Category: Unusual Baby Names
Unique Baby Names: News to Me–Some Personal New Name Discoveries
by Anna Otto of Waltzing More Than Matilda
Since I started a name blog a couple of years ago, I have learned of many new names. Here is a small selection of some that I never knew existed until recently, and have seen on real people (mostly babies). Most of them are rarely found on baby name sites. I’ve only included vocabulary names when I didn’t know the word existed before seeing it used as a personal name.
SEEN ON GIRLS
Athanasia: A Greek name meaning “immortal, deathless”. Saint Athanasia was an 8th century saint, and according to tradition, a star settled over her heart as a sign of her enlightenment.
Elif (eh-LEEF): A Turkish name based on Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. Because the letter is just a thin stroke of the pen, the name has connotations of slenderness and is sometimes translated that way. Due to folk etymology, it can also be understood as “demure, coy”.
Jinty: A Scottish pet form of Janet.
Color Names: Thinking outside the Crayola box
We’re all familiar with color names like Scarlett, Ebony, Gray (recently popular), and Cole (as in black) but what if you want a color name no one’s used before, or at least you’ve never heard. What if you want Blue but Beyonce ruined it for you? Maybe you could try Cerulean or Cyan? In this post, I hope to bring to your attention some stunning colors that I think would make fabulous names.
Boys:
Aero — It’s a pale blue, and sounds like Arrow. I’ve seen Arrow around, so there’s no reason this one couldn’t work. It’s soft but stream lined.
Cordovan — It’s a purply-red wine color . It’s got the nickname Van or Cord and it’s reminiscent of Sullivan and other Irish sounding names.
Malachite — This is a gem and a bright, minty green color. It has the same sounds as Malachi with the cool KITE sound at the end. Kite, incidentally, would make a cool nickname.
Russet — It’s a deep brown. It’s very similar to Russell and other names of the sort, and has the same nickname of Russ, but it’s a color name I’ve never seen used.
Nature Names: For the apple of your eye
By Brooke Cussans of Baby Name Pondering
Gwyneth Paltrow probably had no idea how much controversy she was about to cause when she named her daughter Apple back in May of 2004. “That’s not a name” was the most common judgement on people’s lips, and her daughter’s name is now held up as an example on all “Most Bizarre Celebrity Baby Names” lists.
So why did Gwyneth and her husband, Coldplay front man Chris Martin, choose the name Apple? To paraphrase from her interview with Oprah Winfrey at the time, they felt that “apples are sweet, wholesome, biblical and lovely.” They also proposed the question “Is it really so different from the other nature/ noun names out there that are commonly used, such as Rose, Lily or Ivy?”
It’s a little hard to argue with such logic these days, considering the many word names on the rise. Yes, an apple is a fruit, but people mustn’t dislike fruit names that much, since we’re now seeing Plum and Lemon regularly discussed as possible names, albeit usually as middles or nicknames.
Fantasy Names From Eighties Movies
By Brooke Cussans of Baby Name Pondering.
If you grew up in the 1980′s you probably have fond memories of some of the fantasy adventure movies from that decade. For many, these movies were an early introduction to a different style of naming. Sometimes they were a slight twist on an old familiar name, other times they seemed completely magical and fantastical. But the great thing now is that those names are an instant reminder of those beloved films. Here are 20 of the top picks:
Atreyu (The Neverending Story) – Pronounced ah-TRAY-yoo, he was the warrior boy of the story. It is thought that the name has both Indian/Hindu origins – where it means ‘warrior’ – and German origins in the name Atreju, which means ‘son of all’. Both are quite apt for this character, who was raised by a village when his parents died. The name is still rare, but has seen some use since the early 1990′s.
Aquila (Ladyhawke) – Aquila is traditionally a male Latin name meaning ‘eagle,’ but is more often used as a girls name in America. Pronounced either ah-KEE-la or ah-KWIL-la, it was the name of the land in Ladyhawke.
Auryn (The Neverending Story) – The Auryn was the name of the amulet Atreyu wore to protect and guide him in his quest. It was also on the cover of the book Bastian was reading ‘The Neverending Story‘ from. This name could go to either gender, as it sounding similar to both girls’ name Lauren and boys’ name Oren, and has only recently started appearing on the US charts for both.
Celebrity Baby Names: The wonderful oddballs of Oz
by Anna Otto of Waltzing More Than Matilda
Wacky celebrity baby names are popular gossip-mag fare all over the world, and we love hearing about Audio Science, Moxie Crimefighter, Princess Tiaamii and Phaedra Bloom Forever. But we’ve got some intriguing home-grown celebrity baby names of our own right here in Australia.
twins
NRL footballer Joel Reddy has twin girls named Skeeter Jo and Maple Gray. Skeeter reminds me of the character from The Help, and the twins’ big brother is Rock, making a hip nature-themed sibset.
Retired AFL footballer Brodie Holland has twin boys named Kip and Bowie. I’ve been told Kip‘s name is inspired by actor Kip Pardue, while Bowie is presumably after singer David Bowie. Kip and Bowie‘s older sister is Stevie – another pop reference.
girls
The eldest daughter of TV chef Pete Evans has an appropriately culinary name – Chilli. She was born the year after Gwenyth Paltrow’s daughter Apple, which inspired Pete to also use a type of food as a name. Chilli‘s younger sister is Indii.
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