Striking and accessible choice.

Young rocker Tennessee Thomas has brought this former one-person name over to the girls' side -- though the census roles of North Carolina in 1850 included a female named Tennessee and called Tincy.

This name of a giant tree, itself named for a nineteenth-century Cherokee who invented a way to write his tribe's language, makes a strong, stately statement.

Unique baby names are often found in nature, conjuring up the beauty of the lake between California and Nevada that has become a popular tourist destination. Though Tahoe is also a line of SUVs, which may not be the kind of unique name you're after.

Among the least gimmicky, most appealing and colorful of all the names found in the atlas, Jamaica almost sings out the rhythms of the West Indies.

Highly unusual possibility for a twin girl.

Distinctive Native-American choice with forceful meaning.

The Shawnee were an Eastern tribe that migrated westward; Shawnee makes an unusual name, if a little dated a la Shawn and Tawnee.

A given name found among the Hopi people as well as a Finnish surname.

Strong and rhythmic American Indian name.

One of the few familiar Native_American choices, but now associated with several trade names.

Hurricane is a storm, but it's also an American name, thanks to rising tennis star Hurricane Black -- whose sister's name is Tornado. There's no reason this tempestuous choice can't work for boys too, inasfar as the name can work for any child. As a name, Hurricane is definitely original and attention-getting, but is it a name you'd want to carry around for life?

The Native American name for Martha's Vineyard and for a town at the far end of that lovely island, this was used by Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan for one of their twin daughters.

A place name from Venezuela believed to come from an indigenous word for wind, this can make an innovative choice for a child of either sex.

A strong name equally appropriate for girls and boys. For more, see Sequoia, which is the more feminine-feeling spelling.

Has an evocative feel, unusual to the Western ear without being identified with any particular culture.

This zippy, outdoorsy name is a multicultural option, with its roots in Taino and Persian. On one hand, it is the source of the word and name Savannah, derived from Taino, the language of the Indigenous people of the Caribbean. In this case, it refers to areas of flat, grassy land in hot climates.

Feminissima.

Pretty and unusual bird-related name.

St. Kateri Teckakwitha is the first Native American saint, canonized in 2012. St. Kateri was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior, born in 1656 in upstate New York. She converted to Christianity at age 20 and died at 24, and was known as "Lily of the Mohawk." Kateri was the name the saint took on, a native variation of Katherine, upon her baptism.