Sylvie, Sylvia, Silvia

Miike Snow - Silvia

I was going to include Silvana and Silveria, and the male forms of the name, in this post, but I think I'll save them for another time and just mention that all Syl-/Sil- names share the same meaning, "[from the] woods, woodland, forest." Silvanus was the Latin god of the forest. More rare variants include Sylvette, Sylvina/Silvina, Silvania/Sylvania, and Sylva/Silva. Silvia is the major Latin version of the name, while Sylvia and Sylvie/Silvie are the variants. In fact, the spellings with a Y are generally understood to be the English equivalents, while the traditional Latin spellings retain the I. Sylvie is usually thought to be French, but can also serve as a nickname. All forms have a silvery, gilded, romantic and sophisticated image, while still being quite childlike and playful.

While Sylvie has never ranked, Sylvia ranked from 1880 (and likely well before that) until now. In 2011 Sylvia ranked at #554, and has been in the 500's for the last decade. It has been slowly falling since it was #50 in 1937, which was its highest rank, and had stayed above #200 before that. The alternate spelling Silvia also ranked from 1886 until 2005, but was not as popular. The highest rank for Silvia was #497 in 1974. In 2011 there were 187 girls named Silvia, 156 named Sylvie, and 523 named Sylvia. Though Sylvia is now more popular, Silvia was the original spelling.

Rhea Silvia in mythology was an ancient nature goddess, the mother of Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome. (Mythological names connected to these are Evander, Arcadia, Lavinia, Aeneas and Pallas.) Saint Silvia was the mother of Pope Gregory the Great. Queen Silvia of Sweden is still reigning in Sweden. Sylvia Plath was the tragic poet and novelist whose works are now studied nationwide in advanced English courses. Sylvia Pankhurst was the Suffragette who formed leftist and communist parties after WWI, sister to Christabel, whose mother was Emmeline. Shakespeare used the name Silvia in his play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," and both Silvia and Sylvia can be found in many more works of literature and on several more namesakes. Recently, celebrity Jason Bateman named his daughter Maple Sylvie (which directly translates to "maple forest").

New Label: Princes and Kings

Go check it out!  I had a "Princesses and Queens" label, and thought it high time to add one for the boys.

Viggo

(VIGG-oh) Viggo Mortensen, who is actually a junior, may be the first and only person that comes to mind with this name. The actor has been known for his roles in "Hidalgo" and "Lord of the Rings." Many don't know about Prince Viggo of Denmark, Count Viggo of Rosenborg, who gave up the wonders of being a prince for his American wife in the 1920's. 

This Scandinavian name meaning "war; thunderbolt" should be way more popular than it is. It's got the trendy V and O sounds, a short and peppy sound, an actor namesake... so how come in 2011 there were only 31 boys given the name and in 2010 only 41? This Old Norse name dates back to the time of the Vikings and is very popular in Sweden (#32), a bit dated (I'm not so sure - it's #288 there) in Norway. It was even catchy enough for Taylor Hanson and his wife to use for their fourth child (the others are Jordan, Penelope and River), once they found it on Ancestry.com. The most similar sounding name out there is Vega, which is also quite rare.

Lavinia

 

Italian actress Lavinia Longhi, who looks just like my mom

Lavinia (lah-VIN-ee-ah) is a Latin name possibly meaning "purity," but the name is so old that no specific meaning can be given. It could simply mean "woman from Lavinium," which was an ancient town in Rome/more ancient than Rome/Etruscan. Lavinia was known as the "Mother of Rome." In Virgil's Aeneid, Lavinia was betrothed to a man named Turnus, King of the Rutuli, but when the hero Aeneas came to town her father, King of the Latins, changed his mind and wanted Lavinia to marry Aeneas. The two men then fought for her hand, but Aeneas won. Aeneas then built the town of Lavinium for her. Shakespeare had Lavinia as a character in Titus Andronicus, but her story is an unfortunate one not worthy of repeating and not true to Virgil's Lavinia. Ursula le Guin later wrote more in depth about their relationship in her 2008 novel Lavinia. And she's been a character in many more stories, including The Hunger Games. In all likelihood, Lavinia was probably created to explain how the town of Lavinium came to be.

