Every so often, we hear from a desperate baby-namer who demands to see our list of secret names. You know, the names so wonderful, so special, that we don’t share them with anyone else.
I love the image of a top-secret name roster locked away like The DaVinci Code. I imagine such a list within a golden box, encrusted with jewels, hidden deep within the vault of a majestic bank in some exotic city. Once a year, Linda and I take it out and survey it, making sure all the names on it still really are secret and unique enough to keep literally under armed guard.
But if there were such a list, and we did leak it to a truly tormented name seeker, who then used one of these superlative names, the name would not be secret anymore. In fact, if it were that amazing, everybody else would immediately start to use it, and soon it would be run-of-the-mill.
Obviously, there’s no list of secret names. But nameberry has plenty of choices in its database hidden in plain sight, waiting to be discovered. We’re turning up new ones ourselves all the time.
So here, today’s Top Ten Secret, not-so-secret baby names you may not have come upon in your own explorations but that are definitely worth considering:
For girls –
For boys –
Anybody else discover some great secret names among the more than 50,000 on nameberry? Want to share?
Tags: baby names list, list of baby names, secret names, undiscovered names, unique baby names, unique baby names
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 at 1:20 am and is filed under boys' names, girls' names, name ideas, name style, unique baby names, unusual baby names . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:22 am
What about names that aren’t on Nameberry? Two girls’ favorites are:
Isannah — This is one of my secret treasures. It was worn by one of Paul Revere’s daughters and used by Esther Forbes for her novel “Johnny Tremain.” No one is quite sure where it comes from, though it’s probably a combo name. With the popularity of Isabella, Hannah, and Isaiah, I think it’s quite a workable option.
Melisende — You have the more modern Millicent in your database but not the medieval Melisende, which I think is more worthy of reconsideration.
A few other obscure favorites that are on Nameberry:
Madrigal — with Maddie or Maggie as nicknames, this musical option feels very wearable
Elodie — a great but little-known Emily-alternative
Alistair — never been in the U.S. top 1000
Hadrian — if Hayden and Adrian are in the top 100, then why not?
Auberon — less feminine than Aubrey; less fairy-like than Oberon; less heard-of than either, but more wearable than both
Caedmon — literary name that fits the two-syllable ends-in-N trend of so many popular boys’ names; similar to popular Cameron and Camden