Name of the Day: Talia

She’s a muse and a grace. She’s Hebrew, Russian and Latina. Factor in her viticultural ties and she’s downright intoxicating.

Today’s Name of the Day honors Inbal’s darling daughter: Talia.

Talia is one of those curious names with more than one origin and a seemingly infinite number of references.

Flip open your Bulfinch’s and you’ll find a few goddesses called Thaleia or Thalia. There’s Thalia, the eighth of nine muses. Thalia’s domain is comedy. She’s not quite pies-in-the face, though. Greek comedies probably evolved as part of ancient fertility festivals. This ties back to the origin of Thalia’s name – she comes from the Greek thallein, to bloom and thallos, young shoot.

A second Thalia is one of the three graces: Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia. This Thalia was charged with good cheer and festive meetings.

With so many ancient Greek names wrapped up with tragedy or vengeance, Thalia emerges as a thoroughly upbeat and engaging choice.

Then there’s the Hebrew Talya, which translates to “dew of God.” If that meaning seems a bit abstract, substitute the word blessing for dew. It’s more spiritual than meteorological. This reference links Talia with names like Noa and Ayelet – modern Hebrew choices with international appeal.

Talia is also a short form of the thoroughly Russian Natalia, linking back to the Latin natalis – Christmas Day.

And yet, the best known Talia isn’t Greek or Israeli or Russian. She’s the Mexican pop megastar Thalía, known for acting in telenovelas, recording hit singles and marrying music exec Tommy Mottola. She’s not a household name for English-speakers, but I understand that she is bigger than Britney in some corners of the globe.

There’s also:

• Oscar-nominated actress Talia Shire of Rocky and Godfather fame;
• Characters called Talia on Babylon 5 and One Life to Live;
• Talia Balsam, the actress known as the former Mrs. George Clooney, most recently seen guesting on Mad Men;
• DC Comics’ Talia al Ghul, daughter of a supervillain and one of Batman’s love interests. She’s also saved his bacon on more than one occasion;
• Canadian-born journalist Thalia Assuras is of Greek descent. She’s currently a correspondent for CBS.

As for the wine angle, the trebbiano grape is a popular component in white wines and cognac the world over. It’s also know as Ugni Blanc and, in Portugal, as Thalia.

Talya is a village in India; Talia, a village in Lebanon.

Regardless of spelling, she’s usually pronounced TAHL yah in English. But the three-syllable TAHL ee ah is perfectly reasonable, too. And while it is a bit further afield, it wouldn’t be surprising to meet a tahl EE ah. While Thalia is a classic spelling, it might make for some pronunciation challenges.

Of course, all those variants do make her popularity hard to gauge:

• In the US, Talia first charted in 1977 and ranked #392 in 2007;
• Thalia has more history in the US, but ranked a mere #815 in 2007;
• Talya has never charted in the Top 1000.

With mega hit Taylor having just graduated from the Top Ten, your Talia could be confused for a modern innovation like Taylie or Tayla.

That risk aside, Talia is a comfortably global choice. She works in nearly any language. She’s light without being insubstantial. And while Talia is perfectly feminine, with a two-syllable pronunciation, she’s well short of frilly.

If you’re crossing cultures or just looking for a nicely portable name, Talia is certainly one to consider.