User-created list
By racheliza · Updated April 2023
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Flower name, from German surname
"Zinn's flower"
Zinnia is an unusual floral choice with a bit more edge and energy than most and beginning to find its way onto namers' wish lists of botanical possibilities. Named after the 18th-century German…
Irish
"charioteer"
Both offbeat and upbeat, this evocative traditional Irish name that runs through Celtic mythology is known here via award-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy (born Charles). The author's adopted name is…
Word name
Chosen for their daughter by Bruce and Demi (inspired by the To Kill a Mockingbird character), and for her son by Tai Babilonia, an interesting choice for either sex, with overtones of a "good scout"…
Italian diminutive of Eleonora or Eleanor, meaning unknown
Its mellifluous sound makes Leonora--which has a rich history and a tie to the popular Leo names-- a keen possibility for revival. Though it's been hiding below the Top 1000 since the 1940s, Leonora…
English
"old friend"
The poetic, soft-spoken Auden has recently started to be considered as a first name option, used for both sexes, appreciated for its pleasing sound as well as its link to the distinguished modern…
German
"brave people"
An aristocratic and stately Germanic route to the popular Leo, Leopold is a royal name: Queen Victoria used it to honor a favorite uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium. These days, this royal tie may be…
English, Norse
"deer forest"
Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of the US charts since 1978, the quirky yet edgy Roscoe feels very much in step with the trending o-ending boy names popular now, such as Milo, Hugo, and…
Feminine variation of Henry, German
"estate ruler"
Despite a return to such feminizations of male names as Josephine, Clementine, and Theodora, starchy Henrietta has not made it into that group. Still, if you look hard enough, you'll see that…
German, French
"prosperous in battle"
Ottilie is trending in the UK, where the pronounced T helps the name sound pretty and delicate, rather like Amelie and Elodie. Ottilie is less popular in the US, where many Americans pronounce it as…
French variation of Stephen
"garland, crown"
It's the French Steve yet feels oh so much more debonair. Well-used and still a popular classic in French-speaking lands, but one of the many French names for boys unfamiliar to most English…
Greek
"idyllic place"
Acadia, the French name for Nova Scotia and the name of a gorgeous national park in Maine makes a fresh, rhythmic choice for your little girl. Acadia is an original yet accessible member of the…
Scottish and Irish, Brazilian
"oak tree ford; wealthy spearman; wealth and fame"
A unisex name with lots of flair and a daring spirit, Adair was first noticed as a girl's name in the 1980's, thanks to the long-running daytime drama Search for Tomorrow , with the character Adair…
"force of Zeus"
With historical roots as a beautiful and intelligent ancient queen and literary ties to Hawthorne and Edith Wharton novels, this rarity could appeal to adventurous parents seeking the romantically…
"cliff near a heath"
Heathcliff is the name of the original passionate macho hero of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights , and also of the cartoon cat. It was chosen by fashionista Lucy Sykes for her son, and inspired the…
Spanish
"the fifth girl"
Mexican place-name famously used by Joan Didion for her daughter, Quintana Roo.
Breton literary name
Kerouac could make for a meaningful possible modern literary inspiration, via On the Road author Jack. The writer's baptism certificate read Jean Louis Kirouac, though he later claimed his full name…
Hebrew
"father of peace"
Absalom, because of its biblical and literary associations, just might appeal to the daring namegiver. In the Old Testament, Absalom was the handsome, favored but rebellious son of King David. In…
