unusual names that I love (1)

Domino

Latin

"lord, master"

One of those ultimate cool-girl names, played by Keira Knightley in a movie about a supermodel-turned-bounty hunter, but kids might associate it with the game. High profile British designer India…

Bay

English word, Old English

"an inlet of the sea where the land curves inward; berry"

One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. It's gentle, slightly whimsical, but grounded by its similarity to May…

Posy

English

"a bunch of flowers"

A sweet, nostalgic nosegay kind of name, Posy has been long fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is still rarely heard in the US, though it could be…

Destry

French

"warhorse"

Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930…

Estée

Estée is a feminine name most famously associated with the cosmetics entrepreneur Estée Lauder, whose birth name was actually Josephine Esther Mentzer. The name has French origins and is a stylized…

Jamaica

Native American place name

"rich in springs"

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. Part of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean,…