyah – famously worn by the Egyptian princess who rescued and raised baby Moses – might also be a source for Basia, as the name was simplified from three syllables to two.

Plenty of notables have answered to Barbara.  Look her up in a baby name guide and you’ll see that she means foreign – though you probably won’t hear that she shares her root with the word barbarian.

The Basia who might come to mind is the one pictured above, singer Basia Trzetrzelewska, though she uses only her first name professionally.  In the 1980s and 90s, her recordings fared well internationally.  In her video from “Time and Tide,” she starts out by correcting a guy who calls her Basey.  “It’s Basia,” she says.  If that doesn’t ring any bells, click on “Cruising for Bruising” – probaby her biggest single.

Basia is still performing, but if you live in Arizona, you’re more likely to think of the grocery store chain, Bashas, founded by nineteenth century Lebanese immigrant Najeeb Basha and his sons.

There are other options to reinvent Barbara – the medieval Barbary, though all of her associations are tainted, from the slave trade on the Barbary Coast of Africa to San Francisco’s nineteenth century red-light district.  Elaboration Barbarella might hold promise, if not for Jane Fonda’s sexy sci fi heroine from 1968′s cult classic film by the same name.

But if you’re looking for a Slavic heritage choice, Basia could prove surprisingly wearable.

Here’s an intriguing Gaelic option.  Thanks to Christina for suggesting Orla as Name of the Day.

Orla’s roots are Gaelic, so you know there’s a doozy of an authentic spelling out there.  Many Americans can manage Sinead and Siobhan, but somehow I think Órfhlaith would leave most of us speechless.  The streamlined Orlaith is slightly better and Orlagh is sometimes seen, too, but inevitably your daughter would spend lots of time explaining that the ith or gh is silent.

Happily, Orla is a perfectly acceptable spelling in Ireland today, where’s she a Top 100 pick.  Celtic Woman alum Orla Fallon comes to mind, as does Irish-born, London-based designer Orla Kiely.

Kiely is especially visible at the moment.  She had a special collection in Target last year, and can be found in plenty of upscale shops, too.  A New York Times profile mentioned that a New York flagship store is in the works.  And if you can’t wait, there’s her website.

Search deep enough, and you’ll even find a witch called Orla Quirke in the Harry Potter series.  (She’s sorted into Ravenclaw during book five, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)

All of this lends Orla a certain offbeat, modern vibe, as if Orla were a nouveau coinage.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Orla first appears in Irish lore, worn by female relatives of legendary High King Brian Boru.  The first element means gold and the second – flaith – means prince, so you’ll usually find her meaning given as “golden princess.”  The golden princesses of ancient Ireland include at least three:

• Sister to Brian Boru
• Niece to Brian Boru
• And a great-niece, too – apparently one who was murdered in the eleventh century, but later had an Irish Naval vessel named in her honor

Other than the tantalizing fact that the last of the trio met a terrible end, I’m at a loss to tell you anything more about them.  It’s incredibly unsatisfying, too.  I’ve found a few other references to Orlas on the Boru family tree, including this one, but they may or may not be the same women.

Orla also appeared in the US Top 1000 a handful of times in the late nineteenth century.  Either she was in use by Irish immigrants, or possibly she just fit the style of names in vogue at the time, like Clara.

Rumors have bounced around that Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to a historical biopic of sorts about Boru.  Apparently the screenplay has won awards, but it has yet to develop into the actual kind of movie you can go see in a theater.  Should the big screen version come to pass – and one or more of the Orlas feature in the plotline – it could give the name a boost.

Other than that, Orla is likely to remain an under-used import in the US, one that would wear well on a daughter surrounded by girls called Emma and Ella and Leah.  If you’re looking for an authentically Irish choice that won’t be shared, Orla is one to consider.

Thanks to Rachel for suggesting the Ancient Roman Annia as Name of the Day.

The evergreen Anna has been in use for centuries.  But this name is linked not to the Hebrew Channah, but to the Latin Antonius and the equally classic Anthony.

Head back to Rome around the time of the Second Punic War.  You’ll find members of the Annia family rising to important roles as early as the 300s BC.  By 153 BC, Titus Annius Luscus was a consul.  For the next few centuries, the Annii were among the movers and shakers of the ancient world.

