User-created list
By bootsie · Updated March 2023
Across 8 pages
of 8
Hebrew
"prickly pear"
Term for a native-born Israeli, first brought to notice in Edna Ferber's 1929 novel Cimarron. Prickly pear has been interpreted to mean tough on the outside, soft and sweet within.
French
"jewel"
Bijou is a name that lives up to its definition -- a real jewel. Warning: not unheard of on poodles' dog collars. Actress Bijou Phillips is its best known bearer. It can also be spelled Bijoux.
"autumn rain"
Unique possibility for a girl born between September and November.
Modern invented name
Australian opera singer Nellie Melba—self-named for her hometown of Melbourne—inspired this now-dated name more associated today with a peach dessert and dietetic toast.
African
"light or jungle"
Simple, delicate, and unusual.
Spanish diminutive of Guadalupe, Latin
"wolf"
Derived from a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Guadalupe, Lupe has both a spiritual and animal meaning. In relation to its long form, it is associated with a convent in Spain and the appearance of…
Latin
"from the sea"
Marine was trending for a long time in France, but the far right politician Marine (born Marion) LePen has dampened the mood.
Fruit name
British-born novelist Plum Sykes has taken this rich, fruity name out of the produce section and put it into the baby name basket. It's more appealing than Apple, more presentable than Peaches. The…
English diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
Although she declared her independence as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I — Good Queen Bess, Bess now sounds less passé than Beth or Betsy.
Greek
"demi-god"
Despite the possibility of gender confusion, the Hero in Greek myth was a woman. Myleene Klass got that when she chose Hero for her daughter, and Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson used it as their…
French occupational surname
"a merchant"
Mercer is one fashionable occupational name that can work as well for girls as boys, perhaps because of the soft c or the conventionally feminine nickname Mercy.
Fan is a feminine name with diverse cultural origins. In Chinese, it can mean 'sail' or 'to float,' symbolizing freedom and movement. The name may also be derived as a nickname from Frances or Fanny…
Chinese
"treasure, jewel"
Name introduced here via Chinese cinema, has middle-place potential.
Chinese, meaning unknown
This name was brought to the fore by acclaimed Chinese-American novelist and short story writer Gish Jen, whose birth name was Lillian.
Word name
Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl.
"shining bright"
A common Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean unisex name, and the name of a culturally rich Chinese Dynastic period. Yao Ming is the seven and a half foot Shanghai-born basketball star. Trivia tidbit: His…
Japanese
"worker's field"
Not as familiar as some other Asian imports; has a strong unisex feel.
Hebrew, short variation of Bathsheba
"daughter of an oath"
This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal , played on screen by Cate Blanchett. Sheba is…
Persian, Turkish, Kurdish
"spring"
This popular Muslim name would more easily translate to English-speaking cultures in its Bahar form.
"green; beautiful bird"
In Japan, color names are used to symbolize human qualities, and the green hues of Midori name are said to represent fame. While it is a unisex choice in its native Japan, Midori is predominantly…
