User-created list
Unusual Girl Names
Across 17 pages
of 17
Lavender
English color and flower name
"purple flower"
Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names…
Honorine
French from Latin
"honor"
The pure, simple HONOR--as chosen by Jessica Alba, is perfect as it is. It does have some literary cred though--Henry James created a character called Honorine for his novel The Tragic Muse.
Fionnuala
Irish Gaelic
"white shoulders"
This lovely Gaelic name, very popular in the Emerald Isle, has inspired a whole host of diminutives (including Nuala and Nola) and variant spellings, from Finola to Finula to the Scottish and English…
Zulema
Spanish
"peace"
Possibly derived from Salome, Sulayman, and Solomon, Zulema and alternative spelling Zulima are peaceful Spanish names, with their origins in Arabic and Hebrew.
Ayelet
Hebrew
"deer, gazelle"
Ayelet is an unusual -- and somewhat challenging -- Israeli name familiar thanks to sometimes controversial Jerusalem-born novelist-essayist Ayelet Waldman. Well used in Israel, the name was taken…
Hannelore
German
"grace + god is my light"
A pretty and substantial German smoosh name, a combination of Hanne and Eleonore. Most popular in Germany from the 1930s to the 1950s. Former German Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt both…
Alhambra
Place-name
The Alhambra, which means "red city," is in Granada, Spain. British writer Ali Smith used it for a character in her novel The Accidental .
Hermione
Feminine version of Hermes, Greek
"messenger, earthly"
Hermione's costarring role in Harry Potter has made this previously ignored, once stodgy name suddenly viable. Hermione could really take off once today's children start having kids of their own. In…
Valencia
Spanish
"brave, strong"
This lovely orange-scented Spanish place-name would make an inventive namesake for an Aunt Valerie. Last on the popularity list in 1994, Valencia reached a high of Number 633 in 1969-70. The…
Sistine
Place-name
Sylvester Stallone used Sistine, the name of the Vatican chapel, the site of Michelangelo's magnificent frescoed ceiling, for one of his daughters -- an imaginative choice.
Aliena
Latin
"foreign"
This is a name used as a pseudonym by Celia in Shakespeare's As You Like It to conceal her real identity. It was later seen as a character in the Ken Follett novel Pillars of the Earth . Can also be…
Sanne
Dutch, diminutive of Susanne
"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…
Anniston
English surname and American place name
"Anis' town; Annie's town"
A name with plenty of celebrity glamor and contemporary flair, Anniston has a variety of origins. On one hand, it's a place name, deriving from a city in Alabama of the same name. Founded in the late…
Margaux
French spelling variation of Margo
Yes, it's pronounced with a long o sound at the end, just like Margo and Margot. This spelling was popularized by supermodel, actress, and tragic Hemingway granddaughter Margaux, whose name spelling…
Sebastia
Feminine form of Sebastian, Latin from Greek
"person from the city of Sebastia"
Some names rise in tandem in their male and female forms, but Sebastia is very rare while the male Sebastian is quite popular. But it certainly might be an attractive choice.
Deryn
Welsh
"bird"
This 1950s Welsh bird name sounds less dated than our fifties Robin.
Levia
Hebrew
"to join"
This female version of Levi is much too apt to be mistaken for Livia.
Maddalena
Maddalena is the Italian form of Magdalene, a name with biblical significance referring to Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus's most devoted followers. The name derives from Magdala, a village on the Sea…
Malika
Arabic
"master"
Malika is an attractive multi-cultural name--it is also a pet form of Amalia in Hungary. Malika Haqq is an actress who is one of Khloe Kardashian's BFFs on Keeping Up With the Kardashians .
Beryl
Greek
"sea-green jewel"
Dated British favorite that never caught on in this country, where Jade remains the green gem of choice. Interesting namesakes: British writer Beryl Bainbridge and British aviatrix Beryl Markham.