Morella

“With a feeling of deep yet most singular affection I regarded my friend Morella.” –opening words of “Morella” (1835)

The subject of today’s post comes to you from the dark imagination of Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite sources for dreamy girls’ names with macabre undertones. The short story “Morella” is one of his least-known works: a widower’s surreal and disturbing account of his wife’s death and perceived reincarnation. Normally I would discard her as made-up, flimsy or what-have-you, but the closer I look, the more compelling she is. The name of an ancient walled city, as well as an alternative name for the poisonous weed “black nightshade,” deliciously smooth Morella is all mystery and feminine allure – but is she too sensual, or her fictional namesake too grotesque and arabesque, to transfer over from a Poe anthology to a birth certificate? In an age dominated by pseudo-Italian, feminissa choices like Isabella and Arianna, this muted Gothic name is a natural.

Sidra

A simple, multicultural name given to 29 baby girls in the U.S. last year (2010), Sidra is as charming as she is unexpected.

As an English name, Nameberry-approved Sidra is quirky yet on-trend, being a short, exotic import in the style of Layla, Aliyah and Maia; and her appeal lies in her ability to pass for an edgy, offbeat classic – think Phaedra, India, Portia, Aida, Cyrilla. Doesn’t she seem familiar, “not quite English, or American, but not quite not English either”?

For an unapologetically girly name less ordinary than Sandra, Lydia or even Isadora (given to 122 girls in 2010), consider this saucy, pan-Mediterranean beauty.