Beautiful first names from around the world (not an advertising thread)

Dear users, dear authors,
We have a lot of moms, new moms, expectant mothers, proud parents, grandmas, grandpas, etc., here.
Choosing a name is always a bit of a challenge. You need ideas.
I’m starting this thread so you can list your favorite names for children or share ideas with other users and authors.
Have fun, and all the best to the kids, parents, and grandparents

Is the meaning of a name actually important to you, or is it just the sound or spelling?

Philippe and Oliver

Our Johanna (the eldest) would have been a Philippe, and Carlotta (the youngest) was an Oliver until the 30th week of pregnancy :) There was no girls' alternative for Friedrich, and no boys' alternative for Franka.

It’s nice to know the meaning of names, but it was only of secondary importance.
It was always important to us that you could tell right away whether the name belonged to a boy or a girl, so the child wouldn’t constantly have to explain how to pronounce or spell it (though with Franka and Carlotta, there is sometimes the addition “with a k” or “only with a C”).
And even if someone says, “Not my taste,” the child should never have to be ashamed of their name.

And they should go well with the surname.

It was important to me that when the name was called, five kids wouldn’t come running right away. And I thought everyone knew how to spell the name. But even with my own kids (Franziska and Patrick), we were still always asked, “Franziska with a C?” And lots of people called my Patrick “Pätrick.” 

Arthur—that’s our son’s name. You can hardly shorten it or butcher it. And so far, there are only 2 at his school. I’m very grateful to my husband for this choice.

I named my daughter Tiziana. I wanted a name that wasn’t too common and sounded beautiful.

I first came across this name in my teenage years and thought it was wonderful. When I found out it was going to be a girl, the name was decided—even though many people tried to talk me out of it. 

And the name couldn’t have been more fitting, because my daughter was born with really beautiful red hair, and there’s a shade of red—Tizian red—named after the famous Italian painter Tiziano. So it was the perfect choice, and she’s proud of her name and this little backstory about the painter. 

Choosing names for our two boys wasn’t easy at all (there are so many more beautiful girls’ names)... My husband associated a lot of names with specific people, so many of my suggestions were ruled out...
On top of that, the name shouldn’t be easy to mangle, had to go well with our last name (meaning it couldn’t be monosyllabic, since our last name consists of only one syllable), couldn’t be too exotic, and had to be internationally recognized or have international variants, since we have relatives abroad.
Now we have a Niklas (Niki) and a Julian (Juli)—the names aren’t exactly rare, but we’re happy with them, and so are the boys.

My midwife had given us a tip during the childbirth class that a name should suit a child and then later an adult—some names might seem cute and pretty on a child, but for an adult, they might end up being just...

There are many ... my favorites

Melina
Laura
Leilani
Elias
Fabienne

My grandson’s name is Noam-Zia (the “Z” is pronounced like an “S”)
Noam – delight, joy, cheerfulness
Zia – light, radiance
Both the sound and the meaning were important to us.
Most of the time, though, he’s just called Noam or NoZi.

My little boy’s name is Peter Marius, which means “the rock from the sea.”

I’ve always really liked Peter, and my husband picked the middle name. And he’s such a little rascal—Peter fits him perfectly.

My little girl’s name is Katharina; for my husband, no other girl’s name was even an option. I would have liked to have named her Hanna. Now her full name is Katharina Johanna.

Both of my children are very happy with their names. And not every other child around them has the same name.

@Inna
NoZi—I think that’s really cute. It’s a very beautiful name in general.

Good morning, Pe-ka. I need another translation: what’s a “Strizi”?
:-)

Nomen est Omen.....

Anika:  the graceful one ... that suits her nature very well

Brigitte:  the exalted one, a goddess of light... she always has been and still is a ray of sunshine

Iris:  speaks for itself, right? 

Maria: the headstrong one, the untamable one... she has definitely grown into her name; she was actually supposed to be an Anna, but when I saw her for the first time, I knew she was a Maria.

Sarah-Janine: the princess, ruler - Janine comes from Johannes: has shown grace.... she does have something decisive and commanding about her, but forgives very quickly

Roman: the Roman

Nicola-David: the people triumph - David: beloved... unfortunately he keeps being called “Ms. Nicola,” which always causes amusement, since with his height and build there is really nothing feminine about him

Jonathan-Alexander: gift of God - the defender... well, he really was a “surprise package,” an unexpected gift :-)

My children have grown into their names ;-)

@Arni,

a Strizi is a cheeky little rascal who’s full of mischief

Raphael :-) My little archangel ♥

I think Italian names are really beautiful in general...
And they shouldn’t be too fancy or too common.
In his age group, at least, there aren’t many with that name.

Thanks—that translation describes my son perfectly.
No one can stay mad at him for long, though, because he’s such a charmer who wraps everyone around his finger.

@Pe-Ka,
That's a real little rascal :-)

@Schneckenkind,

My grandson is called Michael - he was an extremely premature baby, weighing just one kilo, and when my daughter called and said she really didn't know what to call him, I said Michael: after the archangel who gives strength ... the little one coped with everything very well - I really think names shape us