Desiderius

Meaning: (Longing Desire, Beloved, Derived from Latin desiderium, It was the name of several early saints. It was also borne in the 8th century by the last king of the Lombard Kingdom.)

Origin: (Late Roman, Latin, Spanish)

Pronunciation: (DehZ-ihD-ERiy-ahS, des-i-deer-ee-uh-s)

Gender: Male, Possibly Uni-Sex

I forget where I first saw this but I think I was looking up another name and saw this one. I love the meanings and the long history of use. It seems like a name I could see on a character setting off on a great epic journey, kind of Odyssey like. I could see this being used in a mythology story, maybe a made up tale in another novel can incorporate its own myths and use this as a name in the made up myth. That would be cool. If it seems long it could be given the nickname Desi (DEZ-ee) which would be kind of cute.

Veronica

Meaning: (True Image, Variant of Bernice (Greek) “Bringer of Victory”, The name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages, The name first appeared in Britain in the 17^th Century and spread beyond Catholic families in the 19^th Century. The spelling was influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase Vera icon meaning “True Image”. Name derived from the Greek phrase Bere nike which means “Bringing Victory”. Veronica is a genus of plants, the common name being speedwell.)

Origin: (Latin, Greek, English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman)

Pronunciation: (ver-RON-ni-kah, va-RAHN-i-ka)

Gender: Female

A few months ago there was this publicized custody battle between a half Native American man to get to keep his daughter after taking her back from her adoptive parents after two years. The little girl is named Veronica. Then not long ago I heard this name again. So after looking into it I do like many of the meanings and the history. I like much of the uses and history but I also like that it is the name of a genus of plants as well. I love plant names but with this most won’t know it is one.

It is pretty and seems very posh and sophisticated. I could see a girl in boarding school named this. And I could see her being very popular yet not snobby, this names doesn’t register as a snobbish name to me. Well unless any author or writer wishes for it to come off snobbish in their novels, then that is for them to do so.  

Zile

Meaning: (A city and a district of Tokat Province, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of Amasya and the west of Tokat in north-central Turkey. The city has a long history, including being the site of the Battle of Zela, which prompted the phrase "Veni, vidi, vici. Today the city is a center for agricultural marketing and tourism, Historically, Zile has been known as Zela, Zelitis, Zelid, Anzila, Gırgırıye (Karkariye), Zīleh, Zilleli, Zeyli, and Silas. Zela castle, the only solid castle in Anatolia, was built by Roman commander Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The castle contains the Amanos temple, and it is called silla, meaning "respected". In Semra Meral's Her Yönüyle Zile, she claims that the name "Zile" came from "Zela", stemming from "Silla".)

Origin: (Turkish, Late Roman)

Pronunciation: (Zie-ul, Rhymes with Nile, File, Tile.)

Gender: Male

I had a pen pal from Australia that has this name. I think it is a cool name. It has a sci-fi/ fantasy aspect to it. It is easy to say and is a short name. I would definitely like to see this name used in novels.

Petronilla

Meaning: (Rock, Stone, Variant of Petra.)

Origin: (Greek, Late Roman)

Pronunciation: (pe-troh-NIL-lə, PEHTRahNIHLah)

Gender: Female


I saw this name when researching Countess Petronilla in the 1100's. This seemed to be a somewhat common name as I found several different Petronilla's in the 1100's. I think it is a pretty cool name. It's actually beautiful in it's unique rareness. We sure don't have names like this now a days, I wish we did.