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5 Lovely and Rare Names for Girls


This poll from the sidebar of The Art of Naming blog closed quite a while ago! You voted! Now it is time to find out which of the five options won the poll!  Here are the contenders and the results:

Emmeline  17 votes (32%)
Ariadne  14 votes (26%)
Calliope  8 votes  (15%)
Bryony  7 votes (13%)
Lavinia  6 votes  (11%)

Let's learn more about each of these names!  Which is your favorite?

Emmeline is a name that I fear is rising fast! With the popularity of Emma and Emily, as well as -line names like Caroline and Madeline, Emmeline seems like a shoo-in!  It is a French name that comes from German elements that mean "work."  It ranked just outside of the US Top 1000 in 2012 at #1078.  click here to read even more about this lovely choice. 

Ariadne is an Ancient Greek name that means "most holy." I first heard it in the move Inception (Ellen Page's character) and I liked it right away for being different but full of history. It is pronounced ar-ee-AD-nee. In Greek Mythology, she was the daughter of King Minos and eventually married the god Dionysus. This would be a cool alternative to the more-popular Aria and Ariana. It ranked #1762 in 2012.

Calliope is pronounced cuh-LIE-oh-pee and is a Greek name that means "Beautiful Voice."  In Greek Mythology, she was one of the 9 muses, the goddess of epic poetry and eloquence. To me, this name should be quite common since I hear it so often, but it has never ranked in the top 1000. Its gaining momentum but still only ranks at #1535 as of 2012.  Read more about this name here.

Bryony is another rare name! Pronounced BRIE-ə-nee, it ultimately comes from the Greek βρυω (bryo) meaning "to swell". It is the name of a Eurasian vine that was formerly used for medicinal purposes. I first heard this name (spelled Briony) from the movie "Atonement" and rather liked it. There were only 13 girls named Bryony in 2012. Its only been occasionally used in the US since 1976.

Lavinia was the first name that I featured on the blog. It is of Roman/Latin origin with an unknown meaning. It ranked as high as #360 in 1880 and is quite an old-fashioned gem that many are unaware of. Lavinia was the mother of the Romans and the wife of the Trojan hero Aemeas who named Lavinium, Italy after her. The name hasn't been on the charts since 1929, but I hear it quite often. It was the name of a character on "Downton Abbey," which is where I first heard it. There were only 52 girls given this name in 2012! Read more about it here.

Comments

Nancy said…
I'm surprised Lavinia came in last! That would have been my pick.

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