By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 776 pages
of 776
Moesha gained notable recognition in the United States during the 1990s, primarily through the popular sitcom of the same name starring singer Brandy Norwood. The name appears to be a modern…
Bethzy is a feminine name that appears to be a creative variation of Betsy or possibly a diminutive of Elizabeth. The distinctive "z" and "y" combination gives this traditional name a modern, unique…
Popular culture
"sand skin"
The name of the glamorous mean girl in "High School Musical", Sharpay is a spin on the dog breed Shar Pei, which means "sand skin" in Chinese. As such, it's a brilliant name joke skewering the…
Latin
"chancellor"
A name halfway between its old milquetoast image and a more jovial Irish-sounding contemporary one. Sounds more feminine than masculine these days.
German
"brave heart"
Howard? For a girl? In the woolly new world of baby naming, stranger things have happened. One or two, anyway.
Diminutive of Maurice
Old-man name, soft as a fraying gray cashmere cardigan, that would be even cuter for a girl.
English, Norse
"deer forest"
Though Roscoe is an edgy hipster name for boys (with a much longer history of use than you might imagine), it's an even edgier name for girls, appearing in US stats in 1927 and then again in 2024.…
English
"steep-sided valley"
Like Marvin and Melvin, Sheldon has been perceived as about as far out as you can get, though there are very pretty towns in Devon and Derbyshire that inspired it. Sheldon Lee Cooper is the lead…
"place of alders"
Much more upscale and modern for a girl than a boy.
"to travel, to proceed"
Old man's name just conceivable for a girl--makes a new spin on Wendy.
Word and animal name
Your teenager will either love you or hate you for choosing this name. Better: Fox.
Hungarian feminine variation of Timaeus or invented name
"honor; good spirits, cheerful"
Familiar in Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Czechia, and Slovakia, but rare elsewhere, Timea is a name with several possible origins. Some suggest is was a literary invention, created by the writer Mór…
Indonesian
"pretty"
An Indonesian name that is virtually unknown in the Western World but that is eminently portable, sister of India and Indre or Indra.
"princess; daughter"
A common name in Indonesia that would not work well in English-speaking countries, being too close to putrid or putty.
"most beautiful; godlike"
Popular Indonesian name that may leave a young girl in an English=speaking country open to teasing.
"aromatic"
The English homophone "harem" means something very different, but Harum is a pretty name nonetheless.
"calm"
Everyone will misunderstand it as Lara, but if you're willing to put up with the confusion, this is a truly different yet simple option.
German variation of Mary
"bitter"
Mary has hundreds of variations around the world, and this German form, pronounced Ma-RYE-keh, is virtually unknown in English-speaking lands. A possible alternative to Mariah?
Greek, female variation of Aeneas
"the praised one"
This name found in the fantasy series Endymion/Rise of Endymion has a slightly physiological feel to it.
Amharic
"aroma or essence"
Pronounced mah-zah, Maaza means a pleasant scent, usually from a yellow daisy popular in Ethiopia. Hot young Ethiopian-American novelist Maaza Mengiste introduced the name to our shores.
