Paloma

Paloma Faith

If you're looking for a soft and pretty, classic but different, it's hard to go past Paloma. It has a similar look and feel to the gorgeous Pandora but without the nasty "unleashed all the evils of hell upon the world" connotations.

Paloma (pronounced pah-LOH-mah) is a Spanish name meaning dove. Or pigeon. But I prefer to focus on the dove part, even though I know that a dove is only a white pigeon. The dove is universally recognised as a symbol of peace, and in religious art the Dove symbolises the Holy Spirit, so this could also be an inadvertently spiritual name. Dove itself is also a rising name, so Paloma would also be a nice nod to the currently trendy bird names without feeling dated in ten years time.

I have always felt that Paloma is a pretty name, given to elegant, sophisticated people such as Paloma Picasso (daughter of famous painter Pablo Picasso). However not everyone will have the same first impression of this name. I've seen reactions such as "It sounds like a type of drug or cancer" (you mean melanoma?) to "It sounds like a sandwich meat" (um..I think they're thinking of bologna) to "Sounds like something you should name a horse" (I guess their horse is a palomino). But plenty of other people think it is beautiful and feminine.

Other famous Palomas include:

• Indian actress Paloma Rao,
• Spanish pianist Paloma O'Shea
• Mexican model Paloma Jimenez
• Argentine ballet dancer Paloma Herrera; and
• British Singer and actress Paloma Faith

Which illustrates that Paloma is a name that works well in many countries. In Italy, the feast of Paloma is celebrated on August 15th. Celebrity Salma Hayek chose it as the middle name for her daughter - Valentina Paloma - while 'Ugly Betty' star Ana Ortiz named her daughter Paloma Louise. There are also songs, towns and even a cocktail with the name Paloma.

Paloma is a gentle, polished, feminine name that is familiar to people worldwide, and would be a great choice for your daughter's name.