Elaine

A name out of Arthurian legend, Elaine is the Old French form of Helen, from the Greek root associated with light, and belonged to more than one tragic beauty at Camelot, most famously the lily maid of Astolat who died of unrequited love for Lancelot. Tennyson gave her a Victorian revival, and Seinfeld gave the name a New York wisecrack. After decades of quiet, Elaine is edging back into American nurseries as parents rediscover midcentury names with spine. Two unfussy syllables, the long A gleaming at the center. Elaine reads sharp, elegant, and just a little sardonic.