Well-born women who wore the name included:

• Annia Aurelia Faustina, wife of Roman Emperor Elagabalus in 221;
• Her mother, Annia Faustina, wife of Roman Consul Tiberius Claudius Severus Proculus;
• Her mother, Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina, wife of Roman Senator Gnaeus Claudius Severus;
• Go back another generation, and she’s related to none other than Emperor Marcus Aurelius, via his sister Annia Cornifica Faustina.  Two of his daughters were called Annia, too.

Marcus Aurelius was considered the last of the Five Good Emperors.  Among other things, the quintet chose their successors for their capabilities rather than blood relation.  (Then Marcus Aurelius went old school and named his son, Commodus, successor.  But that’s a topic for another site.)

Back to Annia.  Expectant mothers didn’t loll about their villas with debating whether Cornelia was becoming too popular or if Lucretia would hate her name.  Names were dictated by family tradition.  Just like George Foreman called all his kids George, in Ancient Rome, siblings shared names.  In fact, in a guest post by Nephele at Nameberry, she explains that daughters were sometimes referred to by the equivalent of One, Two and Three.

While plenty of Ancient Roman names have made it into the 21st century, Annia has faded into obscurity.  She’s never appeared in the US Top 1000, and notable bearers are quite difficult to find.

One famous Annia is Annia Hatch, a member of the 2004 US women’s gymnastics team.  Hatch won silver in Athens, after several years of struggle.  As if it isn’t tough enough to make it to the top of your game, Hatch was born in Cuba, started her competitive career there and found herself tangled up in international diplomacy when she left her home country.

Here’s the hang-up with Annia.  Her pronunciation should be either the three syllable ahn EE ah or AN ee ah. But it is tempting to see Annia as a respelling of the Slavic diminutive Anya/Anja, pronounced AN yah.  (After listening to multiple snippets on YouTube of Annia Hatch’s 2004 Olympic performance, I’m convinced that the name flummoxed broadcasters, too, as I hear it pronounced both ways.)

If you’re looking for a more elaborate version of Anne, Annia might not go far enough.  Annika, Annabel, Anneliese and Annamaria are all options that add a few more sounds into the mix.  And yet ancient Annia does sound surprisingly fresh and current in the twenty-first century.

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting the surprisingly gender-neutral Sasha as Name of the Day.

Head to Moscow, and you’ll find plenty of men answers to diminutives that end in sha and ya, including:

• Mischa, short for Mikhail, the Russian Michael;
• Petya, short for Pyotr, the Russian Peter;
• Pasha, short for Pavel, the Russian Paul.

They’re not the only nickname options, of course.  And I’m not sure if some of these are subject to fashion.  (Ever notice how a 60-something Robert is usually Bob, but a baby Robert is often Robbie?)  They’re not just masculine, either.  Girls answer to Anya, Katya and Tasha, and plenty of the diminutives do double-duty, akin to the American Chris or Pat.

Aleksandra and Aleksandr both shorten to Sasha.  You’ll find some sites that prefer to list Sacha or Sascha as the masculine spelling, but that’s wishful thinking.  After all, Russian isn’t just a different language – it’s written in a different alphabet.

Sasha will sound girly to the average English-speaker.  Thanks to Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts’ firstborn, Alexander Pete, wearing the diminutive, the number of us recognizing Sasha as a viable option for boys is growing.

All of the Alex names have been at the heights of popularity in recent years.  TV’s Dynasty catapulted Alexis to the girls’ Top 100 back in the early 1980s.  But it isn’t quite clear how Sasha became a girls’ name.

Sasha debuted in US Top 1000 in 1972, peaked at #147 in 1988 and today comes in at #363.  It would be easy to imagine parents landing on Sasha as an alternative to Alexandra – except Alexandra was still comfortably in the 300s as Sasha climbed the charts.

I have a few theories, but they’re all a little bit out there:

• Could it be a doll-inspired appellation?  Swiss artist and dollmaker Sasha Morgenthaler turned her one-of-a-kind creations into a line of mass-produced dolls in the late 1960s.  Collectors are known as Sashaphiles;
• Alexandra “Sasha” Bruce was the daughter of Ambassador David Bruce and his wife Evangeline.  She died tragically in the 1970s and the family funded Washington DC’s Sasha Bruce Youthwork in her memory.  But her death came after the name first charted;
• Barbara Corcoran wrote Sasha, My Friend, a story about a child and a wolf back in 1973.  Sasha was the wolf;
• Actress Sasha Von Scherler – born Alexandra-Xenia – had been active in the New York theater since the 1950s.

