Falena

Today's names: Falena

A drawing of the widely known Luna Moth, image via http://prittimoth.blogspot.com

Pronunciation: fah-LAY-nah

Potential nicknames: Fay, Fallie, Lena, Lala

Origin: Latin, used in Spanish and Italian, meaning "moth." Falena is also a rare variant of the name Felina, which is Latin, meaning "catlike."

Popularity: Falena has not ranked in the top 1000, and in 2010 and 2011 there were no baby girls named Falena in the U.S.

Fun fact: Moths can be just as beautiful and colorful, and sometimes more so, than butterflies. What is the difference between a moth and a butterfly, anyway? One of the easiest ways to tell the difference is that moths usually have feathery, fluffy antennae, while butterflies have thin, straight antennae. Some of them can even look like tiny, lighter, feathery bats, and some look like they have bunny ears. A second way to distinguish between the two is that moths fold their wings down behind them, and butterflies keep their wings up and out. One last difference is that moths mainly fly at night, butterflies during the day, and this is where the phrase "Like a moth drawn to flame" comes from, for they really are drawn to light. One theory of this behavior is that moths use celestial navigation, which means they use the light of a star or the moon to guide them so that they can fly straight. (2) "La Falena" is a famous opera. (3) Movie, "The Mothman Prophecies."

The Madagascan Sunset Moth, thought to be the most beautiful moth.

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