User-created list
By dystopiarebelle · Updated June 2019
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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.
Vegetable and herb name
Word name possibility carrying the scent of licorice-like anise. Fennel gets its own name from the Latin word feniculum, meaning "little hay". This herb name is rare. Zero babies of any gender were…
Fruit name
Fig was the unlikely name of a beautiful character in Curtis Sittenfeld's Man of My Dreams . It could make a playful middle name or a sparky nickname for the likes of Philippa, Fiona, Felicity, and…
English word and nature name
"to swindle"
Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel. Only five baby girls were named Finch in the most recent year, and four times as many baby boys.
Flower name, from English surname
"Forsyth's flower"
This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.
Flower name, from German surname
"Freese's flower"
A rare, free-feeling flower name for the parent who wants to move far, far beyond Rose and Daisy. Named for German physician Friedrich Freese.
Scottish
"narrow valley"
Former traditional male name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents. Actress Glenn Close is a famous female bearer.
Greek
"kingfisher bird"
This highly unusual name -- the Halycyone was a mythic bird who could calm the seas -- conjures up images of utter peace and tranquility because of the phrase "Halycon days"...and the sleeping pill.
Nature name
Leaf is a hippieish choice that, for girls, still retains an evergreen quality.
English diminutive of Aminta and Araminta, Greek
"defender"
Minty isn't a fresh word name — it's an old-fashioned nickname for Araminta, the romantic smoosh name coined by playwright William Congreve in 1693.
Fruit or color name
An unlikely choice, but in this era of Apple, Navy, Golden, and Mint, you never know. In fact, Orange does have some historical grounding as a feminine name, appearing in Medieval times as Orange,…
English flower name from French
"thought"
Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.
English from Greek
"leaf"
Petal is the soft and sweet-smelling name of a character in the novel and film, The Shipping News . With the rise of such flower names as Poppy and Posy, we believe Petal — down-to-earth yet romantic…
English
"trumpet-shaped flower"
Literary heritage: the "Loony Tunes" girlfriend of Porky Pig. But with the increasing popularity of all kinds of unusual botanical names, Petunia may be a name we start to hear more of.…
Latin
"apple"
This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.
Another entry in the fruit name category, this one borne by writer Strawberry Saroyan, granddaughter of William, so named by her hippie parents. While fruit names may become more familiar, they'll…
We've had Apples, Plums, Peaches, Cherries, and Berries added to the fruit basket: you could be the first to pick a Tangerine.
Variation of Tziporah, Hebrew
"bird"
This upstanding Old Testament name of the wife of Moses would almost inevitably provoke some tricky zipper teasing.
French
"lark"
Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette .
Spanish
"poppy"
A rarely heard flower name, Amapola comes from the Spanish word for "poppy", in turn associating with name with remembrance and the months of August and November. Pronounced as a-ma-POH-la, with the…
