Is the Name Aura Too Different?

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! To have your question considered, email appmtn (at) gmail. Looking for your own private #namehelp post? Order one here.

EVALUATING AN UNCOMMON NAME

Lacie writes:

I could use some honest opinions about a name I’m considering for our daughter: Aura.

Her dad thinks it’s a little out-there. But his favorite names are Rachel, Lauren, and Emily. Very Friends kind of names that sound more like other adults than our daughter.

He’s mostly willing to let me choose, but his only request is that her name not be “too weird.”

I’ve sort of talked him into Aura, but I don’t want him to really twist his arm and than have him feel I’ve duped him.

My name is pretty different, and I mostly love it, so I feel like maybe I’m not a good judge.

Is Aura too different? Or is it just the right amount of weird!?!

Any ideas for names that are somewhere between Rachel and Aura?

Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.

DIFFERENT IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new daughter!

When we’re thinking through whether a name is too different, there are two questions to consider:

• The qualities of the name in question – sound, style, meaning, and so on.
• The name’s relative popularity.

The latter is easier to assess, so let’s start there.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME AURA?

In 2023, 269 girls received the name Aura. That’s enough to put it into the US Top 1000 at #960. The name has gained in use dramatically over the last two decades. Back in 2004, just 34 girls were named Aura.

That tells me that Aura will likely seem unusual when your daughter is young, but may very well feel more mainstream as she grows up. That’s often ideal – she’ll never have to share when she’s little, but as she gets older, her name’s increasing familiarity makes it easier to wear.

Maybe. There’s no way to tell how popular the name Aura might be eventually become. But at the moment, it’s about as common as Annika, Indigo, or Winifred – all pretty rare.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE NAME AURA

Aura looks and sounds like the traditional Laura and Maura. It rhymes with Nora, Cora, and Flora, too – all of which are having a moment.

It’s also quite a bit like Aurora, a night sky name that’s gone from rare to everywhere.

On paper, that makes Aura’s rise in use look logical, even predictable.

That makes it likely Aura will succeed.

SO … IS AURA TOO DIFFERENT?

But there’s one other factor to consider: Aura’s meaning.

It comes from a Greek word meaning breeze. But it’s come to mean atmosphere – almost like vibe. Except if we’re speaking in TikTok? Aura means charisma. Sort of. “Aura points” and “strong aura” are a thing, too.

Before this, Aura might’ve felt a little New Age. Since the early 1900s, spiritualists have suggested it’s possible to see a person’s aura – their energy and spirit. Different colors carry different meanings.

Lastly, if you suffer from migraines, you might describe the early stages of an attack as an aura – tingling, seeing spots or shimmers, and similar experience.

All of this makes me hesitate around the name Aura. Plenty of TikTok memes fade quickly. But even absent that, Aura does have an offbeat, spiritual aspect. I wouldn’t say either makes the name unwearable. Both both do make the name different. The question is whether that different bothers you. For me, it would be a cautious yellow light – but that’s deeply personal. Depending on your beliefs, Aura’s spiritual associations might be a positive.

NAMES LIKE AURA

Let’s see if we can find some names like Aura. Short, vowel-forward, maybe relatively uncommon … maybe.

AYA

A mini name with global reach, Aya is an ancient goddess of the dawn, a name for a child born on Friday, a term from the Quran meaning verse, or it might mean color. Plenty of options, all rolled into a brief, all-vowel kind of mini name.

FIA

A white hot name in Ireland, Fiadh – also pronounced Fia – translates to deer. But it means wild, as in wild at heart. It’s gaining in use in the US, but remains nicely uncommon – though easy to enough to understand after generations of girls named Mia.

ISLA

A top 50 favorite, Isla might be too popular to consider. But I think it checks lots of the same boxes – brief, with a strong sound. And it’s fresh, too. While it’s popular now, it was mostly unknown twenty years ago.

LOLA

Lola started out as a nickname for Dolores. Today it’s far more likely to be a stand-alone name. And while it fits with Layla, Lyla, and Lily, Lola offers an advantage: there’s really only one way to spell this name. It also feels sparky and retro. If Aura reads a little retreat-in-the-desert, Lola is more of a coastal-beachy or urban cool kind of pick.

NOA

It looks like long-time Top Ten boy’s name Noa. But it’s not. Instead, Noa is a separate, feminine name from the Bible with a great meaning: motion, or active.

SELAH

A fast-rising choice, Selah occurs in the Old Testament. In the psalms, it’s used to indicate a breath – possibly a pause in the music. Or not. It’s the subject of much discussion and interpretation across centuries. But the sound is lovely, and, like Aura, it’s a name that hints at a deeper meaning.

THORA

Another in the Cora-Flora-Nora category, but not even ranked in the US Top 1000.

ZARA

It looks like Sara with a Z, but Zara has several possible origins and meanings. The Z makes it distinctive; when England’s Princess Anne gave it to a daughter way back in 1981, that made it much more mainstream. Clothing retailer Zara also makes the name familiar. There’s also Zora, midway between Zara and Thora.

My favorite alternative to Aura keeps shifting, but Lola comes back to me. It’s compact and vowel-centric, with history, too. I do think something like Aura Katherine would ground the less conventional first name, and I love something a little more daring if you do opt for Lola. Maybe Lola Felicity? And I’m still drawn to Fia for you, too. Fia Elinor springs to mind, but I can see lots of names working well.

But I’m still not sure, so let’s open it up to the readers.

Is Aura too different? What would you suggest as a substitute?