Lydia

Lydia belongs originally to a place, the ancient Anatolian kingdom in western Turkey whose wealthy King Croesus minted the first true coins. Its most famous biblical bearer was a seller of purple dye in the book of Acts, a woman of some business acumen who hosted Paul in her house. Jane Austen gave the name to Pride and Prejudice's flightiest Bennet sister, the opposite reputation entirely. In the United States it has climbed back into the top 97 after a mid-century dormancy. Three liquid syllables with a soft d at the center, the name reads as intelligent and slightly bookish, classical without being starchy.