None of the explanations fit the facts very well, and it isn’t as if other Russian names were in vogue for girls in the 1970s.

Today it is easy to imagine Sasha catching on, thanks to the high-profile female Sashas:

• Megastar Beyoncé uses the alter-ego Sasha Fierce;
• First Daughter Natasha Obama wears Sasha as a nickname;
• Figure skater Sasha Cohen won silver at the 2006 Turin Olympics;
• Vanessa Williams of Ugly Betty fame is mom to Sasha Gabriella.

At the same time, masculine bearers of the name are more prominent, from comedian Sacha Baron Cohen to many a fictional character.

My best guess is this: American parents might cautiously call their boys Sasha, but will continue to play it safe by putting Alexander on the birth certificate.  For girls, the White House/Beyoncé connection could give this name a bump back up in the rankings.

And one reason that’s trivial for him, dead serious for me: we could never agree on a name.

We do have a few candidates, scraps from the cutting room floor.  I’ve mentioned them in comments from time to time, but I thought a round-up was in order.  

Our girls’ list is first; I’ll post the boys’ list later.

1.  The frontrunner: Rosemary, nicknamed Romy

My grandmother was born Maria Rosa and known as Rose Marie.  I adored my grandmother and miss her constantly.  Rosemary/Romy works with the kids’ names, too – Alexander, Claire Caroline and Rosemary.  Alexei, Clio and Romy.  Aly, Clio and Romy.  Alex, Clio and Romy.

The only trouble?  We’d have named two daughters after my female relatives, while Arthur’s side of the family is out in the cold.

2.  Grace Genevieve, nicknamed Gigi

This was our long-time second name for a daughter.  It mirrors the pattern of Clio’s formal name and honors Arthur’s mother, Grazyna.  (It’s a Polish name that sounds something like this – grah JZIN ah.  My mother still can’t say it.  I’m not sure that I can, either.)

Trouble is?  I don’t much care for Grace.  Neither does my mother-in-law.  When she first came to the US she actively resisted others’ attempts to Anglicize her name as Grace.  I love Gigi, and instantly think of the musical with Maurice Chevalier singing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.”  But I can see it is the kind of diminutive that you’d want to shed before, say, clerking for a circuit court judge.

I’ve also toyed with Hanae or Hannelore on the theory that they mean grace, but that’s a stretch.

3.  Helena, nicknamed Laney

This is another name plucked from Arthur’s family tree, but this time far enough back that we weren’t even aware of it until Arthur’s mother mentioned the name.  It works nearly just as well as Romy with the other kids’ names – Aly, Clio and Laney.  Alex, Clio and Laney.  Alexander, Claire Caroline and Helena.

4.  Penelope, nicknamed Polly

It’s a name I’ve long loved, and a way to connect to another family name – Paulina, Arthur’s cousin and Aly’s godmother.  But somehow Clio and Polly don’t sound like sisters to me.  There are also two little Pollys in our ‘hood already.

5.  Georgia, Olwen

George is a family name on my dad’s side, as is Olwen.  I’d probably reserve Olwen for the middle spot, and I don’t think Georgia pairs well with Clio.

6.  Margaret, nicknamed Daisy or Marguerite, nicknamed Daisy

Arthur’s aunt is Małgorzata, the Polish form of Margaret.  I like Marguerite much better than Margaret, partially because I had a Great Aunt Griet.  (I assume she, too, was baptized Margaret.)  So yes, I’m using a Polish formal name and a Dutch nickname (that I can’t explain, because no one in my family is Dutch, at all, though there was a pair of wooden shoes in my grandmother’s house) to arrive at a French name.  Which we’d put aside in favor of a botanical nickname anyhow.

8.  Diana, nicknamed Daisy or Anya

My eye-poppingly strange maiden name was Niadna, which can be anagramed to spell Dianna.  Arthur wouldn’t go for a variant spelling, but he likes Diana.  Neither nickname follows naturally, but I think both work well.  Anya also reminds me of my great-grandmother Anna.

9.  Cordelia, nicknamed Delia, Adelaide or Avalon

My nickname for Arthur is Del, and so I’ve long looked for feminine names that incorporate the element.  Adelaide was an early front-runner, but could we really have an Abby and an Addie in the same house?  Plus I’m convinced that Addie is going to supernova by 2012.

Cordelia is another option, one I like quite a bit, especially with the nickname Delia.  Alexander, Claire Caroline and Cordelia.  Aly, Clio and Delia.  Alex, Clio and Delia -  hmmm … it does raise the question of whatever happened to Baby B.

