Zaria

Photo Courtesy of Unposed Kids Photography

Today's nature name Zaria was plucked from Waltzing More Than Matilda's debut book 'International Baby Names for Australian Parents', which is full of good ideas even if you're not in Australia.

Zaria has a few possible pronunciations, which include ZAHR-ee-ah (my favourite), ZAHR-yah; or zah-RY-uh. And just as she has multiple pronunciations, she also has multiple origins in Russian/Slavic, Arabic, Swahili and Hebrew.

In Russian Zaria (or Zarya) means 'dawn' or 'sunrise'. It may also have links to the Zorya, who in Slavic mythology are two (or three) guardian goddesses known as the Auroras. They represent the Morning Star and the Evening Star, the third one being the Midnight Star, who is sometimes omitted. They watch over the doomsday hound who would bring on the end of the world if his chain were to break.

This is not the only link Zaria has to Slavic mythology, either. Zaria (separate to the Zorya) is the goddess of beauty, who was known as "the heavenly bride" and associated with the morning. According to Wikipedia, people prayed to her at dawn and thought her to be "the brightest maiden, pure, sublime, honourable". She was also known as a water priestess who protected warriors and was invoked to protect against death in battle.

Another popular belief is that Zaria comes from the Arabic name Zahrah, meaning 'blooming flower'. Similarly, the Swahili name Zahra also means 'flower', giving this name a lovely floral connection that is far less literal than options like Flora or Fleur or the wide range of floral word names like Rose and Lily.

It's also possible that Zaria is a variant of Sarah, a Hebrew name meaning 'princess'; or perhaps Zara, meaning 'radiance'. Which brings us full circle back to the Russian association with sunrise.

Zaria fits in well with todays' namescape - a little less popular than Zara (who feels quite popular in Australia) but without the "dingoes took my baby" association we Australians have with the name Azaria. In the U.S she was positioned at #857 on the charts in 2012, putting her in company with names such as Lara, Sky, Alyvia and Elliot; all of which seem comparatively much more recognised and/or "trendy" at the moment. So she's popular enough to be liked by many, but not so commonly discussed that she feels like she's much more commonly used than she actually is. Anecdotally, much of it's American popularity seems to be amongst African Americans, as a nod to their African heritage via the Nigerian city of Zaria.

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that Zaria has a beautiful, lovely exotic sound and feel. I love the rich history and varied associations - it even has dual nature meanings! Zaria seems to me to be an understated name that nevertheless makes a statement, and a stylish one at that.

Alaya

"On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese-a-laying"

The reason why I've picked Alaya would possibly be a source of teasing for this name too. I can just imagine  taunts of "hey Alaya, what 'cha layin'?" But I hate to look at potential problems before properly considering the beauty in a name first.

Alaya (pronounced ah-LAY-ah) is one of those names that when I first heard it a couple of years ago, I couldn't understand why I hadn't heard of it before that. It's very reminiscent of names like Layla and Ayla - it's soft and lilting and feminine. It's pronounced pretty much how it appears, which makes it easy for people to say and is a good choice if you yourself disliked having to explain how to say your name and want to avoid this for your child. And I do so like girl's names that start and end in A.

Some sources say that Alaya is a modern American invented name. But this doesn't seem to be the case, instead it is apparent that it it a variant of either Alaia or Aliya, or perhaps both. From these, Alaya has a few different origins and meanings. In Basque it means 'joyful', in Hebrew it means 'to ascend', in Arabic it means 'lofty, sublime' and in Swahili it means 'exalted'. Alaya has a similar meaning for Buddhists, as one of the eight consciousnesses. The alaya-vijnana is the base consciousness that the other seven evolve from. Taken together, it seems that if you are looking for a name relating to a higher point or power - as Kim Kardashian and Kanye reportedly were thinking when they chose North - Alaya would be a strong contender.

Alaya first appeared on the SSA charts in 1979, and made it's way into the U.S top 1000 in 2009. In 2012 it was #813, which puts it in that comfortable middle ground of not super obscure but not super common.

Alaya is a pretty, underused choice with some pretty inspirational meanings. It would make a lovely name for a girl, no matter the time of year.

Raimi

A younger Sam Raimi at work on set

If you like action, superhero and horror movies and TV shows, I'd be pretty shocked if you haven't heard of Sam Raimi. He's a producer, writer, director and actor, has worked on TV shows such as 'Hercules', 'Xena: Warrior Princess', 'Spartacus' and 'American Gothic'; and has directed big blockbusters such as the 'Spider-Man' trilogy (the Tobey Maguire versions) and 'Oz: The Great And Powerful'.

But it was the cult horror film 'The Evil Dead' that first brought him attention, back in 1981. Since then he has continued to make great horror movies. He's been involved in the follow ups to 'The Evil Dead', 'Evil Dead 2' and 'Army of Darkness' and other horror movies 'The Grudge', 'Boogeyman', 'The Messengers', '30 Days of Night', 'Drag Me To Hell', and 'The Possession'. 2013 saw him involved in the production of the remake of 'The Evil Dead', 'Evil Dead' and he's currently working as a producer on the remake of classic horror favourite 'Poltergeist', expected to be released in 2014.

There's no doubt that Raimi is a big name when it comes to horror. And this makes Raimi a prime candidate for a good Halloween inspired name.

