Orleanna was the young heroine of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, whose name may share the same golden meaning as New Orleans, or be a twist on Orlena and Arlena.

A knight in the Game of Thrones universe, Arys debuted on the charts for both sexes in 2023, possibly owing to the pop culture connection, but also thanks to the popularity of Ares, a Greek mythology name meaning "bane, ruin" which as been trending upwards. It was given to a small handful of babies in a recent year.

Admirers of the haunting works of esteemed Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats might consider this surname-style name, especially for the middle spot. Ultimately derived from the Old English geat, Yeats is the Scottish form of Yates, pronounced exactly the same, and rhyming, helpfully, with its literal meaning of "gates".

Though many might find it too syrupy, hundreds of parents each year choose this name for their daughters to make them feel special. Precious Ramotswe is the engaging African sleuth in the popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

Japhy Ryder was a hero of Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums. Compared with Moses and Noah, Japhy sounds downright adorable and eminently baby-worthy.

A unisex surname familiarized by male actor Dabney Coleman, but with potential to carry over to the girl's side as well. Dabney feels in line with the Irish Darcy and Darby.

Briefly faddish a few decades ago when Darrell was cool. But does have a creative connection to poet Randall Jarrell.

Used by Gregory Maguire in his novel Wicked along with the Broadway musical adaptation of the same name, Frexspar could be inspired by the word feckless meaning "irresponsible, lacking strength of character"; by Freki, a wolf in Norse mythology whose name comes from frekr meaning "greedy, avaricious"; or by names such as Frederick, Felix and Caspar.

With historical roots as a beautiful and intelligent ancient queen and literary ties to Hawthorne and Edith Wharton novels, this rarity could appeal to adventurous parents seeking the romantically unusual. Tina Fey used it as her daughter Alice's middle name.

An emerging unisex surname name. Radley is more common for boys — it could be seen as an updated version of Bradley — but for girls, it's a rare alternative to Hadley and Adley. Radley is also a literary name via To Kill a Mockingbird, the surname of mysterious recluse Boo Radley.

Old fashioned nickname that some girls just might be able to pull off. You'd just have to be sure your little Fancy was one of them.

Unusual Italian name for boys that relates both to the vividly stylish Viv names such as Vivienne and Viveca, and to the Italian musician Vivaldi.

The surname of father-son British writers Kingsley and Martin could work very well as a first, though its Amy connection makes it sound a tad feminine.

Kesey is a possible literary hero name honoring Merry Prankster Ken Kesey, whose characters flew over the cuckoo's nest. Kesey rhymes with easy.

A concise and zippy short form of Elizabeth, Liberty or similar, used for the main character in the novel and film adaptation of Emma Donoghue's The Wonder about a nurse sent to observe a girl who is miraculously surviving without food, to check the validity of her parents' claim.

Faunia is more often rendered as Fauna, who was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing. Faunia was the downtrodden yet loving heroine of Philip Roth's Human Stain. Faunia and Fauna have more gravitas than the doe-like Fawn.

A possibility for fans of the mystery writer, but most parents would prefer Dashiell.

This name was used by Shakespeare (who got it from Plutarch) in Antony and Cleopatra for one of the attendants of the Egyptian queen. An interesting possibility, it is heard occasionally in the UK, even less frequently in the US.

Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.

An Anglicized derivative of the Gaelic name Beatha, meaning "life," best known as the surname of Irish playwright Brendan Behan.