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.

This appealing Hebrew name is heard in Israel, and would fit in well with all the popular El-starting names for boys, such as Elliot and Ellery. It was given to just five American boys in 2015. Also worth considering is the pretty female version, Eliora.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

The title of a Shakespeare play based on legends featuring the early Celtic King Cunobelinus, whose name derives from the Gaulish sun god Belenus.

Araluen is a beautiful Aboriginal Australian place name, used in several sites, always connected to the dainty water lily.

Sanne is hugely popular in the Netherlands, but almost unknown here; which makes it an interesting prospect for the parent in search of an unusual name. Pronounced sah-na, Sanne is in keeping with the Dutch taste for nicknames plucked from the middle or end of a name vs. the beginning, such as Bas for Sebastien or Bram for Abram.

The musical word name Cadence, seemed to come out of nowhere to zoom up the charts; it rose over 700 spots between 2002 and 2004, and showed up in the Top 200 in 2007. It's gone down in the popular names list since then, though. Some might see it as a feminine relative of the popular Caden. Kadence and Kaydence are also rising.

Popular in Puerto Rico since the 2000s and now in the US too, Dariel is a modern, elaborated form or Darrell or Darren, inspired by the likes of Gabriel and Daniel. Darrell (which might also be the inspiration behind Darren) derived from a Norman French surname, d'Airelle, referring to someone who came from Airelle in France.

Rarely heard in the US, Auberon has a gentle autumnal feel rare in a male name. A Shakespeare-adjacent choice, Auberon started out as as a pet form of Auberi, the French form of German Alberich.

Since the first production of Camille this has been considered one of the world's most romantic names, though it's one of those French names for boys rarely heard in this country.

Isis has gone from magical, feminist name on the rise to the forbidden list because of the extremist terror group called ISIS, an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Unsurprisingly, Isis was one of the fastest-falling names in 2014, dropping 130 ranks to reach #706. Interestingly, however, since 2020, it has begun to see increased use again, and 2023 saw it given to 151 girls.

Sounds like a princess -- or an enticingly evil witch -- in a fairy tale.

Abraxas is a sci-fi-sounding name with earthly possibilities, but some playground challenges.

Ghislaine still sounds unusual to us, even though in France this name is dated. It can also be spelled Ghislain.

Sadhbh was the name of several real and legendary Irish princesses, including the daughters of Conn of the Hundred Battles, of Queen Medb of Connacht, and of King Brian Boru. It's also written Sabha. One of the most authentic Irish names for girls, it is also unfortunately one of the most difficult to export.

Anwen is one of the simplest and best of the classic Welsh girls' names, more unusual than Bronwen but with the same serene feel.

Intriguing Old Welsh name being revived there, but would have major pronunciation problems here.

Alena is a modern variant of Helen. Alena might also be a spelling twist on the Slavic Alina or a long form of Lena.

Anemone is a floral name that relates to the ancient Greek myth of the famous love story of Aphrodite and Adonis, in which Aphrodite transforms her wounded lover's blood into a flower, the crimson anemone, whose blossoms are opened by the wind — accounting for its other name, windflower.

Yes, though it seems so extreme, girls were actually sometimes given this name a century ago; now it is so uncommon it would make a strong springtime statement. Biggest obstacle: the nickname Daffy.