unique and invented international names

This Irish name of a saint from the Isle of Aran also appears in myth and fantasy fiction, giving it an intriguing, mystical air.

Intriguing Hawaiian option that combines the sounds two popular boy names—Kai and Noah — but is in a name in its own right, not a newly created compound name — and is pronounced just slightly differently. The name has two possible meanings: from the elements kai and noa it means "sea of freedom", whereas from ka and inoa, it means "the name(sake)".

Lovers of Esme might also like this beautiful Turkish name, with its mysterious meaning. The last syllable sounds like "rye".

This French word for star sounds like even more of a celebrity-worthy choice than Star or Esther or Estella or Stella. But count on English speakers who never took high school French to stumble over the pronunciation.

Courtland, with its added U, is an English form of the Dutch habitational surname Cortlandt. Cortlandt was a village near modern-day Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands. Its name was derived from the Dutch elements cort, meaning "short" or "narrow," and landt, "land."

Form of Eleanor found in the Pacific Islands, such as Fiji and Tonga. Other sources say it is used in Hawaii, but Elenoa has never been recorded as a name in the state.

A Welsh take on the trend for royalty names, which a few parents in Wales have started to use in recent years.

The name of a beautiful princess of Wales in Arthurian legend. She is rescued by "Le Bel Inconnu" — Gingalain, the son of Sir Gawain — and marries him. Esmerée likely derives from Old French esmer "to love; respect".

The name of the Inuit goddess of the sea, marine animals, and the underworld. There is also a dwarf planet in the outer solar system called 90377 Sedna, discovered in 2003 and named after the goddess because: "Our newly discovered object is the coldest, most distant place known in the Solar System, so we feel it is appropriate to name it in honor of Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea, who is thought to live at the bottom of the frigid Arctic Ocean."

This popular Japanese name has many various meanings (bright, clear, autumn), depending on the combination of kanji used to spell it. The final element is the character ko, meaning "child", which features in many Japanese feminine names. Akiko is one of the best unique names for autumn babies.