Unique Unisex Middle Names

Story

English word name

"an account of incidents or events"

An imaginative choice with an uptempo Cory/Rory/Tori sound, perfect for the child of a writer — or anyone with a good story to tell. Story has been finding some appreciation among celebs like…

Rio

Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese

"river or place of the cherry blossoms"

Rio is one of Japan's most popular girls' names, constantly sitting in that country's Top 10. Of course, Rio may also stem from the Portuguese and Spanish word for river, and the Brazilian city Rio…

Banks

English surname

"one who lives on the hillside or riverbank"

Banks as a girls' name was brought into the lexicon by actress Hilary Duff and musician Matthew Koma, who chose it for their daughter, Banks Violet. As both a surname and a word name, Banks refers to…

Bliss

English word name

"great joy"

A sweet, uplifting and still fairly uncommon modern virtue name. Its single syllable makes it especially good as a middle name, but it would also make a big impact in the first spot; in fact, nearly…

Echo

Greek mythology name

"echo or sound"

Echo, the pretty, resonant name of a legendary nymph, was the heroine of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Dollhouse . Nick Hexum, of the band 311, named his daughter Echo Love. In the Greek myth, Echo was…

Cypress

Botanical name

Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Juniper, Maple, and Willow. Nearly 200 babies were named Cypress in the US last year, about 40 percent of them female.

Nature

English word name

"natural, physical world"

Lots of parents choose nature names, but until recently, only a few choose the all-encompassing Nature. Given to just a handful of babies until 2019, it began to spark interest as a girl name.…

Sable

English animal name

Sable is often associated with the Dynsaty soap opera, but it is actually a type of animal historically hunted for its fur. Sable is also used as a word for a warm, rich black color. Both…

Rhythm

Word name

"repeated sound pattern"

A musical name that is undeniably cool, Rhythm may appeal to fans of Anthem, Lyric, Cadence, and Poem. First appearing in the US stats for girls in 2003 (having debuted for boys three years prior),…

Harbor

Word name

We've seen Haven take off as a nouveau girls' name; Harbor could follow in its wake.

Shalom

Hebrew

"peace"

Supermodel Shalom Harlow glamorized this name, which is heard as a greeting every day in Israel.

Fable

English word name

"a legendary story of supernatural happenings"

Fable, like Story, is a word name with real potential, combining enchanted tale-telling with a moral edge. And soundwise, it would fit right in with the likes of Abel and Mabel.

Austen

Literary surname and shortened form of Augustine, Latin

"great, magnificent"

While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.

Galilee

Hebrew

"the province"

Galilee is a highly unusual place name, Galilee being a large region in northern Israel, the home of Jesus during at least thirty years of his life, and also where he cured a blind man. The Sea of…