Girl Names: Unusual, Stylish Choices

My newborn son, Miles, would have been either Margot, Imogen, or Aislinn had he been a girl. Funny that all three names (well, Margo without a T) are all on this list! And my daughter is Eleanor, which has two spelling variations on this list!

I thought I would see a bunch of names like these popping up in kindergarten classes, But I was shocked when I took Tay to her basketball game, it was held at a fancy (super rich gated community) elementary school (all the kids names are on the wall outside their class rooms.) I saw names that were the same as in MY kindergarten classes. Joshua, Josiah ,Delaney, Riley, Cody and of course there were many Emilys, isabellas and Jacobs. I didn’t see anything like these.

I’m slightly dismayed by the inclusion of Dara on the list, as I’d had it in mind as a clearly masculine unusual-but-not-unknown name.

There’s Cleo next to Romy! We have a Clio, and should we ever have a second daughter, Romy is the frontrunner.

CassieCake, I think you need to be in an urban area to hear these names. We live right outside of DC, and there’s an Ida and a Zora … plus a bunch of other unusual choices. Our area isn’t ritzy, but it is diverse. If you keep driving until you hit the more exclusive ‘burbs, the names are far less surprising – Chloe, Isabella, Sophie.

Abby, someone should do a name map that radiates out from the city and illustrates how the choices change. And Ghoti, while Dara may originally have been a boys’ name, I really think you could not use it in contemporary America for a boy.

We actually did consider Elinor, that spelling. It’s definitely the one we prefer. It’s just so… clean looking. I’ve also always liked the Isobel spelling and also have a fondness for Lisette.

Margot is my current obsession name, even though my husband isn’t a fan.

Imogen is the big surprise on this list for me. I’m also super surprised Leigh isn’t higher. Other names I like are Susannah, Edie, Aislinn, Cosette, and Elodie.

I also know a baby Guinevere, who goes by Winnie. I do think that Ophelia may be a little too tied to Shakespeare to ever be truly popular.

Every Dara I’ve ever known has been a girl and every TV character I’ve seen with the name has been female.

I like Elinor better than Eleanor because of Sense and Sensibility. I think it’s a prettier, more delicate name that way. Eleanor reminds me of Eleanor Roosevelt and feels considerably homelier.

Seraphina probably will get more popular but it’s so ornate that it might not ever be as popular as some might think. Susanna/Susannah/Suzanna was fairly well used when I was a kid but I think it’s likely viewed as a mom or grandma name now and out of date. It’s going down, not up. I’d be surprised to see some of these get much more popular. I think Poppy will always be rare in the United States because it’s such a common name for Grandfather. I can’t see or hear the name without wondering where the Grandpa is or, alternately, thinking of that scene in Wizard of Oz where the witch cackles “Pop-pees.” I have seen Arwen more than once –I interviewed a mom whose daughter is named this recently. Arwen’s sister is named Linnea, which I would guess is slightly more popular. Story is a boy in one of the schools here. He seems to be older than I’d have expected but maybe it’s a name that’s been in use before the celebrities started using it.

Bless those intrepid souls who named their daughters Persephone! Love the myth, too timid to use the name, am totally awed by anyone who does! Thumbs up.

About Dara: It ranks in the top 100 for boys in Ireland. Outside of the Emerald Isle, for both genders the name is very low if it shows up at all in the rest of the English-speaking world.

I was surprised that there were only 56 Clairs. My daughter is a Clare but since we live somewhat near a city named St. Clair it is occasionally misspelled as Clair. With Claire becoming so popular I’m a little surprised that the alternative spelling aren’t gaining either. I believe that on the Cosby show the mom’s name was spelled Clair.

Dara is a rare name but it is almost 100 percent a girl’s name in the United States. Anyone hearing the name would think it was a girl.

Oh, I also wanted to say that Hilary evokes St. Hilary of Poitiers and is most likely why that spelling was picked (of course St. Hilary was a man). Hillary reminds one of Edmund Hillary and Hillary Clinton. So while they sound the same when read in print they send different messages.

I am so glad to see Susannah on this list. I thought it would be far more popular, glad it isn’t. Imogen surprised me too, but I guess it is more of a brit popular name. Great list!

