User-created list
Pretty, Whimsical and Strange
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The names
Bambi
Diminutive of Bambina, Italian
"child; baby girl"
Although Disney's cute deer was a male, Bambi has always been used for girls. It first appeared on the charts in 1943, the year after the Disney movie was released. Bambi featured in the Top 1000…
Ione
Greek
"violet flower"
This unusual Greek flower and color name has gained considerable recent attention via actress Ione Skye, who is the daughter of sixties folksinger Donovan. Ione was one of the fifty sea nymphs —…
Baby
English word name, diminutive of Barbara, Latin
"foreign woman"
Baby is rarely seen as a given name — or even nickname — these days, although it did rank in the Top 1000 from 1989 to 2003. These instances can be accounted for in two ways. Firstly, infants whose…
Odessa
Russian form of Odesa, Ukrainian place-name
"voyage"
Odessa, (transcribed as Odesa in Ukrainian) is a Ukrainian port city and was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey . It would make an original and intriguing…
Signe
Scandinavian
"new victory"
Signe could make an offbeat, more unusual alternative to Sydney or Sigrid. In Norse mythology, Signe was the twin sister of Sigmund. Can also be spelled Signy.
Cordelia
Latin; Celtic
"heart; daughter of the sea"
Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both…
Luda
Diminutive of Ludmila
There may have been a time when Americans who heard this name thought of something other than the rapper Ludacris, and there may come another such time at some point in the future, but for now, it's…
Claudie
French feminine variation of Claude
Attractive form still très Parisienne.
Elva
Feminine form of Alf or anglicized form of Ailbhe, Danish, Icelandic, Irish
"elf; bright, light, white"
Elva is a multicultural choice, being both an anglicization of the Irish Ailbhe and an feminine form of the name Alf, meaning "elf". Popular in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, it…
Enid
Welsh
"life, spirit"
This Celtic goddess and Arthurian name may sound terminally old-ladyish to many ears--but so did names like Ella and Etta not so long ago. So Enid is yet another forgotten four-letter E-possibility:…
Tatiana
Russian, from Latin family name Tatius, meaning unknown
Classic yet spritely, Tatiana has long been familiar and popular in Russia and Eastern Europe, though it wasn't until the 80s that it caught on in the English-speaking world. With short forms Tiana,…
Elvina
English
"elf friend"
Sounds elven in every sense of the word.
Griselda
German
"grey battle"
Griselda is a famous folklore figure, noted for her patience and obedience. Her story has been told by Petrarch, Chaucer, Boccaccio and set to music by Scarlatti, Vivaldi and Massenet. In the most…
Ariadne
Greek
"most holy"
This name of the Cretan goddess of fertility is most popular now as the more melodic Ariana, but Ariadne has possibilities of its own. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2014. The renewed interest…
Ffion
Welsh
"foxglove"
This unusual (to non-Welsh speakers) is near the top of the charts in Wales, carried by the recent taste for native Welsh names. Those in Wales say it's already on the way down, but for outsiders…
Zephyrine
Feminine variation of Zephyr, Greek
"west wind"
Zephyr may not be a name often heard in the U.S., but its variations are used throughout Europe. Zephyrine, a cousin in sound and feel if not in fact to such lovely names as Severine and Seraphina,…
Winola
German
"charming friend"
Native-American feel via similarity to Winona.
Iphigenia
Greek
"of royal birth"
In mythology, Iphigenia was sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon -- a difficult legacy to pass on to a daughter, and only one reason the name is hardly ever used.
Ionia
Greek place-name
Also relating to the sea and the islands, this name is a bit more melodic than its cousins.
Minty
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.
