Theresa

Today's name is Theresa, which comes with the cute nicknames Tess, Tessa, Terra, or Reese/Reesa. There's Terry and Tracy, but they've fallen out of favor and seem dated. Theresa is Greek, meaning "late summer, to harvest (which is synonymous with to reap/gather)." It's most famous namesake is Mother Teresa, and what a great person to share a name with, although there were two other saints with this name. Theresa is teh-REE-sah, but you could also opt for Terese/Therese, said teh-REESE.

The first known namesake was the Spanish wife of Roman nobleman Paulinus from the 5th century. Apparently she was a writer who other women were fond of, thus giving her name to their children.
Here is a lovely list of international variants: wikipedia

Looking for something a little more unusual? Try Theria, which may have been a variant at some point, as both Theria and Theresa may come from the name of the Greek island Therasia. Theresa reached it's height around 1960 and is no longer on the top 1000 as of 2010 when it ranked at #928, a slow decline over the decade. Still, it is just below #1000, having 211 births in 2011. That being said, I don't see it coming back into the top 1000 any time soon, as Tess and Tessa have taken over with their similar, yet more modern sound. Tess in 2011 was #925, on its way up, and Tessa was #229, sort of hovering around that spot since 2000.

Leland

There are a lot of cities named Leland, and surprisingly, a lot of people, young and old. My state happens to have three major places of the name. It's also used as a surname. It is Old English, meaning "one who lives by unseeded land." It refers to a clearing, or low land. Kind of poetic and pastoral, though Leland feels a bit city-meets-countryside. There's also Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University, and it is what Bredan Fraser named his son. Nickname would be Lee. In 2011 it ranked at #329. It has risen very fast - in 2009 it rose from #408 to #349. There were also 8 girls named Leland in 2011, along with various other spellings for boys: 14 Leelynd, 11 Lelend, 5 Leilynd, 5 Leelend, 7 Leighland, 8 Lelynd and 10 Lealand.

SSA Reappearances

Nameberry recently did a post on names that had once been on the SSA charts, dissappeared for a while, then reemerged in 2011. You can find the post here, but I wanted to share some of the names I felt were quite special.

Girls:

Amalia, gone since 1932 (76 years) now ranks at #922. This Latinized Germanic name means "work, laborious," and comes from the same root as Amelia (a blend of Emilia and Amalia, which ranks at #30), and Ameline/Amelina. It is also related to Emma, Emilia, Emmeline and Emily - call them cousins. In Spanish, Maya is a short form of Amalia.

Nova - this celestial name caught on quickly. Meaning "new," nova refers to a star that releases a huge burst of energy in bright color for a short time. Other celestial names are beginning to gain interest, such as Nebula and Orion. Nova now ranks at #884. Quite the jump.

Renata - this Italian beauty means "to be reborn," meaning reborn by baptism in most cases. There was a Saint Renatus, from which come Renato and Renata. A cute nickname is Ren.

Galilea - Yes, like Galileo. It is Italian and Hebrew meaning "a rolled sheet." Boring meaning aside, Galilea is quite pretty. It is also Spanish for the place Galilee.

Yuliana - an international variant of Julia, which can also be spelled Ulyana. This could be due to an influx of nationalities.

Boys:

Miller - I saw this one coming. I had a friend whose last name was Miller, and it was such an attractive option that he went solely by his surname. However, this one is being used by girls now.

Harvey - this one could be due to Harvey Dent the Batman character.

The "I Lost My Kid" Test

Upon considering a name for a future kid, I said it out loud a few times and something felt off. I proceeded to do the "I lost my kid" test - practice for a time when you might be in the mall or at a playground and suddenly you turn around and your kid isn't there. (It happens. I've also done the "I lost my cat" screaming in my backyard and my neighbors look at me like I'm crazy. Of course, the cat doesn't come when you call so you end up repeating the name about ten times. I'll give you a hint, my cats name is somewhere in this article.) I'll give some examples: Say you want to name your kid something considered normal by most. James, for instance. Scream it outside in front of people and no one will cringe, you included. Something like Sunshine or Canyon and they might think you're calling for a dog. Something like Petrova (beautiful as it is) and you might get interested glances and wish you came up with a less unusual nickname. Something like Sloanna might definitely keep you from naming your kid that. Keep in mind I don't actually go around the neighborhood calling for a kid I don't have, although I plan on doing a couple different tests I mentioned here and here. I may have mentioned in one of these my other idea to introduce yourself to strangers you'll likely never meet again (like a store employee) as the name you are considering for your child. If you feel weird introducing yourself to a perfect stranger as "Starling" or "Orpheus" then chances are it's not right for your kid.

Aside from verbal name-shouting, there's the written test. Here's how to do it: imagine you're a teacher. You're very skilled with language and writing, and you deal with 20+ new names each year. At first it was names like Jessica, Cody and Bridget, which are easy to say and spell, then it moved towards Kaitlyn, Dallas and Jordyn, which are pretty straight forward, and now it's getting more "creative" with MacKenzee, Kaylani, Aidin and Shadiamond (yes, several people have named their kid Shadiamond) and it takes you three times longer to memorize how to say and spell each name. Where does the name you're considering rank? Is Coralia is the first group, Skylin in the second group, and Mylisent in the third group?

So, if the name is fairly easy to spell/wouldn't give their teacher an awful headache, doesn't make you embarrassed when you shout it in a crowd of people,  would look good on a resume (remember, you're naming a future adult), and is something that looks equally good on a baby and a middle aged person, then go for it!

Cyprine

Usually I try to post a name that could be a sibling to the last name I wrote about, but I just came across an old love of mine and had to share. Cyprine (sip-reen/sigh-preen) is a name you'll likely only see once in your life. Reading it now may be that single time. Cyprine is another name for/variety of the gem Vesuvianite that ranges from light/exotic blue to light smoky purple. Vesuvianite comes from Mount Vesuvius, known for destroying Pompeii, which had cypress trees, and Cyprine itself means "of the cypress." So there is a nice little connection, and an alternative for those who like (or dislike) Cypress, Cyprian and Cypriana. Two other forms are Cypria and Cyprina (sip-ree-na/sigh-pree-na) since Cyprine is the French form. Nerdy fact: Cyprine was a minor Sailor Moon character. Naoko Takeuchi was very fond of gem and mineral names, as well as mythology and the planets. She really loved to research to find the perfect names for her characters.

Update: Ok, so I guess the name Cyprina is not as rare as I thought. Apparently it is the name of a beach in Florida. On the plus side, it's a beautiful beach on the ocean, which lends the name a mermaid-like aura.

Penna

Penna, which is Latin meaning "feather," is rare pretty much anywhere, except as a surname (especially in Italy). Sometimes heard in Europe, rarely in America, and probably more common as a nickname (Penelope or Penina). It is also the name of a river in India, sometimes used as an Indian surname as well. There were no baby girls named Penna in 2010 or 2011. It is unusual but familiar sounding, and right there with other rare P names such as Plum, Pennylane, Pasha, Palmira, and Padme, all with only 5 births in 2011.

10 Super-rare French Beauties

Corisande Armandine Sophie Leonie de Gramont (1783 - 1865) by Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun

Mazarine
Celandine
Pomeline
Marcheline
Coraline
Delphine
Melusine
Seraphine
Corisande
Melisande

Update: here's an extra two - Caspienne & Laureline