I hate all those boy names for girls, they don’t suit at all imo. I wonder if we’ll see a similar list for boys… but nameberry tends to ignore that

Ghoti, yes Dara is a boys name. Saying it is female in America is beyond ridiculous since the name is barely known. Its completely usable in “contemporary” America as a boys name, like it should be.

Have you seen the new “Poppy” line of Coach purses? The name Poppy is printed all over them. I bet that the name will get used like crazy now, so that parents can buy those for their daughters. I think it is a marketing campaign for the name. I would go with Persephone on this list. My grandmother was Harriet and she always told us not to name our children after her because she hated her name with venom! She went by Rhett. I still may go against her wishes since I want to honor her and am happy to see this on the list if only 54. Brigid is another namesake on my list, we call her Bir. It was unusual as kids, crazy that after 20 years of knowing her it is still only at 88. That name will probably sit there forever.

Dara makes me think of Cara, Tara, Lara, etc– all girls names. Or even Darla or Daria, also girls names.

I can really see Ida becoming popular. There is both a baby Ivy and a baby Ada in my group of friends. It seems like a natural progression to get to Ida.

And, Macy, they said the boy’s list will be here in a few days! They always do a boy’s list to go with the girl’s lists!

I know one of those Pilars!

I’m shocked that some of these are so low, but I’m glad because a few of them are my top favorites (Margo and Dinah, especially). How is it that everyone seems to suddenly love Margo so much these days? I thought I found a diamond in the rough!

And I don’t get why Susannah and Susanna are SO low… They don’t seem dated to me, I’ve never met one. Susan and Suzanne seem dated, but not Susannah. It’s just so gorgeous, how is it not a timeless classic?

One of those Indigos is my daughter! Thing is, there’s a boy at school named Indiana. Both of them go by Indie, so it can be confusing. (You think you’re picking an unusual name….)

I’m pleased to see that Guinevere, my top girl name for several years now, was only given to 62 girls in 2009. Now that I’m expecting in March though, I’m panicked that something like appearing on this list will make it suddenly more popular!

My cousin has a baby girl named Persephone– she goes by Sweet P.

I am shocked at the amount of Imogens. I always thought I was one of those names that was on the brink of breaking the top 1000. Other favorites: Elinor, Romy, Coco, Zadie, Persephone, Zora, Cosette, Opal, Salome, and Ophelia.

JossieChris- i’ve seen the coach bags and I thought the same thing! It kinda worked on me when I was looking at them, I totally wanted a daughter named Poppy at that moment!

What erudite comments! Thanks, everyone. And yes, of course there will be a boy’s list, tomorrow!! And Shannon, don’t worry, I really don’t think Guinevere is headed for mass popularity. Congratulations!

I love the name Suzanne and can’t understand why it’s not more popular. It has always been on my list of favs. It’s a beautiful name – very French. It’s classic and sassy at the same time.

Abby: Thanks! I live in Colorado and we are always pretty far behind with trends and everything. I bet if I went to Denver (Just an hour away) I would probably find more unusual names.

I come from a county of less than 35,000 and know two Dara’s, both of which are female and over the age of 30. Until reading earlier posts, I had no idea it was a male name!

Just wanted to add that there were 91 Connies born in 2009. I only know that because my dad always mentions the name and I told him it was the most random name ever, so I looked it up. He thinks people should start using it, so, here I am, doing my part!

WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT NAMING A GIRL JAEDIN?

There are too many Jaedins!!!! In my son’s kindergarten class there are three!! The name has been way too overused in the last couple of years, I personally would think of another name, unless you want your daughter to have the same name as everyone else…

If someone wants different spellings then I think my 2 oldest granddaughters are very unique

Emmalei Nikolle

Aabie Vyktoriah

I like unusual names…. I used Hilton Grace for my daughter and Blaze Victoria for the next…. I’m pregnant again and was looking at Indigo but who knows… I like Thunder

My cousin’s name is Thunder Fenix. At first, I thought they were crazy, but Thunder really suits him and it doesn’t feel strange at all anymore, although he’s little, so they call him “Thundy” a lot.

Thunder’s siblings have some unusual names that might be worth mentioning: True Flame, Autumn Fire, Adeo Fathom, and Twilight Faire. I think they are all unique and suit each kid perfectly (i.e. Autumn Fire has bright red hair, etc.).

this is such a great post! i can’t wait to hear the analysis of the names in 25-50 slice, especially the unisex / boys’ names for girls. i noticed that ryder fell into that category, and i think that it sounds really fresh and cool for a girl. of course, i’m partial since it’s my daughter’s name!

