Fotini

Fotini comes from the Greek phos, light, and means luminous — the name given by Orthodox tradition to the Samaritan woman who met Christ at the well in John's gospel, and honored each February as a saint and equal to the apostles. In Greece it remains a staple feminine name, softened in family use to Foula or Fofo. Three bright syllables, foh-TEE-nee, the f and long e giving it an airy, lit-from-within quality. The name reads like a small lantern, warm rather than dazzling. It suits daughters who grow into the kind of women people gravitate toward in dim rooms.