Veronica

Veronica arrives with the swish of a long skirt down a marble corridor. Likely a Latin reshaping of the Greek Berenikē, bringer of victory, it was folk-etymologized through the Latin vera icon, true image, thanks to the legend of Saint Veronica, who wiped Christ's face on the road to Calvary. Archie comics gave it preppy mischief, Elvis Costello gave it a song, and the film Veronica Mars gave it teenage steel. Ranked 392 in the U.S., it unspools across four syllables with a dark, velvety V at the start. Old Hollywood in flats, classic without apology.