100 Names That Deserve To Be Used More

Updated Thu Nov 30 2023

We often cover rare and unique names — from creative modern inventions to unusual place and nature names. The names below are rare too, but with a difference.

You've almost certainly heard of them. (And so have your parents.)

Even if you don't know someone with them in real life, you'll probably recognize them from books or screen, or traditional baby name lists.

In fact, you'll probably be surprised they're so low down on the charts. All the names here were given to under 170 girls or boys in the US in 2022, and many were used fewer than 50 times.

If you're looking for names that are familiar but not overused, rare but not shocking, this may be the most useful list of the year. Welcome to the sweet spot!

Rare, Usable Names Used 100-150 Times

Underused Names: 50-99 Births

Uncommon Traditional Names Used Under 50 Times

See all lists of unique names

About the Author

Clare Green

Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at clare@nameberry.com

View all of Clare Green's articles