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Harmonia

Greek

"agreement, concord"

One Greek mythological name -- she was the goddess of order -- not yet embraced by American parents.

Minerva

Latin

"of the mind, intellect"

Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the mythology names for girls that might appeal to adventurous feminist parents.…

Aoife

Irish Gaelic

"beautiful, radiant"

Aoife, pronounced EE-fa, is derived from the Irish word aoibh , meaning "beauty." Aoife was borne by several different heroines of ancient Irish legend. In one tale, she was the fiercest woman…

Annia

Latin, female variation of Antonius

"priceless one"

An ancient Roman name that has never made it into the modern world.

Aphra

Hebrew, variation of Aphrah

"dust"

Aphra would make an interesting choice-- especially since it's the name of the first professional female writer in English, the seventeenth century's Aphra Behn. Born in 1640, she was a prolific…

Shelley

English

"clearing on a bank"

The Shirley of the 1950s. Shelley Winters was born a Shirley.

Falcon

English, from French, nature name

"falcon, a bird"

One of the bird names that's more appropriate for a boy, though it works for a girl too.

Acacia

Greek

"thorny"

Acacia is an attractive, rarely used Greek flower name enhanced by its popular beginning-and-ending-with 'a'-construct, and is gradually beginning to catch on as a new member of the stylish girl…

Linden

English tree name

"tree of the genus Tilla"

Though this name of a sturdy tree that can live for centuries was quite popular for boys in the first half of the twentieth century, at this point in time we can see Linden as a fresh-sounding…

Maple

English tree name from Latin

"maple tree; tree of the Acer genus"

Maple is one of those sweet-spot word names that sounds so almost name-like that it doesn't feel outlandish or strange, despite its relative newness as a given name. Just as Juniper is adjacent to…

Oak

Nature name

Ten times as many boys are named Oak as girls: about 50 boys last year to five girls. Of course, nature names don't have any traditional gender identification the way names like John and Mary do, so…

Raine

French

"queen"

Attracted attention as the stepmother of Princess Diana.

Morning

Word name

There are many lovely day/month/seasonal names -- and this is one of the most intriguing.

Ingrid

Norse

"fair; Ing is beautiful"

The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid…

Gwendolen

Welsh

"white ring, circle"

Gwendolen, an ancient Welsh favorite, retired decades ago in favor of the short form Gwen, but now, as in the case all across the naming board, the nickname has faded and the more distinguished…

Dustin

German

"brave warrior"

Just a few years ago, Dustin, Dylan, and Daryl seemed like radical, edgy names for girls; now even Great-aunt Alberta wouldn't raise an eyebrow.

Melisande

French form of Millicent, German

"strong in work"

This old-time fairy tale name is rarely heard in the modern English-speaking world, but it's so, well, mellifluous, that it would make a lovely choice for a twenty-first century girl--a romanticized…