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Unique Sounding Names
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Maile
Hawaiian nature name
Captivating and appealing name — a maile is a vine used to make leis — getting noticed via writer Maile Meloy. Many pronounce it ala Miley, as in Cyrus, though native Hawaiian speakers say the…
Maire
Finnish, Irish variation of Mary
"sweet; drop of the sea, bitter"
Both Maire and Mare have begun making inroads with parents seeking novel yet authentic ways of honoring an ancestral Mary. The Finnish variation derives from the word mairea , meaning "sweet."
Mairi
Scottish variation of Mary
"bitter"
Why does Mairi (rhymes with Harry) seem so much cooler than Mary? This Irish form of Mary was not used before the seventeenth century, as it was considered too sacred. The vocative case of the name,…
Maja
German, Slovene, and Scandinavian form of Maya; also, Arabic
"splendid"
Whether you pronounce it my-a, ma-zha or ma-ha, Maja is an intriguing choice. Sometimes associated with Goya's famous painting "The Naked Maja." As a cognate of Maya, it's a Top 10 name in Slovenia…
Mathilde
French; Norwegian; Danish; Dutch; German, variation of Matilda
"battle-mighty"
Mathilde is even more popular in France than Matilda, a hipster favorite thanks to Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger, is here. And the French pronunciation, while confusing to English speakers,…
Meabh
Irish
"she who intoxicates"
Meabh, the native Irish spelling of Maeve, is in the Top 100 in Ireland and becoming more popular here in its Anglicized form. Outside of Ireland, life will be easier with the Maeve spelling of this…
Miran
Slovene, Persian, Kurdish, Hebrew
"peace, world; prince; to sing + light"
Just as internationally appealing as its feminine form, Mira, Miran is a name with multiple origins that is popular in Turkey, Azerbaijan, The Netherlands, and the UK. As a Slovene and Croatian name,…
Mireia
Catalan form of Mireille
"to admire"
Popular name in Spain drawn from the Provencal Mireio, coined by the poet Frederic Mistral. Very pretty and, though difficult to spell and pronounce, simpler than the French version.
Naamah
Hebrew
"sweetness, grace, beauty"
Interesting Old Testament name that embraces many traditional female attributes; also name of a place in the Jordan Valley. In the Bible, a daughter of King Ammon and wife of Solomon.
Nadezhda
Slavic
"hope"
Nadezhda is more familiar in the English-speaking world by its short forms, Nadia or Nadya. Well-used through the Slavic countries and Russia, Nadezhda was the name of Lenin's wife. Viewers of The…
Nekane
Basque form of Dolores
"sorrows"
Nekane is the decidedly modern, upbeat-sounding Basque form of the sorrowful and dated Spanish Dolores. Basque names, largely unknown in English-speaking countries, offer a fresh lexicon of names,…
Nephele
Greek
"cloudy"
An enchanting ancient Greek name belonging to the Greek goddess who was created from a cloud by Zeus and so became goddess of the clouds and mother of the centaurs. The name Nephele is not widely…
Neves
Portuguese
"snows"
A name that refers to a title of the Virgin Mary -- "Maria des Neves," or Maria of Snows.
Briallen
Welsh
"primrose"
Unusual floral name which would be perfect for a spring baby girl, if you can pronounce the Welsh double L correctly. It's a tricky sound for non-native Welsh speakers, kind of halfway between an H…
Anci
Anci is a feminine name with roots in multiple cultural backgrounds. It may be a variation of Anci or Anči found in parts of Eastern Europe, particularly with Hungarian, Czech, or Slovenian origins.…
Raanana
Hebrew
"beautiful, fresh"
Lovely Hebrew name with distinctive double a's, but beware of possible "banana" teasing.
Baojin
Mandarin
"precious gold"
Baojin, sometime hyphenated to Bao-Jin, has a luxurious meaning making it a relatively common choice for Mandarin-speaking parents. Baojin can be used for girls and boys. But this meaning also means…
Imogen
Celtic
"maiden"
Imogen has long been fashionable in England and is gaining favor in the US among stylish parents. Pronounced the British way — the initial i is short as in Kim, as is the final E as in Ken — Imogen…
Charmian
Greek
"joy"
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,…
Titian
Italian artist name, also color
A creative choice, suggesting the Venetian Renaissance painter (born Tiziano), and the brownish orange red hue that was featured on his palette. But try explaining to the boys in seventh grade that…