Minerva

Meaning: (Intellect, Roman Goddess of Wisdom and War. Equivalent of Greek Athena. Believed to be derived from the Latin root mens (the mind, thought, intellect). Minerva is the name borne in Roman mythology by the goddess of wisdom, skill and invention. She is equated with the Greek goddess Pallas Athene. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.)

Origin: (Latin, Etruscan, Roman Mythology, English)

Pronunciation: (mi-NER-və, mi-NER-vah)

Gender: Female

I have used this name before and though it doesn't suit all tastes in names I think it is a lasting name. It has an old fashioned look to it but I think it is still a wonderful name.

Surnames

Roxburgh

Stamp

Solo

Marvis

Manila

Tower

Snowe

Tatiana

Meaning: (Feminine form of the Latin Tatiānus, a derivative of the old Roman family name Tatius. A king by this name was said to have reigned over the Sabines and the Romans with the legendary Romulus. Also the name of a third-century saint.)

Origin: (Russian, Latin)

Pronunciation: (tah-TYAH-nə, ta-TYA-nah, tat-YAH-nah, taht ee AHN ah)

Gender: Female

This is the name of several real life Princesses. I heard this name the other day on a show I was watching and I sort of like it. It isn't a name I would personally use on a character but I think it is a lovely name.

Kellan

Meaning: (Warrior Princess, Slender, Fair, Descendant of the Bright Headed One, Powerful)

Origin: (Celtic, Irish, Gaelic)

Pronunciation: (KEH-lin, KELL-in)

Gender: Uni-Sex

It is a uni-sex name but I have always thought of it as a female name since I used it for one of my female characters. Plus the one meaning "Warrior Princess" is obviously a female name meaning. The other meanings are for both genders. I like this name and the meanings are cool.

Santiago

Meaning: (St. James, A blended form of Saint Diego; Diego is a Spanish form of James. James the Greater (of the two apostles by that name) is the patron saint of Spain.)

Origin: (Spanish)

Pronunciation: (sahn-tee-AH-go)

Gender: Male

I was looking at my world map last night and saw Santiago, Chile. I have always thought this was a cool name and fun to say. I was surprised by the meaning. I had never before known the meaning. Anyway it is a nice name and I love the look and sound of it.

Graziella

Meaning: (Lovely and with Grace, Grace, Charm, Favor, Blessing)

Origin: (Latin, Italian)

Pronunciation: (grraht-TSYEHL-lah, Gra-zi-el-la, GREYZIYEHL-ah)

Gender: Female


I was looking through the book Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, The Magical City of Verona, And The Power of Love by Lise Friedman & Ceil Friedman. I was reading one of the letters that was sent to the secretaries of Juliet. Anyway the lady that sent her letter had the name Graziella. It just stuck and I couldn't help but love the name. It is beautiful and has a lovely meaning. A name that is a variant is Graciela which I think is beautiful too.

Avonlea

Meaning: ("A return to childlike faith, simple beauty, noble purity, and compassion for the least" Anne of Green Gables. It was her home town on Prince Edward Island, Canada. "Avon" is an old Celtic word meaning "river" (not just the River Avon), and "lea" means "a clearing, pasture or meadow". Ergo, Avonlea would mean "clearing, meadow, etc. situated by a river".)

Origin: (Celtic, English, Canadian)

Pronunciation: (A-vən-lee, av-un-lee, a-ven-lee, aa-vun-lee (the "A" is pronounced like the "A" in apple. It is not said like "AVON" the cosmetic product. And the "LEA" is pronounced like "LEE"), ah-von-LEE)

Gender: Female

I was watching Insp channel the last view days and they are advertising Road to Avonlea this Saturday. I really think this is a pretty name and it would be very cool on a character.

Auberon

Meaning: (Noble or Royal Bear, Elf Ruler, Supernaturally Powerful, Rules with Elf Wisdom, From an Old French name of German (Frankish) origin. The name may possibly be a form of Aubrey or Adalbero. Better-known, though no more common for it, as Oberon, King of the Fairies in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".)

