Edison

Edison, an Old English surname meaning "son of Edward," or "Edie's son," might make a cute modern day option if it were literally for a son of a man name Edward. In has an air of intelligence and can share the nickname Eddie with Edward and Edgar. Your first thought was probably Thomas Edison, and is that really such a bad thing? After all,  he was responsible for the phonograph, motion picture camera, and the light bulb, which were among his 1,093 US patents.

In 2010 Edison ranked at #897 and there were 226 baby boys named Edison and 21 spelled Eddison, along with 501 baby boys named Eddie, 164 Eddy, 7 Edi, and 10 Eddi. There were also 7 baby girls named Edison, as well as 7 named Edi and 73 named Edie.

Cressida

Cressida was the name Shakespeare chose to use in his play Troilus and Cressida, although she was also known by Criseyde, Cresseid, Criseida and Briseida, all derived from Chryseis and Briseis, whose names appear in the Iliad but have no real connection to Cressida or Briseida. In fact Cressida's real first form was Briseida, whose story was invented by French poet Benoit de Sainte-Maure for his Roman de Troie. As Briseida, the daughter of Calchas, her story is told numerous times in medieval and Renaissance literature as part of the Trojan War. She falls in love with Troilus, son of King Priam, but there is a love triangle with a man named Diomedes. Some authors chose to use names similar to Briseida, and others, such as Boccacio,
Chaucer, and Shakespeare, chose to use names beginning with a C. To this day there is still no definite spelling.

Breakdown:
Benoit Sainte-Maure - Briseida
Azalais d'Altier - Brizeida
Guido delle Colonne - Briseida
Giovanni Bocaccio - Criseida
Robert Henryson - Cresseid
Geoffrey Chaucer - Criseyde
William Shakespeare - Cressida

Cressida, English, from the original (as close as it can get) spelling, Chryseis/Khryseis, is Greek, meaning "gold/golden." Shakespeare anglicized it. She gets a bad rap because she started out with Troilus and ended up with Diomedes. Back then it was a big no-no, but today I think most people would roll their eyes. In fact, I think it had to do more with Diomedes being Greek and Troilus being the prince of Troy.

In 2010 there were no baby girls named Cressida (or Cresseid, Criseyde, Chryseis, etc). However, there were 20 named Briceida, 8 Briceyda, 98 Briseida, 5 Briseidy, 71 Briseis, and 57 Briseyda. Weird, huh?

Feel free to come up with your own nicknames for this beauty, since the majority chooses Cressy.
It is a moon of Uranus, and I believe the most well known namesake is Cressida Cowell, author of "How to Train Your Dragon."
Cressida Blueberry

Lamia & Lamya

Lamia and the Soldier by John William Waterhouse (1905)

Although Lamia (LAH-mee-uh) means "glitter," or "glisten" in Swahili, she is a lesser known part of Greek mythology. Lamia was a queen and descendant of Poseidon, and had children with Zeus, but Hera kept killing all of them. Eventually Lamia went crazy over it and started eating as many children as she could. This turned her into a demon, some say half serpent, half woman, most likely because of her grief. The meaning of Lamia supposedly means "gullet," which is a bird's throat, but the more appropriate and logical meaning is "to devour," from the Phoenician word lahama. Her story differs depending on who is telling it.

The city of Lamia, Greece may have been named for the mythological character. There was a courtesan named Lamia of Athens, and John Keats wrote a poem about her in 1820. In modern times, people see her mythological history as an excuse to use her name for vampire fiction, even though she was never connected to vampire myths, and the connection actually comes from the Greek word lamiae. In Basque mythology a lamia was a charming woman who helped those who gave her food.

The most common Lamia is as an Arabic name, meaning "shining," "radiant," "brilliant." It is very close to another Arabic name, Lamya, meaning "she who possesses brown lips." Then there's Princess Lamia Solh, daughter of former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Riad as-Solh.

In 2010 there were 26 baby girls named Lamia, 108 Lamya, 46 Lamiya, 19 Lamyah, and 8 Lamyia.

Paladin

Unfortunately for this rare and attractive name, Dungeons and Dragons seems to have a monopoly on it. Try to take it back, shall we? This French word-name referring to a heroic or knightly champion, you may recognize "the Paladins" from Charlemagne's court (they even appear in the Song of Roland, for you literary scholars out there) or as the name of the sports team of the Royal Canadian Military. Paladin (PAL-uh-din) means "of the palace." A paladin also represents chivalry. There has been a TV show featuring this name. It is extremely rare and no baby boys were born with this name in 2010.

