Uncommon & Refreshing Names for boy/girl
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Uncommonly refreshing names to try if you don't want your child to be 1 of 5 Emily's in their school class or known as Jack.S, etc.
Also good for middle names.
- Atlas
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"bearer of the heavens"Description:
Atlas is one of those names that was previously thought too powerful for a baby boy, who would have to be strong enough to carry the world on his shoulders. Now Atlas has joined the pantheon of Greek and Roman god and goddess names in the realm of possibility, along with Mars, Zeus and Apollo.
- Eden
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"place of pleasure, delight"Description:
Eden is an attractive, serene name with obvious intimations of Paradise, one of several place names drawn from the Bible by the Puritans in the 17th century.
- Bennett
Origin:
English medieval form of Benedict, LatinMeaning:
"blessed"Description:
Bennett is Ben with a bow tie, kind of a cross between Benjamin and Beckett. It's been trending up on the popularity charts in recent years, and its choice by The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Jane Krakowski could shoot it even higher.
- Arden
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"valley of the eagle; high"Description:
Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 49 percent girls and 51 percent boys.
- Griffin
Origin:
Welsh, variation of GriffithMeaning:
"strong lord"Description:
Griffin is one of the newer and most appealing of the two-syllable Celtic surnames. In English, griffin is the name of a mythological creature, half eagle, half lion. It re-entered the list in 1983 after an absence of 75+ years.
- Orion
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"boundary, limit"Description:
Orion is a rising star, with both mythical and celestial overtones.
- Hayes
Origin:
English surname and nature nameMeaning:
"hedged area"Description:
One of those simple, straightforward English surnames -- and with a presidential pedigree -- that's easy to translate into a first. Chosen by both Kevin Costner and Jessica Alba for their sons, it has been climbing the US charts since 2009.
- Bowen
Origin:
Welsh, ChineseMeaning:
"son of Owen; wave of writing, wave of literature"Description:
Bowen is a Celtic surname representing two separate Celtic strains, one Welsh and one Irish, and entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011.
- Holden
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"hollow valley"Description:
Holden is a classic case of a name that jumped out of a book and onto birth certificates--though it took quite a while. Parents who loved J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye are flocking to the name of its hero, Holden Caulfield -- not coincidentally in tune with the Hudson-Hayden-Colton field of names.
- Holland
Origin:
Dutch place nameMeaning:
"wooded land"Description:
Holland is one of the coolest geographical names, unadorned and elegant, evocative of fine Rembrandt portraits and fields of pink and yellow tulips. It first entered the US Top 1000 for girls in 2014, but fell out of the Top 1000 for boys a century earlier.
- Ace
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"one, unity"Description:
No longer tied to the hapless Ace Ventura, this jaunty, high-flying nickname name is starting to take flight among celebrity and other parents, with its countless positive references to doing well in tests and poker games, on the tennis court and golf course, and in the air.
- Jones
Origin:
English surname derived from JohnMeaning:
"God is gracious"Description:
This quintessentially common last name makes a distinctive if first, given to more than 230 babies in the US in the most recent year counted. It has doubled in use over the last decade.
- Lark
Origin:
English bird nameDescription:
Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.
- Ember
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"ember, glowing coal or wood"Description:
A warm and contemporary choice, Ember refers to the still-glowing parts of a fire once much of it has gone out. As such, some of its appeal lies in its associations with hope, rekindling, and light in the dark.
- Oakley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"oak wood or clearing"Description:
As sturdy as Oak, but with stronger roots as a first name, Oakley ticks lots of boxes for modern trends. With its unisex vibe, its nature-based meaning, its surname-y feel, and its popular -lee ending, it's not wonder Oakley is on the rise.
- Aspen
Origin:
Nature and place-nameMeaning:
"a poplar tree that quakes in the breeze"Description:
Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: nature names and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.
- Haven
Origin:
Word name, EnglishMeaning:
"a place of safety"Description:
Haven is a recently invented safe-harbor name that appeals to an increasing number of parents who don't want to voyage quite as far as Heaven.
- Merritt
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"boundary gate"Description:
Merritt is an old-style surname name that could be seen as a positive virtue name. It was used in the late 19th and early 20th century for boys, reaching the Top 400 in 1899, and is notable today for being one of the names most evenly divided between boys and girls. Emmy winner Merritt Wever helped popularize it for girls.
- Clayton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"place with good clay"Description:
Clayton is one of those names that feels like it could be recently popular but does in fact have a long history of use. It has made the US Top 400 every year since the records began, and though more recently it has been in decline, it is still given to more than 1000 babies every year
- Tallis
Origin:
English, Old FrenchMeaning:
"clearing of woodland"Description:
An English surname derived from the Old French taillis, this nature inspired choice could be an alternative to Wallis or Travis. Tallis appears as the surname of the central characters in Ian McEwan's book, Atonement and the subsequent film.
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