Origin: (Old German)

Pronunciation: (AO-BEHRahN, AWB-ur-awn, Go to this site and run your cursor over Oberon to hear how it is said. Oberon is one spelling of Auberon. Then take the OH sound of Oberon and substitute for AW in Auberon: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=auberon&submit=Submit)

Gender: Male

I found this on the Internet and I came to really like it after I saw the meaning. It took a while to get the right pronunciation but I think I have it now. There seems to be two close pronunciations. This is a masculine rare name and I like it.

Fairamay

Meaning: (Fair Maiden)

Origin: (Middle English)

Pronunciation: (fair-rah-may)

Gender: Female

I have this down on my favorite female name list. I really like this name and I love the rareness of this name as well. I could see this name as a medieval princess name or something like that.

Liliana

Meaning: (Lilies, Innocence, Purity, Beauty, Variant of Lillian and Lily)

Origin: (English, Latin, Italian)

Pronunciation: (lee-LYAH-nah (Italian), lil-ee-AN-ə (English), li-lee-AH-nə, li-lee-A-nə)

Gender: Female

One of my friends was going to name her daughter this last year but decided on Evelina instead. I heard this the other day when I was watching a version of Snow White. I think it is a pretty name with a lovely meaning.

Vidia and Vidya

Meaning: (Vidia is a form of Vidya, which is the name of a Hindu goddess, and means "wisdom, knowledge, learning" in Sanskrit. Vidia could also be derived from invidia meaning Envy in Latin.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Latin)

Pronunciation: (Vidia: vid-ee-ah Vidya: VId- yaa)

Gender: Female

This is the name of one of the fairy's in the Disney Pixie Hollow Tinker Bell movies. I kind of like the name. You definitely don't hear it often and it has a nice sound to it and a good meaning.

Asher

Meaning: (Fortunate, Blessed, Happy, Based on research, most people would imagine a person with the name Asher to be: A tall and fun-loving young chap. In one word, you might describe Asher as a "fun-loving" person.)

Origin: (Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (A-shər, ASH-er)

Gender: Male

This is one of my favorite male names on my list. It has a fresh sound but still has a old feel to it at times. The meaning is lovely and it has a good sound to it. I really like this name a lot.

Ronan

Meaning: (Little Seal, The name was borne by twelve saints as well as by an ancient king of Leinster who was deceived into killing his first-born son.)

Origin: (Irish)

Pronunciation: (ROH-nin)

Gender: Male

I have used this name in a novel before. I really like the name even if I am on the fence about the meaning. I first came to hear this name on Sci-fi series Stargate Atlantis there was a character named Ronan Dex who was played by Jason Momoa you might know him from the recent film Conan the Barbarian. I thought it was a cool name and I still do. It is also the last name of actress Saoirse Ronan who was in the films Lovely Bones, Ember, Atonement and many other films.

Edelweiss

Meaning: (White Mountain Flower, The common name comes from German edel, meaning "noble", and weiß (also spelled weiss) "white", thus signifying "noble whiteness".
The scientific name Leontopodium is a Latin adaptation of Greek leontopódion (λεοντοπόδιον) "lion's paw", from léōn "lion" and pódion "foot" (diminutive of poús, podós "foot").
The Romanian name, floarea reginei, means "Queen's flower". Also, another common name is floare de colţ which means "the corner's flower".
The Persian name is gol-e-yax, which translates as "ice flower")

Origin: (German)

Pronunciation: (Ay-dell-vice, Go to this site and run your cursor over Edelweiss to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=edelweiss)

Gender: Female


This is a flower that could make a pretty name or if used wrong could sound funny on a character. It is all about the story and character whether it makes or breaks this as a character name. I think Edelweiss the flower are so pretty. I have liked them since I watched Sound of Music (one of my favorite movies). There is the song in the film where Captain Von Trapp sings to his children. Here are the lyrics from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Sound of Music (1965): (I think these lyrics are correct):

Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me
small and white,
clean and bright,
you look happy to meet me
blossom of snow
may you bloom and grow,
bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, edelweiss, bless my home-land forever

Cordelia

Meaning: (Cor=Heart Delia=from Delos, Of the Sea, Warm-Hearted, Sea Jewel, In Shakespeare's King Lear a woman of rare honesty, According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Cordeilla was the youngest of the three daughters of King Lear and the only one to remain loyal to her father. When adapting the character for his play 'King Lear' (1606), Shakespeare altered the spelling to Cordelia.)

