I wanted to give a shout-out to [name_f]Adelphia[/name_f]. The prettiest nicknames, and it means “dearest sister”, which is just so lovely! It makes me think of a small Greek island surrounded by a blue-green ocean, and also a serene [name_m]Roman[/name_m]-era city with white marble colonnades. And dolphins!
I also had the thought that we could use this thread for other similar shout-outs (boy and girl names), with the restrictions that you can only do one shout-out at a time and you have to give some background to the name and/or the vibe/imagery it gives you.
I hadn’t heard of [name_f]Adelphia[/name_f] before, but it’s absolutely lovely and that meaning is gorgeous!
I’ll shout out [name_f]Anoushka[/name_f]/[name_f]Annushka[/name_f]. I love the fun and upbeat sound, but that it still feels elegant. It’s a Russian diminutive of [name_f]Anna[/name_f], but in the English-speaking world feels rather more glamorous and striking. Tracing it back to [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], it means ‘grace’ or ‘favour’, which are both lovely meanings. To me it brings to mind ballet dancers and jewels and snow and the Hermitage Museum.
I have [name_f]Adelpha[/name_f] and [name_f]Delphia[/name_f] on my considering list, but I went off of Delph- names for a while after I read the Cursed Child. I am starting to like them again though. I like the dearest sister meaning, but I did wonder if it was too close to [name_m]Adolph[/name_m]/[name_m]Adolf[/name_m].
I don’t exactly have a shout out but I was reminded of Elaphia. It was a name used in Ancient Greek, meaning ‘deer’ (according to British [name_u]Baby[/name_u] names, Ancient Greek E Names for Girls - British Baby Names which is a reliable source) and I’ve always thought her similarity to [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] makes her familiar and usable, as well as having a gorgeous sound and slightly whimsical, soft, ethereal quality.
Shout out to [name_f]Circe[/name_f]. It’s such a beautiful name. [name_f]Circe[/name_f] means “bird” and in Greek mythology, she was the daughter of [name_m]Helios[/name_m] and was a sorceress living in Aeaea. She could turn men into animals with her magic wand, what a girl.
Shoutout to Nefertari, it’s the name of an ancient Egyptian [name_f]Queen[/name_f] and means Beautiful Companion. I haven’t ever seen this used but it really is a beautiful name with [name_u]Ari[/name_u], [name_f]Tara[/name_f], [name_u]Tari[/name_u], [name_f]Effie[/name_f] and [name_f]Nara[/name_f] as nicknames.
Shout out to [name_f]Theophania[/name_f], the incredibly rare and beautiful original form of 80s favorite [name_f]Tiffany[/name_f]. Traditionally, the name was given to baby girls born on the feast of [name_f]Epiphany[/name_f] and means “of divine manifestation”. It was also the name of a Byzantine empress. Most name nerds have probably never heard of it, but due to the similarity to [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] and the potential of using the super-cute [name_f]Thea[/name_f] as a nickname, I think it is definitely wearable. (Also, could be a great way your sister(-in-law)/cousin/best friend [name_f]Tiffany[/name_f]!)
Shout out to [name_f]Faustina[/name_f], a rare latin name with awesome meaning (fortunate one) and various nickname possibilities, from [name_f]Tina[/name_f], [name_f]Fauna[/name_f] to [name_f]Fawn[/name_f]. There’s something artistic and badass about her, imo.
In keeping with @mega_muffin’s shout-out to [name_f]Theophania[/name_f]:
Shout-out to [name_m]Theodoric[/name_m] and Theodorica.
Perfect for those who like [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] and [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] but don’t like/ feel comfortable with the meaning (God-gift). Comes from a totally different source: þeudo-rīks (people-ruler or people-power), and is related to the modern [name_u]Terry[/name_u], [name_m]Dietrich[/name_m], [name_m]Dirk[/name_m], [name_m]Dieter[/name_m] and [name_m]Thierry[/name_m].
A shout out for [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]! A Germanic name (I think) and I don’t know the meaning but how adorable is the potential [name_f]Tilly[/name_f]/[name_f]Tillie[/name_f]?
Since everybody has mostly been giving shout-outs to girls’ names, I’ll give a shout-out to my son’s middle name, [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m]. Though none of the [name_f]Magi[/name_f] were ever named in the Bible, tradition says one of their names was [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m], which I think makes it a great name for a [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] baby for parents who perhaps don’t want to use something as obvious as [name_u]Noel[/name_u], [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m], or [name_m]Emmanuel[/name_m]. It also has the “z” sound that is so popular nowadays. It’s incredibly rare in use, but it’s a name that I think a lot of people are at least somewhat familiar with, making it a hidden gen waiting to be rediscovered.
Shout-out to Tammo - derived from [name_m]German[/name_m] Thankmar (Dankmar), “great, famous”, according to [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names Pedia. I love [name_m]Tam[/name_m] as a nn, and this fits right in with [name_m]Otto[/name_m], [name_m]Milo[/name_m], [name_m]Leo[/name_m], etc. It’s dashing, soft, on-trend without being in the least popular, easy to spell and pronounce . . .