I think these are pretty but unusual names:

Girl: ava, Scarlett, evelyn, Cazen, bronwyn

tavius and Major- Hilton is so cute for a gilr!! love it!

Dara can be used both for girls and boys…although most of the time Dara is used for a girl and Daragh being a boy..thats how we do it here on The Emerald Isle

This is the first list that I know of that includes the name Greer. I have had to grow into this name, which now I love, so I must say I’m delighted to know there are 52 new Greer’s in the world, including Brook Shields baby girl.

I love Persephone, and Priscilla but nobody in my family likes either one. They think i should go more traditional but I’ve never been one to go with the flow I’ve always liked unique names. What should I do?

Hi Kimi, You may want to discuss this further on our message boards as it’s an issue a lot of people face, but my short answer is that if you are the parent, you get to name the child whatever you want. And I think your taste in names is wonderful!

I love Elinor, Seraphine, Poppy and Ever been on my list forever. I love the name Poppy as a middle name.

I LOVE Persephone, Imogen, Poppy, Eleanor(my sister’s name), Bronwyn, Clio, Romy, Coco, Harriet, Opal and Indigo. I like many of the others too, but too many to list. Thanks for all the hard work Nameberry, I love reading more info on names and other people’s thoughts, opinions and experiences!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I had to.

See, I love love love LOVE unusual names, but as soon as I see that they’ve actually been used on real people, it sorta ruins it for me. And I love pretty much all of these.

I am begining to think I should make up a name… Hm… Probly not the best idea…

I am in love with the name Marlo, but I would spell it Marlow, Ever is also a contender. Also I am liking the name Yvonne (not on this list) it is unusual, pretty and very French.

As much as I like the name Portia, I realized it actually meant pig or hog in latin.
Immediately turned me off.

Zadie’s the Yiddish word for grandfather…

I can picture the conversations poor little Zadie Rosen would have. “Hey, I’m Audrey Smith, my parents named me for Audrey Hepburn.” “Oh, I’m Zadie Rosen, my parents named me for a grandpa.” “Your grandpa?” “No. The word for grandpa.”

[...] Last week’s post was all about the trendsetting Pinkett-Smith family and their son Jaden Christopher Syre, named after mom Jada.  This week the spotlight turns to daughter Willow Camille Reign, after dad Will.  While plenty of parents chose appellations that honor loved ones, crossing gender lines opens up some inventive options for girls’ names. [...]

I have to say I’m not surprised to see there are under 100 Bronwyns… when my family moved and lived in North Carolina for 2 years I was the only one anybody had ever met and it took me months to get people pronouncing my name correctly. In Australia we are not nearly as unique though and I know 6 or 7 under 21.
I also know two Imogens and four Elodies – I never would have thought they would hang out in such low usage circles.

Personal favourites? Calliope and Persephone – though if people can mispronounce Bronwyn I’d fear they would mispronounce those names 10x more often .

I love Eleanor it’s so pretty and gorgeous however I dislike the alernative spellings which feature here Elinore looks strange and Eleanore out of synch. Florence is becoming increasingly popular in the UK (where I live) along with Imogen which are names I love as well. Persephone is soo intriguing and reminds me of my favourite novel Noughts and Croses. I love a lot of those names especially the names with the really vintage feel.

I’ve always thought that my sister and I have fairly unique names. My name (McCaylee Ann, pronounced Muh-Kay-Lee) is a combination of my brother’s middle name (Skyler McCay), my father’s middle name (Ronald Lee) and my mother’s middle name (Melissa Ann). While my sister’s name is Kensley Rose. Her middle name is based on our great aunt Rosetta.

Just thought I’d contribute a bit.

AHHHHHH! I freaked out when i read the post title and hoped my names wouldn’t appear. i have been secretly guarding 3 of those names for our one day babies and I am praying that they don’t become popular from this post!!!! Obviously they are not new and I wouldn’t be the first to use them but as a teacher, they are not ones I’ve ever come across.

Florence and Poppy are two names I love but they’re so popular in the UK that I doubt I’d ever really want to use them. Maybe I need to move to the US…