Ariana

Ariana is the Italian soprano of names, a melodic cousin of Ariadne, the Cretan princess who gave Theseus the thread to navigate the labyrinth. It traveled through opera, through Handel's Arianna, and landed in modern American nurseries on a wave of Italian-inflected vowels. The name entered the U.S. top 100 in 2003 and received a second lift from the singer Ariana Grande in the 2010s. Three open syllables flow one into the next, ah-ree-AH-nah, with nothing sharp or hurried in the journey. It offers the softness of Ana and the reach of something more operatic, and it ages beautifully from toddler to adult.