Esteban

Esteban is a Spanish version of Stephen which has gained some popularity in the United States since the 1950's.

Carla

Carla is a feminine form of Carl, which itself comes from the name Charles. Since Charles means "man" or "free man," then Carla can be taken to mean "woman" or "free woman." Carla is an extremely popular name in Spain. In the U.S., Carla began to be used in the 1920's, reached a popularity peak in the 1960's, and has been declining slowly in popularity ever since. Carla wasn't used enough, even at the peak of its popularity, to be considered over-used, and its decline has been slow; people still like this name apparently. It has remained in the top 500, and could see a revival in popularity at any time--especially if it gets a push from a famous Carla, whether real or fictional.

Alma

Alma comes from Latin and means "nurturing, kind." Alma was a title of several Roman goddesses, but its use as a given name is relatively quite modern. It was very rarely used until after the 1854 Battle of Alma was fought. The Alma in this case was a river in the Crimea, but Alma's use as a name became established after that point and was fairly popular in all English-speaking countries from 1870 through 1920. Other sources list Alma as being a Spanish name meaning "soul." This comes from dialogue in Tennessee Williams's play Summer and Smoke, and from the use of the name in Spenser's 16th century poem Faerie Queen, in which the name is apparently interpreted as Italian, meaning "soul." Although Alma has not appeared in the top 100 names for girls in the U.S. since the 1920's, it is still in the top 1000. It is possibly being used at this point mostly in honor of older or deceased relatives, but also could be due for a revival in the relatively near future.

Lela

Lela is often considered a variant spelling of Leila, which comes from Arabic and means "dark," or "night," or even "dark as the night." You get the idea. Considering that "Leila" is often pronounced as "lay-la", how does Lela get to be considered a variant spelling of Leila? Here is one way that this can happen. Let's say you write a book and you name your main character "Leila." Someone reads the book, and even though in your head the pronunciation for the name was "lay-la," the reader hears it in her head as "lee-la." She likes the name, and she names her daughter "Leila," pronounced "lee-la." Years later, another lady has a baby, and must choose a name. She was once introduced to Leila (lee-la), and loved the sound of the name. She never saw how the bearer spelled it, and does not care; she simply likes the sound. She names her baby "Lela." And there you go. Some sources also describe Lela as a Spanish name meaning "lofty." Lela was used as a given name fairly often in the U.S. in the 1800's, and was still in use in the early 1900's, but disappeared from the top 1000 after the 1960's. This is a name that currently still sounds at least somewhat old-fashioned, and it was crowded out by all the "new" names that were drafted into the name pool over the past decades. It could easily enough return to popularity with the right catalyst such as a famous actress, model, or fictional character. Lela is an extremely good name for a dog or cat.