User-created list
Truly Unusual Names for girls and boys
Across 3 pages
of 3
Warrick
English
"fortress; strong leader who defends."
Warrick has recently come into the spotlight as the character Warrick Brown on the TV show CSI . The more conventional spelling is Warwick, a medieval English noble name.
Worthy
English
"valuable"
Worthy joins the likes of Chosen, Wise, Noble, Merit, and Prosper: strong, virtuous word names that some may worry creates a level of self-entitlement, while others enjoy as reminders that their…
Madrigal
Latin
"song for unaccompanied voices"
Madrigal might be a pretty and highly distinctive choice for a child of a musical family--or for the parent looking for a less conventional path to the nickname Maddie than Madeline or Madison .…
Hernando
Spanish
"adventurer, explorer"
A worldly and attractive choice for a child of any background. Two early New World explorers were Hernandos — de Soto and Cortés.
Malu
Hawaiian
"peace"
Malu is a charming Hawaiian name chosen by ex-Talking Head David Byrne for his daughter. Malu might also be an abbreviated form of Malou, which is an abbreviated form of Mary Louise. Malu or Malou…
Mirembe
Uganda
"woman of peace"
Mirembe is a feminine Ugandan name stemming from the Luganda word "emirembe" meaning peace, quiet. In Luganda, Rs are pronounced similar to Ls, so mill-EM-beh is an approximate pronunciation.
Tinuviel
Literary name
"Daughter of the twilight / nightingale"
Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is…
Pamina
Italian
"little honey"
This operatic Italian name -- it appears in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" -- is a more unusual route to the nickname Pam/Pammy.
Olalla
Galician or Spanish form of Eulalia, Ancient Greek
"sweetly speaking"
A playful and spirited form of Eulalia, familiar in Spain.
Semiramis
Queen of Babylon
Semiramis was the most important Queen of Assyria, who conquered much of Asia. Semiramis restored ancient Babylon and protected it with a high brick wall that completely surrounded the city. Then she…
Arabesque
French word name
"ballet position; ornate design"
Fanciful, edging toward bizarre.
