Leonora

Leonora is the Italian short form of the name Eleonora or Eleanor. It comes from the Occitan name Aliénor which comes from the Ancient Germanic name Aenor. Its meaning is unknown. Check out the family tree to see which other names are related!

With boys names like Leo, Leonard, Leonardo and Leonidas starting to gain more and more popularity, could this feminine "leo" name follow suit? She is not related to these leonine names but she does start with the same three letters. Even if Leo is more of a boy thing, Leonora could go by Leo if she's tomboyish. It could also be spelled Leanora to get the Lea nickname instead. But the adorable nickname Nora is always a great option! With Eleanor making strides, I don't see why Leonora couldn't follow!

In line with this week's post about operatic baby names, Leonora is a distinctive choice. She has appeared in three major operas! She was a heroine in both Beethoven's Fidelio and Verdi's Il Trovatore. There was also an opera titled Leonora by William Henry Fry, and a ballad by Gottfried August Burger called Lenore which is another form of Leonora.  Along with a few novels with this name as the title and a few characters in film, Leonora is a great historical and cultured name.

Source

This name ranked in the Top 1000 US Names from 1880-1943 but has since lost its luster. As of 2012, there were only 29 girls given this name which ranks it at #4880. Leonora would be a beautiful and unique choice for a modern baby girl!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Antonia, Dorothea, Francesca, Gabriella, Josephina, Raphaela, Veronica
Brothers: Alessandro, Donovan, Florian, Giovanni, Maximilian, Richard, William

Middle Name Ideas: 
Leonora Camille
Leonora Celeste
Leonora Estelle
Leonora June
Leonora Sibyl

As a Middle Name:
Beatrice Leonora
Grace Leonora
Juno Leonora
Neve Leonora
Sylvie Leonora

What would you pair with this elegant name?

Baby Names Straight from the Opera House

The Opera. What do you think of when you hear those words? I picture a magnificent stage surrounded by flowing red curtains. Rows and rows of seats and balconies high in the air overlooking the stage. The music and costuming are spectacular.

Everything about the opera is high-culture and high-class. That includes the baby names that are most frequently associated with the opera.  In fact, this list contains just that!   With such a wide variety of names to choose from, which is your favorite?

Abagaille                         Aida Alcina Altoun Andres Annina Basilio Bello Benoit Betto Bianca Boris Carmen Claudius Despina Drago Elena Elettra Elsa Elvino Ferrando Fiorello Floria Gilda Giovanna Giovanni Gunther Isolde Juliette Katisha Leonora

Lolette Lucia Maddalena Manon Marcellina Marcello Marguerite Micaela Mimi Musetta Nardo Nedda Ottavio Pamina Pizarro Ramiro Rocco Romeo Rosina Seneca Silvano Silvio Suzuki Tamino Tatyana Tonio Tristan Tybalt Valentin Violetta Zerlina

My Top 5 Favorites:

1. Benoit

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ameline, Colette, Elodie, Giselle, Juliette, Simone
Brothers: Aimon, Dashiell, Gervais, Lucien, Olivier

Middle Name Ideas:
Benoit Alexandre
Benoit Gaston
Benoit Macon
Benoit Rupert
Benoit Sebastien

As a Middle Name:
Armand Benoit
Edward Benoit
Henry Benoit
Laurent Benoit
Remy Benoit

2. Elsa

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Annabel, Brigit, Freya, Kirstie, Lena, Sophie
Brothers: Alfie, Daniel, Gunnar, Ian, Leif, Ragnar

Middle Name Ideas:
Elsa Catherine
Elsa Dagny
Elsa Maren
Elsa Penelope
Elsa Sigrid

As a Middle Name:
Briar Elsa
Clare Elsa
Hetty Elsa
Lillian Elsa
Rosamund Elsa

3. Micaela

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Alexandra, Cordelia, Hannah, Natalie, Olivia, Rebecca
Brothers: Andrew, Daniel, Gabriel, Jackson, Matthew, Theodore

Middle Name Ideas:
Micaela Breanne
Micaela Grace
Micaela Jane
Micaela Louise
Micaela Wren

As a Middle Name:
Cecily Micaela
Elise Micaela
Hazel Micaela
Piper Micaela
Violet Micaela

4. Ottavio

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Alessia, Bettina, Cosima, Fiorella, Katarina, Natalia
Brothers: Delano, Giovanni, Lazzaro, Massimo, Raffaello, Vinicio

Middle Name Ideas:
Ottavio Anthony
Ottavio Benedict
Ottavio Dominic
Ottavio Marcellus
Ottavio Vincent

As a Middle Name:
Amadeus Ottavio
Calvin Ottavio
Florian Ottavio
Miles Ottavio
Silas Ottavio

5. Rocco

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Bianca, Gianna, Isabella, Leonora, Rosina, Sophia
Brothers: Alfredo, Cassius, Luca, Maximilian, Roman, Sebastian

Middle Name Ideas:
Rocco Alastair
Rocco Dominic
Rocco Isaiah
Rocco Nicholas
Rocco Sterling

As a Middle Name:
August Rocco
Barnaby Rocco
Evan Rocco
Julius Rocco
Silas Rocco

What are your favorite names from the list? Are there any that I should add?