Interesting but NMS
- Briallen
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"primrose"Description:
Unusual floral name which would be perfect for a spring baby girl, if you can pronounce the Welsh double L correctly. It's a tricky sound for non-native Welsh speakers, kind of halfway between an H and an L.
- Banner
Origin:
English occupational nameMeaning:
"flag bearer"Description:
An undiscovered option among occupational names, as of 2023, Banner has never been used for more than 100 baby boys in a single year. It does have charm however, much due to its associations with fêtes and phrases like "a banner year".
- Amoret
Origin:
Literary nameDescription:
This lovely name from Spenser's The Faerie Queene is borne by a character who represents married love. A related unusual-yet-usable choice: Amabel.
- Vero
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"true"Description:
The o ending and the positive meaning in many languages makes this a winner, and with the feminine Vera making a surprise return, and the new love for the letter 'V', this becomes a name that has definite possibilities.
- Locke
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"enclosure or fortified place"Description:
Usually adding an e to the end of a name makes it more feminine, but Locke is at most recent count used only for baby boys. Still, this stylishly strong one-syllable name is theoretically gender-neutral.
- Aaru
Origin:
EgyptianMeaning:
"peaceful"Description:
Egyptian mythology place-name with an intriguing sound and appealingly peaceful meaning. Update for Aaron?
- Nerida
Origin:
Greek; AboriginialMeaning:
"sea nymph, mermaid; red waterlily"Description:
This is one of the more unusual examples of a group of Greek names connected to the sea, which makes sense for a nation of coastline and islands. The Nereids or water nymphs were the daughters of sea god Nereus.
- Zale
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"sea-strength"Description:
Appealing sound and meaning, but there is that discount-store association.
- Orinthia
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"to excite, to stir the mind"Description:
A pretty, feminissima name, more distinctive than Cynthia. George Bernard Shaw used it for a character in his play The Apple Cart, about which it is said 'Orinthia is a name full of magic for me.'
- Maelie
Origin:
BretonMeaning:
"Princess"Description:
The French Miley? This trendy choice from Brittany, which is pronounced either as Miley or May-lee, is related to the traditional (male) saint's name Mael, traditionally feminized as Maelle.
- Kenton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"the royal settlement"Description:
Although Kenton has the trendy K beginning and on ending, and a jazz reference to Stan Kenton, it still manages to sound stiff and old-fashioned.
- Holt
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of the unspoiled forests"Description:
Has that blunt masculine feel -- à la Cole and Kyle -- that many modern parents are drawn to.
- Egon
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"strong with a sword"Description:
Muscular German name that never fully assimilated into American culture.
- Nuria
Origin:
Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan, ArabicMeaning:
"place between the valleys; light"Description:
Deriving from the Catalan title for the Virgin Mary, Nostra Senyora de Núria , meaning "Our Lady of Nuria", this distinctive name is a popular choice in Spain and Portugal.
- Axton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"sword stone"Description:
Macho to the max. But with the rise of x as a fashionable letter anywhere it appears in a name, ala Jaxson or Maxon, we may be hearing more of Axton.
- Kynaston
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"royal peace settlement"Description:
A dignified yet gentle surname name occasionally heard in England and the West Indies.
- Orev
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"raven"Description:
Idiosyncratic Hebrew choice.
- Halloran
Origin:
GaelicMeaning:
"male descendant of a pirate or stranger from overseas"Description:
Halloran could be your solution if you love the nickname Hal, but not Harold or Henry.
- Loic
Origin:
French variation of Louis or LucasDescription:
While there is some disagreement over the origins of this name, it's clearly fashionable and a new idea, for English speakers, of a way to spin either an old classic or a familiar favorite. Still, Loic is one of those French names for boys that is rarely heard outside its native land.
- Tanwen
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"holy fire"Description:
Tanwen is a far more singular and colorful alternative to Bronwen.
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