In Arthurian legend, Avalon is paradise.  It’s a subtle connection to Dad’s given name, but one that I quite like, especially in the middle spot.

10.  Isabeau

I’ve long loved this medieval variant of Elizabeth.  My little sister answers to the nickname Bo, so Isabeau seems like a fitting choice.

Once upon a time, I toyed with incorporating Boadicea, the first century warrior queen of the Iceni, in a child’s name for the same reasons.  But the more accurate spelling is probably Boudica, and there’s debate about whether the pronunciation begins with a boo rather than a bo.

11.  Iris

For my grandmother Irene, though it doesn’t sound great with our last name.  Too bad, because Clio and Iris sound like sisters, and I think she works with Aly and Clio nearly as well as Romy.

12.  Ellery

For my stepgrandfather, Irene’s husband, a thoroughly good egg.  I’ve considered it in the middle spot for a daughter or a son.

13.  Noor/Nora/Elinor and Lucy/Lucia/Luca/Lucienne

Claire means light, so names that share a similar meaning have always appealed.

14.  Veronica or Frederica

Do all name aficionados worry about naming twins, up until the ultrasound confirms that there’s only one baby on the way?

Had Alexander had a twin sister, two possible names were Veronica or Frederica, both to honor my dad, Eric, without poaching the name from my brother, Eric Jr.  Erica was also a contender, but seemed a little too close – even though my brother answers to Rohn.

15.  Sofia/Zofia/Sophie

My mother-in-law’s first middle name is Zofia.  In Polish, it gets a two-syllable pronunciation – ZAWF yeh – but I’ve heard Polish-Americans say it more like Sophia with a Z.  Zofia nicknamed Zoe was a contender for a while.

16.  Josephine, Catharine

Both choices from my mother’s family tree – Joseph was her grandfather, Catharine her aunt.  I don’t remember Joseph, but Great Aunt Catharine was one of my favorites.  Because her Manhattan apartment overlooked the Hudson, her grandson nicknamed her Grandma Boat.  Years later, Aly misunderstood Aunt Bo as Aunt Boat, so there’s a story there.

I’m fairly certain Catharine’s spelling is a nod to the Italian Catarina.  In any case, it is my favorite spelling and the only one I would consider.

Both names offer nicknames aplenty, but none of them sing to me.  That’s probably why they’re down here at #16.

17.  Anna/Anya, Anneliese nicknamed Anya

For the great-grandmother mentioned in #8.  But any of the Anna choices would make Clio the only family member without an A- name.  Too bad, because Anneliese Olwen would honor three of my dad’s relatives in one swoop.

18.  Linden and Sarai

For my aunts, Linda and Sarita.  (Sarita was named after her maternal grandmother, my great-grandmother Sara.)  I love both names, but again, there’s something awkward about skipping my husband’s family entirely.

Rosemary Linden Beau was long a favorite combination.  But I’m not wild about Beau on a girl, and two nature names is far too botanical for a family that ventures no closer to camping than shopping REI.

19.  Amalia, Kester

Amalia is from my husband’s family.  It’s a great name, but again, we can’t settle on a nickname and she’d be the fourth A, leaving Clio out in the cold.

Kester is also – in a very roundabout fashion – from my husband.  His mother’s maiden name translates to Christopherson.  My husband’s middle name is Christopher.  I don’t care for any of the feminine variants, though Christabeau is one that I’ve considered.  Kester is a medieval diminutive for Christopher, and reminiscent of my beloved Hester.  Of course, Kester also brings to mind Jester.  So never in the first spot.  But maybe in the middle.

20.  Hermione nicknamed Minna, Octavia nicknamed Tavy, Harriet nicknamed Hattie

Three names we just plain like.

1300 words later, you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking: yes, we could name a daughter, possibly three. 

But there’s an equal chance we’d have a boy, that’s where we are truly at sea.

The girls’ list tends more towards the wearable, but there are a few surprises.