Aristocrats used this name in medieval times, then it boomed in the 18th century, which is now why Lavinia is considered very vintage. Back then it could be found in various forms, from Louvenia to Lovina. Vinnie could be one nickname, but Lavie gives it more of a European flair. Lavinia probably ranked well before 1880 when records started being kept as we know them today, but she was officially on the charts between 1880 (starting at #360 and the highest ranking she had) and 1929 (never to be seen again). In 2011 the name Lavinia was given to 39 baby girls, not including various other spellings. This mythological Victorian name is ready for a comeback! (Think: Olivia, less popular.)

Darcy

 

Available on Etsy

Male or female? Mr. Darcy or vintage belle? While slightly resembling cutesy vintage names like Darla and dated names ending in -ie or -y, this name will never make me think anything but "Mr. Darcy." Supposedly Mr. Darcy's surname was a hint at Norman aristocracy, a place name meaning "from Arcy," (Old French d'Arcy). The name is also Irish Gaelic meaning "dark." The original French form could mean "bear," as other names, like Arthur, and the names of a bear god and goddess, share the art- link.

Darcy is currently trendy as parents look to many familiar literary names such as Atticus, Emerson and Gatsby. Ultimately, I believe the name has been more popular for girls in America. It ranked from 1949 to 1994 for girls, and sporadically for boys between 1954 and 1970. Darci and Darcie have also ranked for girls. In 2011 the use of Darcy and variant spellings has decreased a lot since that time, and 140 girls were named Darcy while only 15 boys were given the name.

Isadora

 

The 1968 film "Isadora" about Isadora Duncan, the dancer

Isadora, which can also be spelled Isidora, is a Greek and Latin name meaning "gift of Isis" and the feminine form of the boys name Isidore, from Isidoros. Isis was the main goddess in Egyptian myth, and although Isadora would be considered a pagan name by Christians at the time, it survived their repression. Isis currently ranks in the top 1000. The second syllable of the name is what means "gift," from the Proto Indo-European root word deh-. Other names, such as Theodore, Callidora and Pandora share this root.

There were a few St. Isidore's and a Saint Isidora, but the name Isidore was often shared/unisex. Saint Isidora was a nun in an Egyptian convent, and by records was one of the most humble saints. There are dozens of male and female historical namesakes, including religious leaders, philosophers, theologians, geographers, architechts, poets, composers, writers and dancers. Isadora Duncan was the late American dancer with a tragic story worth reading about if you're considering this name.

In 2011 Isadora ranked just outside the top 1000 with 141 girls given the name, the highest amount in record, and Isidora ranked much lower with only 13 girls given the name (25 in 2007 was the most recorded). It ranked on the top 1000 for a total of five years between 1880 and 1900, but fares much better in Chile as a top 10. Isadora may be rising in popularity as an Isabella alternative. The male names Isidoro and Isidore are not popular at all. In 2011 only 7 boys were named Isidoro and 7 named Isidore.

Izzy, Isa, Dora or Dory? Take your pick.

Sheridan

 

Old Hollywood actress Ann Sheridan

Sheridan is an Irish Gaelic surname meaning "seeker; peaceful" of which a playwright and Civil War general share as a namesake. In 1996 the masculine surname made it to the top 1000 list for girls (I wonder if the potential nicknames Sherry and/or Dani made that possible?), dropped off between 1998 and 1999, then came back between 2000 and 2002. It had been in the boys top 1000 in the 1890's and 1930's/40's for just a few short years, when Dan was probably the go-to nickname. As this was a masculine surname, much like Grayson, I have a hard time labeling it as "unisex." So, even though it is primarily used for girls now (9 boys in 2011 vs 48 girls), and isn't used nearly enough to firmly determine male/female (these are the lowest rankings since the peak in 1997), I am putting this one on the boys side.