Pretty, Whimsical and Strange

Prairie

English nature name

"prairie"

Unspecific place name with a wonderfully wide-open, spacious, western feel; used for a character in Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland . Prairie is derived from the Old French word praierie , which…

Tupelo

Creek

"swamp tree"

A powerful yet playful choice, Tupelo is a name with southern charm, appearing on the map as as place in Mississippi and as the name of a tree with soft, light wood that grows in the swamps of the…

Ivorie

Ivorie is a feminine name that evokes the luxurious substance ivory, with its creamy white color and precious nature. Likely a modern variant of Ivory, which itself began as a descriptive surname…

Evening

Day name

Though this feels like a new invention, people have used day names such as Morning and Afternoon for centuries -- and so why not Evening too? It's a lovely word with an evocative meaning and makes a…

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…

Posy

English

"a bunch of flowers"

A sweet, nostalgic nosegay kind of name, Posy has been long fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is still rarely heard in the US, though it could be…

Mirielle

Mirielle is a feminine name of French origin, a variant spelling of Mireille, which derives from the Occitan name Mireio, made famous by Frédéric Mistral's poem of the same name. The name is thought…

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,…

Fantine

Latin

"infant"

Fantine is a rarely heard French name except as a character in the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables .

Tulip

Flower name, from Persian

"turban"

One of the most unusual flower names, Tulip is cute but tough to pull off as a first. It has some celebrity cred via Charlie Tamara Tulip, twin daughter of Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell. It…