Hipster-esque

Chloris

Greek

"pale"

Antiseptic sounding.

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…

Apple

English nature name

"apple"

When people talk about unique baby names, Apple is often one of the first examples they mention. Apple made international headlines when Gwyneth Paltrow chose this wholesome fruit name for her…

Marit

Aramaic

"pearl"

An unusual and straightforward name with an attractive Scandinavian accent; a royal name in Norway.

Primrose

English flower name

"first rose"

A quaint and quirky flower name, until recently considered a bit too prim for most American classrooms but brought back to life in recent years by the attractive character of Primrose "Prim" Everdeen…

Ottilie

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…

Celie

French variation of Cecilia

"blind"

Attractive, underused name made famous by the heroine of The Color Purple. Still, if you're going to go to Celie, why not go all the way to Celia or Cecelia? You can always use Celie for short.

Poesy

Word name

"poetry"

This old-fashioned word for poetry has some antiquated charm but doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

Tansy

Flower name, from Greek

"immortality"

Tansy is a flower name rarer than Rose, livelier than Lily and a lot less teasable than Pansy. Tansy is a perennial herbaceous plant of the aster family that has clusters of small bright yellow…

Lulu

Diminutive of Louise or Lucy, or Arabic

"pearl"

Lula has a firecracker personality, a singing and dancing extrovert. Interesting that Lulu was a Top 100 name when the Social Security list was born in 1880, but it's been sliding ever since and has…

Bunny

Animal name or English diminutive of Berenice, Greek

"she who brings victory"

Bunny may be adorable, but is it really enough of a name for your daughter? Plus if Buffy is fluffy, what would that make Bunny? Still, Bunny as a baby name is in the spotlight since Bryan Adams…

Marin

Latin

"of the sea"

Marin is a lovely county north of San Francisco, and a lovely baby name on the rise, one which sounds more refreshing than the more familiar Marina. As a place-name, Marin is pronounced with the…

Lilibeth

English combination of Lily + Beth or diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew

"pledged to God"

Queen Elizabeth's childhood nickname was Lilibet, the name of Prince Harry and Meghan's newborn daughter, and Lilibeth has the same kind of lilting charm. While many combo names are less attractive…

Jezebel

Hebrew

"not exalted"

Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad girl reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a…

Tillie

English, diminutive of Matilda

"battle mighty"

A surprise recent hit revival with cutting-edge British, Tribeca and Malibu parents; Tillie, also spelled Tilly, is cute, frilly, and sassy all at once. Tilly features in the England and Wales Top…

Zelia

Hebrew

"zealous, ardent"

An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.

Dixie

Latin, French

"I have spoken; tenth"

A sassy, spunky, punchy kind of name, Dixie can also be considered a place name, one that has become problematic because of its association with the antebellum South. The Dixie Chicks recently…

Boheme

French word name

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera…