The Brilliant Book of Baby Names: What’s best, what’s hot and what’s not. Linda Rosenkrantz
(doo-sha-nah) Slavic, ’spirit or soul’. Pretty Slavic name, with some obvious pronunciation challenges. Dušanka, Dušička, Duška.
DUSCHA. (DYOO-sha) Russian, ’happy’. Possible alternative to the more
Stellar Starbabies Beginning with D
| Daisy | Lucy Lawless, Jamie Oliver, Meg Ryan |
| Dakota Rain | Dolores O’ Riordan |
| Deanna | James Brown |
| Delilah | Lisa Rinna & Harry Hamlin |
| Deni | Woody Harrelson |
| Destry | Kate Capshaw & Steven Spielberg |
| Dexter | Diane Keaton |
| D’Lila Star | Sean ’Diddy’ Combs |
| Dixie Dot | Anna Ryder Richardson |
| Dominik | Andy Garcia |
| Dree | Mariel Hemingway |
| Dylan | Robin Wright & Sean Penn |
popular Sascha. Dusa, Duschinka, Dusica.
DWYN. Diminutive of DWYNWEN. Short, but still kind of a mouthful. Dwynwen.
DWYNWEN. Welsh, ’wave’. Far from a win-win.
DYAN. Variation of DIANE. Creative spelling can’t revive uncreative name. Dian, Dyana, Dyane, Dyani, Dyann, Dyanna, Dyanne.
DYANI. Native American, ’deer’. Could sound like a babyish nickname for Diane.
DYLANA. Feminine variation of DYLAN. Feminises Dylan – but why bother?
EACHNA. (EEK-na) Irish, ’horse’. Irish goddess renowned for her beauty and fashion sense—though her name has neither.
EARLA. English, feminine variation of EARL. If there’s an ancestral Earl you want to honour, consider Early instead. Earldena, Earldene, Earldina, Earlean, Earlecia, Earleen, Earlena, Earlene, Earletta, Earley, Earlie, Earlina, Earlinda, Earline, Erla, Erlana, Erlene, Erlenne, Erletta, Erlette, Erlina, Erlinda, Erline, Erlinia, Erlisha, Ireleen, Irelene, Irelina, Irelene.
EARTHA. English, ’earth’. Used by the Puritans, and, three hundred years later, by Eartha Kitt’s parents, it sounds dated and dry. Earth, Erda, Ertha, Herta, Hertha.
EAST. Word name. North and West are easier on the ear, but this works fine if it has some significance for your family.
EAVAN. (EE-vahn) Irish, ’beautiful, radiant’. Anglicised spelling of the unpronounceable Aoibheann, the name of several Irish princesses, this has pronunciation problems of its own, as most people would think it rhymed with ’heaven’.
EBBA. English, ’fortress of riches’; German, ’strength of a boar’. Soft yet strong name heard in Germany and Scandinavia could be readily assimilated. Ebbe.
EBONY. English, ’deeply black wood’. Word name that came into favour because of its connotations of blackness and beauty, trending down since the 1980s. Abonee, Abony, Eban, Ebanee, Ebanie, Ebany, Ebboney, Ebbony, Ebone, Eboné, Ebonea, Ebonee, Eboney, Eboni, Ebonie, Ebonique, Ebonisha, Ebonne, Ebonnee, Ebonney, Ebonni, Ebonny, Eboni, Ebonie, Ebonye, Ebonyi.
ECCENTRICITY. Word name. The definition of quirky.
ECHO. Greek mythology name. Pretty choice, though the legendary nymph Echo became only a voice. Echoe, Ecko, Ekko, Ekkoe.
ECRU. Colour name. Neutral colour, but as a name, too much of an oddity.
EDA. German, ’wealthy, happy’. Sounds too much like ’eater’.
EDANA. Irish, ’fire’. Feminine of Aidan, but now girls would prefer to use the original. Aydana, Eda, Edan, Edanna.
EDDA. Italian variation of HEDDA. If her dad’s name is Ed, then name her…Emily, Margot, Susannah, but not Edda. Etta.
EDINA. English, ’wealthy’. Infectious-sounding Minnesota place name, featured in the British cult hit TV show Absolutely Fabulous. Adena,