Beatrice

Beatrice is the French or Italian form of Beatrix. According to Ask Oxford, Beatrix probably came from a combination of the Latin Viator and Beatus. Since the former meant "voyager" and the latter meant "blessed," Beatrice can be taken to mean "blessed voyager." Beatrice was a character in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," but is probably more well known as the name of the lady with whom Dante was obsessed. Beatrice was a popular name in England during the Middle Ages, and like many other names that appeared in classic literature, was strongly popular again in the 19th century, when it was very occasionally even given to boys. This popularity continued into the 20th century; in the United States Beatrice appeared consistently in the top 100 names for girls until the 1930's. After that, the name began to be considered old fashioned and declined steadily in popularity. Beatrice has not appeared in the top 1000 in the U.S. since 2001. More recently, well-known bearers of the name Beatrice include Princess Beatrice of York, and Beatrice McCartney, the daughter of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Nicknames for Beatrice include Bea and Trixie.

Wesley

Wesley comes from the combination of the directional word west, and the word lea, which means "meadow," "field," or "clearing." So Wesley can mean the clearing to the west, or the western field, etc. Wesley is a surname which signified someone who lived in such a place, or who was from one of the places in England which were given the name Westley. Many surnames have been transferred to use as given names, and the use often began as a means of naming a child for his mother's family, with her maiden name used as her son's given name. Wesley is one of these, but also received a boost in use from the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, with many Methodists choosing name their sons Wesley in his honor. Interestingly, Wesley has been a top 200 name in the U.S. for well over 100 years, with very little real variation--it has never been used enough to become over-used and too common, yet has never been rare. This may be partly due to the Methodist factor, but is probably also due to the fact that Wesley is a reasonably masculine and distinguished sounding name, common enough to not be "outlandish," yet it doesn't really invite nicknames or familiar forms that would bring it into more common use. Consequently, it's often used as a middle name. Famous Wesleys include Wesley Snipes, and the character Wesley from television's Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Before someone yells at me for forgetting him, the character played by Cary Elwes in the movie The Princess Bride was named Westley, which is a simple spelling variation that makes sense for the setting of the book and movie.)

Sylvia

Sylvia is a variant spelling of Silvia, but of the two, Sylvia is now more often used. Ultimately, it comes from the Latin word silva which means "woods" or "forest." Sylvia was one of the "classical" names that enjoyed popularity in the late 19th century, and into the early years of the 20th century. From 1909 through 1923 the name was in the top 100 for girls in the U.S., and it was again in the top 100 through most of the 1930's and 1940's. Consequently, Sylvia is currently considered a somewhat old-fashioned name, and is in the bottom half of the top 1000. The most well-known Sylvia was probably Sylvia Plath. Sylvia is both pretty to the ear and to the eye, and will most probably return to popularity in the next decade or so. In the meantime, Sylvia is also a wonderful name for a cat.

Irene

Irene means "peace." It comes from the Greek eirene. Irene, or Eirene, was a Greek goddess of peace, and as one of the Horai (Seasons) she personified spring. (Her Roman equivalent was Pax, which is Latin for "peace.") Irene, along with other "classical" names from mythology and other sources, began to gain popularity in English speaking countries in the 19th century. It had reached the top 100 of names for new baby girls by the 1880's, and peaked as the 16th most popular name in 1918 and 1919. Irene remained popular, staying in the top 100 until the 1940's. Since then it has declined in popularity, falling out of the top 500 in recent years. One interesting thing to note; Irene was originally pronounced with three syllables ( i-REE-nee,) but now is generally pronounced EYE-reen in the U.S. and some other English speaking countries. The name is a classic and will surely return to popularity once it is no longer associated with the "older generation." Whether it will return as a two syllable name or a three syllable name is anyone's guess.

Demetrius

Demetrius comes from Demeter. Demeter was the Greek goddess of agriculture, and her name translates to "earth mother." There were several early saints named Demetrius, Shakespeare wrote of a Demetrius in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and John Dryden's translation of Plutarch's Demetrius can be found here. Demetrius has been given to baby boys often enough in the U.S. since the 1950's to remain consistently in the top 1000 names, but has never been what could be called "popular." It will probably remain so; as a classical name and a saint's name, it will likely continue to be used, but it would probably require a super-celebrity with the name Demetrius to push it into a popularity spike. The lack of good nicknames for this name also works against it. Although I can't recommend it as a baby name for anyone but the most adventurous of parents, Demetrius is an excellent name for a dog or cat.

Julia

Julia is a feminine form of Julius. A woman named Julia is mentioned in Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and several saints were also named Julia. Shakespeare used the name Julia in The Two Gentlemen Gentlemen of Verona. A fashion for "classical" names occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Julia's popularity benefited greatly from this trend. Julia is still a name popular today, generally appearing in the top 50 for girls in the U.S., as well as being quite popular in Sweden, Spain, and France. Famous Julia's include actress Julia Roberts, and chef Julia Child, who died in 2004 at the age of 91.

Cynthia

Cynthia comes from the Greek Kynthia, and was a title of the goddess Artemis. It means "woman (or goddess) of Kynthus." Kynthus was the mountain on which Artemis was supposedly born. The name wasn't used in the Middle Ages, but reappeared in the 17th and 18th centuries to some extent. Because Artemis was a virgin goddess, and Queen Elizabeth I was the virgin queen, Raleigh, Spenser and others used "Cynthia" to refer to the queen. Many wives of U.S. plantation owners gave the name Cynthia to slaves in the 19th century; many slaves of that time were given names from classic literature. Cynthia has been used steadily if not overwhelmingly since then. It had a brief surge of popularity in the U.S. in the mid 1900's, making it to #10 in the 1960's. Currently it remains comfortably in the top 300; used but not overused. Cynthia is a somewhat versatile name, bringing with it the nickname Cindy, which as a name in its own right has become nearly as much used as Cynthia.

Laura

Laura comes from the Late Latin male name Laurus, which means "laurel," referring to the crown of laurel you always seen on the heads of important Romans. Laura is a saint name; Saint Laura was a Spanish nun who met a grisly death in a vat of molten lead. The Italian poet Petrarch wrote love poetry to "Laura" in the 1300's leading to a certain amount of popularity for the name in Italy. The name began to be popular in English-speaking countries in the 19th century. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote books that most people are aware of if not familiar with, and many women (and maybe some men, who knows?)are fans of Laura Ashley. Current well-known Laura's include Laura Bush and "Dr. Laura." Laura has been hugely popular in the U.S. in the past century, only falling out of the top 1000 since the year 2000. A note: the pronunciation of Laura can vary depending on who you are and where you are. Some people rhyme it, or almost, with "Norah," while others say the "au" with a sound closer to "ah." Some have made their pronunciation intent more obvious by simply spelling it "Lora," though this can also be a name in its own right.