The most read Names of the Day posts for Girls were as follows:

1. Esme – For the second year in the row, Esme is undeniably top of the tops on AppMtn.  Some chalk this up to Twilight, but she was already finding favor with fashionable parents years earlier.  Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan christened their daughter Esme Annabelle back in 2001.
2. Isla – Her sound is quite current, and she’s big in the UK.  Isla could catch on in the US, boosted by actress Isla Fisher.
3. Ayelet – Speaking of actresses, Tom Hanks’ Angels and Demons co-star Ayelet Zurer may have given Ayelet a lift in the rankings at AppMtn.  The name also fits with popular ends in -et names like Violet and Bridget.
4. Poppy – Just like Isla, Poppy is big in the UK, and heard more and more often as American parents seek out alternatives to the mega-popular Lily.
5. Lorelei – I think Lorelei is going places, helped by the use of Lorelai as the given name of not one, but three, characters on television’s Gilmore Girls.
6. Noa – Noa isn’t just Noah sans -h.  She’s a legitimate Biblical girls’ name, one that fits right in with Mia and Zoe.
7. Genevieve – The Jolie-Pitts have une petite fille qui s’appelle Vivienne, and plenty of today’s mamans answer to Jennifer.  Genevieve seems like a natural choice, in the first or middle spot.
8. Eulalie – Another French choice, Eulalie was recently used by Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” for her younger daughter.
9. Eithne – Parents have moved beyond Erin to name their daughters Maeve and even Niamh in recent years.  Eithne is more familiar, thanks to singer Enya, but still presents a pronunciation challenge.
10. Svetlana – This one surprised me.  Sure, v- names are The Next Big Thing.  But are modern American parents really taking inspiration from Soviet cosmonauts?  Or is the rise of names like Anya and Natasha encouraging parents to look more closely at all things Russian?
11. Ophelia – It’s a lovely, literary name.  But her tragic tale probably keeps Ophelia out of serious consideration for parents in the English-speaking world, even as they seek an alternative to Olivia.
12. Oona – Her double O is cool.  Oona Chaplin lends this Irish appellation a Hollywood vibe, too.
13. Natasha – Thanks to the First Daughter better known as Sasha and late actress Natasha Richardson, this name has been in the news much in 2009.  While she’s a Russian diminutive for Natalia, in the English-speaking world, she stands on her own as an alternative to Alexandra.
14. Elodie – She’s more sophisticated than the musical Melody and leads the the nickname Ellie.
15. Beatrix – Along with Beatrice, she’s the new Eleanor – the classic name that no one else is using.  Except that lots of us are thinking just that.
16. Sylvia – Mash up Sophia and Ava, and you arrive at Sylvia.  Along with Sylvie, she’s a name headed up the charts.
17. Romilly – Not so long ago, Mallory was a novel surname choice perfectly wearable for girls.  Then it was Delaney.  Today, she’s passing the torch to Romilly.  But none of those names have ever become epidemic, so it is possible Romilly may remain comfortably underused.
18. Pandora – While Dora is darling, Pandora seems even less wearable than Ophelia.
19. Lena – She could be a nickname for a dozen names, but Lena also stands on her own as a surprisingly distinctive choice.
20. Emmeline – Along with Emme, Emerson, Emilia and many other Em- names, Emmeline is sure to benefit from parents’ quest to find something just a little bit different than Emily or Emma.

Curious to compare 2009 to last year? Click here for the 2008 list.

Thanks to Rachel for suggesting Ronia as Name of the Day.

Children’s author Astrid Lindgren had a flair for inventing names, sometimes outlandish ones.  Pippi Longstocking tells us that her full name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim’s Daughter Longstocking.

Of course, other characters wore evergreen classics like Anna.  Call this one somewhere in between.  Ronia – Ronja in Swedish – sounds like it could be a perfectly plausible appellation for a small blonde child.  With the name currently among the most popular in Denmark’s Faroe Islands, and common throughout Northern Europe, she’s undeniably in use.

But she’s also novel.  Ms. Lindgren snipped Ronja from the name of a lake – Juronjaure.  First published in 1981, Ronja Rövardotter is the story of a princess amongst thieves, heir apparent to lead her father’s band of grifters.  Ronja plays Juliet to the son of a rival family.  But unlike Shakespeare, Lindgren dishes up a happy ending.  After some suffering and a dash of running away, the feuding families reconcile.

The story has been oft-adapted for film, and in one American version, Ronja became Kirsty.  But for the most part, Ronia has been viewed as a perfectly accessible choice.