Seraphina

Seraphina is Hebrew, meaning "burning ones" or "fiery ones." It is the Latin and feminine form of the word seraphim, which are the six-winged highest ranking angels of God. The meaning is intended to describe these powerful fiery-winged angels, not the feathery-winged ones we typically think of. These angels were warriors.

Despite the fact that Jennifer Garner and Ben Afleck used this name for one of their daughters, the name is still quite rare, even though it is one of the most looked-up baby names. It was also the name of a 13th century saint (technically four, I believe, but the other woman was born named Sveva and two were male - Serafino and Serafim), being very popular in medieval Italy.

There are a few different ways to use this name: Seraphina, Serafina, Saraphina, Sarafina, Seraphine, Saraphine, and Serafine. In 2010 there were 12 baby girls named Sarafina, 9 Saraphina, 6 Seraphim, 5 Serafima, 79 Serafina, 107 Seraphina, and 17 Seraphine.

Seraphina has a range of nicknames, from Phina to Fifi, Sera to Nina, depending on how the full name is spelled.

Year of the Dragon - Drake, Draco

There are two very recognizable names that easily celebrate 2012, the year of the dragon according to the Chinese zodiac. However, these names are not Chinese. Draco, Latin for "dragon," is the name of a constellation (and a popular Harry Potter character), and Drake, Middle English for "dragon," is still widely used today. Drake was originally an occupational name and a surname meant to identify those who were innkeepers of inns with a dragon crest. One very famous namesake was English explorer Sir Francis Drake, and another is a currently famous rapper who goes solely by Drake.

In 2010 there were 30 baby boys named Draco, 7 named Drako, 6 named Drago (the Italian version), 1,850 Drake, 5 Draike, 10 Drayk, and 31 Drayke. But, I can't think of a better name for a 2012 dragon baby.

If Draco and Drake don't appeal to you, perhaps Tarragon would be more to your liking. This herb name  comes from drakontion, meaning "dragonwort." It's botanical name is Artemisia dracunculus, meaning "little dragon."

For girls, try Dracaena (druh-KAY-nuh), which is from Greek drakaina, meaning "female dragon." It is a plant name, and a very beautiful and interesting plant at that.

Baby Names That Mean "Wolf"

January is known as the month of the wolf, therefore I present my list of names that mean "wolf." Wolves were a very important part of many cultures, including Native American, medieval Germany and historic Mexico. Considering how dangerous times are for wolves lately (everyone loves werewolves in the media but ignores the ongoing aerial hunts), I think they could use a little boost.

Female:

Guadalupe, part of Spanish origin and myth, meaning "wolf valley"

Ulva, Old German, "wolf"

Ralphina, Old English, "wolf counsel"

Rudolpha, Old German, "famous wolf"

Ulrica, Old German, "power of the wolf"

Daciana, Romanian, "wolf"

Ylva, Scandinavian, "she-wolf"

Otsana & Otsanda, Basque, "she-wolf"

Lupita, Spanish, "little wolf"

Velvela, Yiddish, "wolf"



Male:

Lyall, Old Norse, "wolf"

Channing, English and Old French, "young wolf; official of the church"

Faolan, Irish and Gaelic, "little wolf"

Phelan, Irish and Gaelic, "like a wolf"

Conan, English, Irish and Gaelic, "hound, wolf; high"

Randall & Randolph, Old German, "wolf shield"

Ralph, Old English, "wolf counsel"

Raoul, French, "wolf counsel"

Rolf, Rollo & Rudolph, Old German, "famous wolf"

Odolph, Old German, "prosperous wolf"

Conall, Irish, Scottish, Gaelic, Celtic, "strong wolf"

Arno, Old German, "eagle-wolf"

Gonzalo, Spanish, Latin, "battle; wolf"

Fenris, from Scandinavian mythology

Rafe, Old German, "counsel of the wolf"

Lowell, Old French, "young wolf"

Ulric, English, Old German, "power of the wolf; power of the home"

Wolfgang, Old German, "traveling wolf"

And then there's always the Old German Wolfe or modern day Wolf.