If you want to know the meaning of the name Raimi, you'll come across some mixed messages. Some say it is a Native American/Quechua name meaning 'sun celebration'. Others say it's an African name meaning 'compassion'. And others agree that it's meaning is 'compassion', but that it is instead a Hebrew name derived from the Arabic/Persian boys name Rahim. It's likely that it has origins in each. I personally like that both meanings are positive and inspiring.

Pronounced RAY-mee, there's also something very likable about the sound of Raimi. It sounds similar enough to Amy to work for girls, similar enough to Ray and Remy to work for boys. Just as there's a little confusion surrounding it's origins, reports are mixed as to whether it is "traditionally" considered to be a boy or girl name. In the U.S. it has only ever charted (rarely) as a girls name. But if used as a tribute to a surname, there's no reason it couldn't work for either gender. I'd originally pictured it as a boys name. mainly because the person I was inspired by is a male, but the more I think about it the more I realise what potential it has as a girls name too.

Personally, I'm a little surprised more people haven't used Raimi, considering the cult-like following that Sam Raimi has and a rising trend for "modern hero" names. With names such as Monroe, Presley, Lennon, Bowie and Jagger on our radars, maybe Raimi won't be far behind.

Layana

Layana Aguilar

I'm a little bit behind with 'Project Runway' this season - to be honest, I hadn't even realised that a new season was underway until I saw Kelly's post about the great names of the older models featured on episode  six over at NameFreak. It is a great bunch of names, but the one that caught my attention was one of the contestants - Layana Aguilar.

Layana was born and raised in Brazil, currently lives in New York, and has her own fashion line. Her site states that a woman who ears her designs is wearing pure confidence and delicateness. The same description could be applied to her name, which feels strong and confident, but soft at the same time.

The Layana on 'Project Runway' pronounces her name Ley-AH-na, but you could probably get away with pronouncing it Lay-AH-na if you prefer because it's uncommon enough that most people wouldn't really know what the correct pronunciation should be. Because it's so uncommon, there's very little background information to be found about this name. It doesn't seem to be a super popular Brazilian name, as it didn't appear in their top 100 girls names in 2011. Besides, I'm guessing that if it is popular in Brazil I probably would have heard the name before now.

Layana has been seen on the American charts though. It first appeared on 6 girls in 1978, then faded to pop up again in 2002. Since then it has charted every year since 2004, so far peaking at #5155 in 2009.

So should I speculate as to where this name comes from and what it means? One theory I've seen (and probably the best one) is that it comes from the Arabic name Layan, meaning 'soft, gentle'. It's also quite similar to:

• Lalana, a Sanskrit name meaning 'playing'; 
• Liana, a Hebrew name meaning 'god has answered' or a French name;  
• Lulana, reportedly a Zulu name meaning 'the winner'; 
• Ayanna, an African name meaning 'flower blossom' or Hindi name meaning 'innocent'; 
• or even Aiyana, a Native American name meaning 'forever flowering'.

I quite like the sound of Layana, although find myself saying Layani more often. I guess it just rolls off my tongue more easily. Either one is very pretty. Both were already recent newcomers to the US charts, and I can only imagine that the exposure the name Layana will now get through 'Project Runway' will boost its use. But as I'm only one episode into the season so far, I guess that's assuming that this Layana doesn't turn out to be the hated villain of the season. Although let's face it - unless the person is really, really heinous, a little villainy doesn't necessarily hurt a name whose star is on the rise.

The Cast of 'Project Runway' Season 11

Faizel

One of the benefits of having a name blog is that suddenly your friends are also keeping their eyes and ears open for interesting names to send your way. This is one of those names - it caught the attention of a friend of mine when he met a Faizel recently, and he thought I might also find it interesting. He was right, as I also hadn't heard this name before.

Faizel (pronounced fah-ee-ZAL) is an Arabic boys name meaning 'judge'.  I think this is most likely  a pre-Islamic name, as apparently pre-Islamic Arabian names often came from vocabulary words for nature or occupations.

It's mainly used in Arabic speaking countries, which is probably why it seems like such a different name to us in Australia. I'm not sure how common it actually is in other countries, so if you know feel free to let me know in the comments below! In America though it has never appeared on the SSA charts, meaning it has never been given to more than 5 children in any one year.

The pronunciation might be a little tricky for those unfamiliar with the name. To see it written down, your first instinct is probably to say FAY-zel. But this is hardly a huge obstacle, and also not that unique these days as people often use unfamiliar names or names with "creative" spelling in order to find a name that is different and stands out. And Faizel would definitely stand out, plus has the benefit of being a "real" name, for those that want something different but with a history.

I personally have a few reservations about this name. I'm not sure I like the meaning, although it could probably be taken a few different ways, some more positive than others. And I would really, really want to pronounce it FAY-zel, mainly because I think it sounds cooler. Plus, Faze would be a pretty cool nickname (Hey, if the character on 'Life, Unexpected' can get away with the nickname Baze, Faze would definitely work). Mmmmmm- maybe Faze would be a cool middle name to add to my list...........

This is something I love when you look at different names. You're not going to love everything. Otherwise how would you ever settle on a name? But keep looking at new and interesting names and it will get the cogs turning, revealing new possibilities with every turn. I may not adore Faizel, but it's definitely got me thinking. Maybe it will get you thinking too - or maybe Faizel is exactly the rare, exotic sounding name you've been looking for.