There are three other possible sources for the name:

• The Hebrew Ronia relates to the word for song.  (Think of starbaby Max Liron’s middle.)  Ron, Roni, Ronit and Roniya are all other related names;
• Especially when spelled Ronya, she may be a Russian diminutive for any name containing a -ron.  (Think of Anya or Katya.)  In this case, the meaning links back to the original source name – which makes it nearly impossible to determine;
• But in the US, Ronia is probably most often used as a feminine form of Ronald.  While she’s never appeared in the US Top 1000, plenty of Ron- variants have, including Ronnie, Rona and Ronna.  And Ronia can be found in nineteenth century census records – occasionally paired with a conventionally Jewish surname, but more often not.  Ronald might be out of vogue in 2009, but he was a Top Ten pick in the 1930s and 40s, and a Top 100 choice much longer. 

History aside, how would Ronia wear on a girl born today?  She actually shares a pronunciation with the Arabic Rania – rhan YAH - lending her a certain cross-cultural currency.  Rania is also worn by the current Queen of Jordan, raising her profile.

Ronia feels stuck in fashion limbo – but that’s not always a bad thing.  If she’s slightly out of step with current trends, then she’s unlikely to be the next Matilda – unless, of course, Lindgren’s novel leads to Hollywood.  In that case, her global roots and distinctive sound could be the next big thing.

Thanks to JNE for suggesting Audrey as Name of the Day.

56 years after her starmaking turn as princess-on-the-lam Ann/Anya, Audrey Hepburn remains the most famous bearer of her name.  But she’s far from the only notable Audrey.

You’ll hear this one on playgrounds today, and might find her on your family tree.  She’s steadily ranked in the US Top 1000, appearing in the Top 100 back in the 1920s and 30s.  (She peaked at #59.)

Audrey has fared even better in the 21st century, re-entering the Top 100 in 2002 and reaching #44 in 2008.

And why not?  She fits right in with borrowed-from-the-boys choices like Ashley, Avery and Aubrey, as well as staples like Emily and Mary.  Nursery schools are packed with little starlets called Ava, Natalie and Grace, too.

Speaking of stars, Roman Holiday was a smash back in 1953.  Newcomer Audrey Hepburn nabbed the Oscar for Best Actress.  Gregory Peck played journalist Joe, who knows Ann/Anya’s secret identity – but ultimately decides to keep their adventures to himself.  Miss Hepburn’s star rose as she headlined Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady.

There’s also something ladylike about her.  She’s brief, but complete – more Mary than Molly.  And yet Audrey started out as a nickname.

The Anglo-Saxon Æthelthryt comes from elements for noble and strength; you’ll find Etheldred and Etheldreda in use during the Middle Ages.  (Visit London and you can tour England’s oldest Roman Catholic Church, St. Ethelreda’s, built in 1290.)

Saint Æthelthryt was a seventh-century princess longing for the religious life. She agreed to a political marriage instead, but when things went whopperjawed, she ended her days at an abbey in Cambridgeshire.

The princess would probably have answered to Awdrey.  And here’s one possible shortcomings.  The annual fair near her abbey was called St. Awdrey’s Fair.  Inexpensive lace goods – St. Audrey’s lace – on offer at the Fair are the origin of the word tawdry – cheap.

There’s also Shakespeare’s Audrey in 1599′s As You Like It.  She was a none-too-bright goat-herd in the Forest of Arden.

By the seventeenth century, Ethelreda was long out of naming fashion.  The Puritans dropped Audrey, at least partially because of her negative associations.  (They weren’t big on bestowing saints’ names anyhow.)

Another Etheldreda/Audrey was the illegitimate daughter of King Henry VIII.  Born in the 1520s, Audrey Malte served as one of the future Queen Elizabeth’s attendants while big sis – Queen Mary I – had her rival locked up.

There’s a shortage of Audreys between Tudor England and the nineteenth century.  In 1902, bestselling author Mary Johnson released her novel, Audrey.  It became a silent film in 1916.  Johnson’s story ends tragically, but sold well – and could be the reason Audrey rose so dramatically during the early twentieth century.

Other notable Audreys include:

• Actress Audrey Meadows, best remembered as Alice on television’s The Honeymooners;
• French actress Audrey Tatou, known for her turn as Sophie in The Da Vinci Code and the title character in 2001′s Amélie;
• Some of today’s parents could’ve been influenced by Sherilyn Fenn’s wicked Audrey Horne on Twin Peaks;
• There’s also Kim Raver’s Audrey Raines from 24.

Overall, there’s much to recommend Audrey.  She fits a variety of styles and manages to be both current and timeless.  In fact, that’s her only drawback – she’s such a great name that your daughter would probably have to share it.