Beautiful Unusual Feminine

Part of a group of similar midcentury names rarely given to babies today.

Your zany neighbor, the one who's a potter and has five cats.

This diminutive of Valeria has a strong and striking sound to match its meaning. It has also been used in Brazil in recent decades.

Charlize is a name that owes its very life to a star: elegant blond South African actress Charlize Theron. She was named after her father, whose name was Charles. Charlize jumped onto the popularity lists in 2004, the year the actress won the Oscar for lead actress in Monster.

Simple and melodic, this spelling offers an alternative to the more-popular Aliyah or Aaliyah -- the name of the late R&B singer who propelled the name into the US Top 100.

Ania is a feminine name with Slavic origins, particularly popular in Poland and other Eastern European countries. It functions as a diminutive form of Anna, which ultimately derives from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning 'grace' or 'favor.' The name features a straightforward pronunciation (AHN-yah or AHN-ee-ah, depending on regional accents) that travels well across language boundaries despite its specific cultural roots. Ania has a delicate, feminine quality while maintaining simplicity and brevity. Though not widely used in English-speaking countries, it has gained some recognition with increased global cultural awareness. The name carries the warmth and timeless quality of its root name Anna while offering a fresh, slightly exotic alternative that's still easy to pronounce and spell.

Suzannah is a feminine name that represents an elegant variation of Susanna, which has Hebrew origins meaning 'lily' or 'rose.' This spelling adds a touch of sophistication to the traditional form. Though less common than Susan or Susanna, Suzannah maintains the same melodic quality with its three-syllable structure. The name experienced modest popularity in the early 20th century but remains relatively uncommon in contemporary usage, making it a distinctive choice. Its biblical roots connect to the story of Susanna in the Book of Daniel's apocryphal sections. Suzannah offers the friendly nicknames Suzie, Zannah, or Anna, providing versatility for different stages of life.

With both the Dillon and Dylan spellings, usage of this gender-neutral names runs about ten to one boys to girls. But Dylan is used about 20 times as often as Dillon for both genders. Which might be a vote in favor of Dillon, though for better or worse, this spellings distances the name from singer Bob and poet Thomas.

See NATASHA.

Native-American feel via similarity to Winona.

Beguiling alternative to Johanna.

Compact and creative, it has been associated with one-time Cagney & Lacey star Tyne Daly.

A saucy Latin name that also defines a trendy New York area north of Little Italy.

Now that Jacob has been the top boys' name for several years, this may come to the fore, the way Michaela did after Michael's long reign at Number One. For now, it's one of the more unusual girl names starting with J.

Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.