Most Unique A Names

Ada is one of the classic baby names for girls that is suddenly super stylish again. A favorite at the end of the nineteenth century, Ada is an alternative to the over-popular Ava. Ada is also part of the trend toward simple, old-fashioned names beginning with a vowel, like Ivy and Ella.

Adelaide is now heading straight uphill on the coattails of such newly popular sisters as Ava, Ada, and Audrey, and in the company of Adeline and Amelia. It was chosen by actress Katherine Heigl for the name of her second daughter.

A short but strong biblical name with multicultural appeal, Asa is enjoying new visibility thanks to hot young actor Asa Butterfield of Hugo fame.

Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 49 percent girls and 51 percent boys.

Adeline has a lovely, old-fashioned "Sweet Adeline" charm, but has become so popular in the US under so many spellings and variations — with Adalynn and Adalyn also popular — that considered together it is far more popular than it first seems. Adorable nickname Addie is also pervasive.

Hot young actor Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo, gives this formerly-stodgy surname name an attractive new image, making it a fresh successor to Aiden or Holden. Before it got this fresh shine, Alden was among the classic Thanksgiving baby names.

Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing.

Emily gets a Bohemian spin and a French accent when it becomes Amelie. This favorite among French girl names has been gaining notice here thanks to the charming 2001 French film Amelie; it entered the American popularity list in 2002 and is now solidly established in the Top 1000.

Originally popularized in eighteenth century Europe due to the fame of Anna Amalia, a Duchess who was a great patron of the arts, Amalia is now a widely cross-cultural name, heard from Italy to Romania, Germany to Scandinavia. Popular in the Netherlands, Chile, France, and Puerto Rico, it can be pronounced as uh-MAH-lee-uh (English), a-MA-lya (Spanish), and ah-MA-lee-uh (German, Dutch), to list a few.
amal meaning "vigorous, unceasing, work", and while it may not be quite so popular in the English speaking work as its sibling, it has been on the rise in the US since 2011, when it re-joined the Top 1000 after an 80 year absence. Given to 550 American babies in a recent year, it is considerably less popular than Amelia — 23 times less popular, in fact.

Amory is the kind of executive-sounding surname name that became popular in the 1990s. Amory Blaine is the protagonist of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, This Side of Paradise.

Adira is one of those names that feels familiar without being overused. Simple but with subtle flair, Adira crosses different languages easily and could provide an alternative option tor the likes of Ava, Ariana, Adeline, and Anna.

The super-success of Adele, both the singer and the name, has brought attention to all her cousins — Adela, Adeline, Adelina — and the lovely Adelia. An undiscovered gem just waiting to be discovered.

Adeline in all its forms, including Adelyn, is rocketing up the list, but we do prefer the original to the variations. Or you might consider varying it yet further to Adelia, Adele, or Adelaide. Or lengthen it to Madeline/Madelyn.

Similar in sound to the flower name Dahlia, this gentle but distinctive name, heard in many cultures, hits that Golden Mean between too popular and too unusual. In Lithuanian mythology, Dalia is a goddess of weaving and of fate.

Name of a town in Scotland that has a feminine strength.

Plausible word name, denoting strength and stability, currently given to a small handful of boys in the US each year.

Pop princess Amerie is half Korean, half African-American. Her name may relate to Amelia, Emily, Emery, or Amory, though there's no exact equivalent among historical names. But doubtless there will be more Ameries, starting now.