I’m pretty much hoping that baby comes out with a name tag on at this point, I’m have SUCH a hard time coming up with a name and I’m still all over the map.
I’ve enlisted my family’s help and they have been emailing suggestions. My dad loves the name [name_f]Delta[/name_f] and while I like the sound, I can’t help but associate it with the airline. It did get me thinking about [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] though, which was on my original list. My husband flat out said ‘we aren’t naming our baby dolphin’ so that was pretty much the end of that. After looking up the name [name_f]Delphine[/name_f], I came across a mention of the name Zelphine. I’ve never heard it before, it doesn’t seem to appear on any name website, the only place I can find it is on an ancestry site in birth records from the 1800’s.
Is it just a made up alternative to [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]? Thoughts/opinions on it?
It’s always a fun puzzle to find names with no clear etymology! I wasn’t able to find much, though.
A character named Zelphine was in several books/stories by [name_f]Anne[/name_f] Hollingsworth [name_m]Wharton[/name_m] about Americans traveling in Europe: Anne Hollingsworth Wharton - Wikipedia
And Zelph is the name of a warrior in the Mormon faith, but this doesn’t seem to be the source of the name or there would likely be more about it since the Mormon community keeps such great genealogy records: Zelph in relation to Book of Mormon geography | Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum
Overall, it does initially come off as invented and somewhat out-there, though it grew on me after just a few minutes. If you like [name_f]Delta[/name_f] aside from the company ties, maybe [name_f]Zella[/name_f] or [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] would be worth considering.
What about [name_f]Della[/name_f]? Has a similar feel to [name_f]Delta[/name_f] without the airline connection.
I’m not fond of Zelphine, it feels a bit contrived/faux-[name_m]French[/name_m].
I’ve never seen it before. It strikes me as a “creative” form of [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]; in consequence I don’t really care for it. However, I think you may really like Zéphine, which is a [name_m]French[/name_m] diminutive of [name_m]Jos[/name_m]éphine {as in Lés Miserables}.
@lwj1986 thanks so much for finding that info! Any kind of strong religious connotation would be a deal breaker for me 
@kala_way thanks for your reply and the suggestion. I went to school with a [name_f]Della[/name_f] and I’m not super fond of it.
@chrisco now I’m totally wondering if the post where I saw this name was a typo! They may very well have meant zephine! It does sound slightly incomplete to me, and I don’t like [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]…but it may be one to consider! Thanks 
[name_m]Just[/name_m] chiming in on the Zelph Mormon thing. I’m a Mormon and had to look that up, never heard of it, and my husband hadn’t either. I’m not the most well read when it comes to church history stuff like that, but I know it isn’t something that is super prominant. [name_m]Just[/name_m] thought I’d share in case that made it less of a deal breaker!
Not a fan of Zelphine, but Zephine is lovely!
Other names with a similar sound to [name_f]Delta[/name_f] might be: [name_f]Delilah[/name_f], [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], [name_f]Delphi[/name_f], [name_f]Delyth[/name_f], [name_f]Dorota[/name_f], [name_f]Zelda[/name_f].
I don’t know anything about Zelphine, but I really love [name_u]Zephyr[/name_u]. Does that appeal to you?
BTW, you might try passing off [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] by its “delphinium” reference. Delphinium is a more stately association than dolphins.