By Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain

　　Heartbroken that Addison and Amelia are so popular?  Did your best friend just name her daughter Aria Alexandra, stealing two of your long-time favorites?  Never fear!  Here are some of my favorite A names for girls – and none of them currently rank in the US Top 1000.

　　Ariadne – In Greek myth, she helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur.  Top 100 choices Arianna and Ariana are derived from the same roots, but Ariadne is seldom heard in the English-speaking world.  But why not?  If Penelope can catch on, why not this clever heroine?

　　Avalon – Yes, there’s the Toyota.  But long before Henry Ford introduced the Model T, Avalon was paradise in Arthurian legend.  Today she reads like a fresh take on Ava, or maybe an alternative to Eden.

　　Antonella – As regal as Alexandra, she’s an elaboration of Antonia that has surfaced in some very stylish circles.

　　Agatha– It’s been sixty years since Agatha cracked the US Top 1000.  Now that granny chic choices like Hazel and Lydia are mainstream, parents are looking for the next wave of revival possibilities.  Could Aggie join Addie and Abby on the playground?  Maybe …

　　Atlanta– This place name was rumored to be on the Beckhams’ shortlist for baby #4.  The power couple went with Harper instead, but this American place name has much to recommend it.  She’s as Southern as Savannah, but far less expected.

　　Arcadia– A region of ancient Greece, and a popular place name today, Arcadia symbolizes the unspoiled natural world in poetry.  It makes her a possibility right at home with so many nature names.

　　Azalea – Speaking of nature names, how ’bout Azalea?  The colorful blooms are known world-wide, and she’s got a modern, upbeat sound.  The French Azelie might be an even more exotic possibility – and one with religious overtones, thanks to the Blessed Marie-Azelie, mother of Saint Therese of Lisieux.

　　Aderyn – One more nature name, this time borrowed from the Welsh word for bird.  Think of her as a compromise between Adeline and Wren.  The only trouble?  Her pronunciation.  Emphasis is on the middle syllable, which could be confusing.

　　Adair – Here’s a surname name that’s easy to pronounce.  Adair is Scottish, related to the given name Edgar.  While this one is probably gender-neutral, it brings to mind Dead Like Me’s Daisy Adair – which definitely makes this one lean girl if you remember the character.

　　What are your favorite A names for girls?

　　Abby Sandel runs the popular website Appellation Mountain and contributes the weekly Nameberry 9, rounding up the names in the news, for us every Monday.

　　(Illustration courtesy of the site http://www.karenika.com/.)