Alessia

Say it once and you are already standing somewhere near a piazza at dusk, the first syllable lifting into the second, the third settling like a swallow finding its ledge. Alessia is the Italian form of Alexis, which descends from the Greek alexein — to defend, to shield — and it has run through Italian parishes and families for centuries alongside saints and sopranos bearing the same melodic bones. Three syllables move like a phrase of handwriting, never stiff.

Canadian-Italian singer Alessia Cara carried the name into a new decade of listeners after her 2015 debut, and American parents began taking notice soon after, drawn to the sound and the Italian warmth without the full commitment of Isabella. The name currently holds at rank 281, still climbing, still feeling like a discovery to those who land on it.

Paired with surnames that have weight it finds its stride — Alessia Daniela, Alessia Kailani, Alessia Amora in a sibling row. The three syllables divide cleanly, with a stress that shifts naturally depending on who is speaking, which gives the name a pleasant adaptability in different households and different mouths. The girl who wears it tends to have particular opinions about food, excellent taste in music she keeps largely to herself, and the rare ability to make anyone feel like the most interesting person in any room she enters.