Alanna

Alanna is the feminine of Alan, an old Breton and Gaelic name that has been traded across the Irish Sea for centuries. Some trace it to a root meaning "little rock" or "harmony"; Irish parents hear the affectionate a leanbh, "oh child," humming underneath. Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet in the 1980s gave the name a generation of readers who still remember its sword-carrying heroine. Three lilting syllables—ah-LAH-nah—that ripple cleanly across the tongue. Holding near 289 on the American charts, Alanna feels Celtic without being costume, pretty without being precious, and just rare enough to be chosen.