Updated November 2023
Across 17 pages
of 17
Gem name from Greek
"indistinct"
An unusual way to get to the nickname Addie.
Literary invented name
Elphaba was invented by Gregory Maguire for the protagonist of his novel Wicked , which became the long-running Broadway play and then a movie. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West,…
Italian feminine diminutive of Roman family name Domitius, Latin
"tamed"
Domitilla is the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Vespasianus and the mother of the emperors Titus and Domitianus. There is a Santa Domitilla with catacombs in Rome named after her. The…
Variation of Armie, English word name from French "military land force; soldier"
"military land force; soldier"
Whether you consider it a word name or a spelling variation of Armie, this name maintains its meaning. Jill Wagner used it for her daughter in 2020.
Modern version of Roman family name Tullius, meaning unknown
Heard in both Italy and Spain, Tulio could make a more unusual alternative to Julio. Or with the rediscovery of many Roman names, you might want to go to the original Tullius, the middle name of the…
Food name and word name
Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in…
Occupational name from French
"specialist maker"
Word name or short form of Barnaby or Barnabus
"son of comfort"
Once you get past thinking of it as a red-painted building where they keep cows and hay, has a nice plainspoken country-like feel and may make a cooler diminutive than the still-purple Barney.
Hawaiian place name and Polynesian mythology name
While Maui was a male trickster god in Polynesian mythology, the well-known Hawaiian place name Maui can work for either gender.
"gold-hued"
Although Zircon means "gold-hued," the gem comes in a variety of colors.
Cornish and Welsh place name and surname
"top of the heath"
Penrose – an ancient place-name and surname derived from several villages in Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border country of England – would make for an even more unexpected alternative to quirky…
Literary name inspired by Latin
"gold, dawn or breeze"
The eponymous character of the fantasy novel Aurian by Maggie Furey. It may have been inspired by the Latin aurum "gold", or by names like Aurora ("dawn") or Aura ("breeze"), also derived from the…
English
"flower name"
A beautiful and rare botanical choice belonging to a tiny white flower, and also to the ship that first brought the Pilgrims from England to the New World in 1620.
Arabic
"tree and spice name"
A hardwood tree native to Africa, India and other tropical regions, which bears sweet pod-shaped fruits which are used as a flavoring in many world cuisines, including Indian and Filipino. A rare and…
Hungarian variation of Sarah, Hebrew, Hindi, Sanskrit, Khmer
Zippy and multicultural, Sarika can be considered a pretty nature name, referring to a myna bird in Hindi and Sanskrit and to a blackbird in Khmer (or Cambodian). In these contexts, it would be…
Sweet-smelling Honeysuckle is the ultimate quirky floral name, so called because of its tubular flowers full of sweet nectar. Honeysuckle Weeks is a British actress whose siblings, also actors, have…
English word name
"month name"
Along with August, March is one of the month names perfectly suited to boys. This brisk single-syllable name – which derives from the name of Mars, the Roman god of war – is worth considering as…
Flower name from English
"blue bell"
Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous — some might say outlandish —…
Egyptian mythological name or variation of Seth, Hebrew
"appointed, placed"
Author Toni Morrison is an acknowledged master of naming, and Sethe, the name of one of the main characters of Beloved , which can be pronounced as Seth or Seth-eh, relates to the male biblical name…
March has never been popular as a month name, possibly because of its slightly abrupt sound. But with all kinds of month (and season, day, and holiday) names, from January to December, Sunday to…