Origin: (Latin, Greek, Celtic, English, Welsh)

Pronunciation: (kawr-DEL-ee-ə, kawr-DEL-yə, kohr-DEEL-yə, kohr-DEE-lee-ə, kor-DEEL-yah)

Gender: Female

I named a ship in one of my novels Cordelia. I think it is a beautiful name with a lovely meaning. It is uncommon which I love and I think it should be used more often.

Mirabella and Mirabelle

Meaning: (Wonderful, Lovely, Wondrous, Of Incredible Beauty)

Origin: (Latin, Italian, French)

Pronunciations: (Mirabella: meer-uh-bell-uh Mirabelle: meer-uh-bell)

Gender: Female

I have used Mirabella before in a novel I wrote. I love the meaning and the look of the name. I have only heard Mirabelle used once on a T.V show and I have not heard Mirabella anywhere before. I think both are beautiful names.

Dama

Meaning: (Little Noble Woman, Lady, Gentleness, Wife, Dama is a variant transcription of the name Damaris (English and German).)

Origin: (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin)

Pronunciation: (DAAMah)

Gender: Female

I was looking at this doll I had bought when I was younger. It had come with a card with her name on it. The name was Dama. I always thought it was an interesting name and the meaning I found years after I bought the doll. I think the meaning is lovely and the name is beautiful.

Byron

Meaning: (At the Cattle Sheds, From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds". This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), the writer of 'Don Juan' and many other works. Also possibly (through French origins), from De Biron, the town of Biron in the province of Guienne, France and meaning "From the cottage". The English definitions seem most consistent and include the habitational name from Byram in West Yorkshire or Byrom in Lancashire, both named with Old English for “at the cattle sheds”. The name Byron is also said to be from the Hebrew, meaning "bold", or a variation of the name [Brian], meaning "strong one". Literary: the variant form Biron was the name of a character in Shakespeare's "Love's Labours Lost".)

Origin: (Old English)

Pronunciation: (BIE-rən, BIY-rən, BYE-run, BYE-ron)

Gender: Male

Recently while watching Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman I heard that Sully Dr. Quinns fiance his first name was Byron. This is a great name and sounds strong and handsome.

Rhoda

Meaning: (Rose, Woman from Rhodes In the New Testament this name was borne by a maid in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark. As an English given name, Rhoda came into use in the 17th century. Rhodes the Greek island originally named for its roses. The name was mostly used in the 18th and 19th centuries but goes back at least to the first century as it is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. In literature, it has appeared in George Meredith's novel Rhoda Fleming (1865), William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair (1847-1848), and George Bernard Shaw's play Man and Superman (1903).)

Origin: (Hebrew, Biblical, Greek, Latin)

Pronunciation: (RO-də, ROH-da, ROWDah)

Gender: Female

I heard and saw this name in the bible this last Thursday and I thought it was an interesting name. It means Rose which makes it a great alternative to the common name Rose. Plus it has a unique beautiful sound to it. It is rare and that makes it even better in my opinion. It is in the most important book the Bible but I would love to see it more.

Surnames

Kingsley

Fitzroy

Hatter

Bedelia

Meaning: (Power, Strength, The High One, Exalted One, Variant of Bridget. Literary: a very literal-minded maid named Amelia Bedelia features in a popular series of children's books.)

Origin: (Irish, Celtic)

Pronunciation: (beh- DEE-lee-a)

Gender: Female

This name is growing on me a lot. I think it would be great as a first name as I have seen it used as a last name. I think it has a great look and good meaning. It is super cute as well. You don't hear or see this name often. It is unique and I love that.