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Roscoe
English, Norse
"deer forest"
Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of the US charts since 1978, the quirky yet edgy Roscoe feels very much in step with the trending o-ending boy names popular now, such as Milo, Hugo, and…
Thane
Scottish
"clan chieftain"
This early Scottish title -- known to us via Shakespeare's Macbeth -- has recently surfaced as a baby name possibility, familiar sounding through its similarity to names like Zane and Wayne.
Harley
English
"hare clearing"
You can ride one, you can use it as a baby name – or, as is often the case, both! Harley is currently trending up for girls and down for boys in the US, although it remains predominantly masculine in…
Arrow
Word name
Words are not always easy to translate into baby names , but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o -sound ending, which…
Amidala
Italian
"beautiful flower"
An attractive enough name, but for die-hard Star Wars fans only.
Amaryllis
Greek
"to sparkle"
If you love both unique baby names and flower names for girls, Amaryllis might be a perfect choice for you. A showier flower name than Lily, but in the same botanical family, Amaryllis is not as…
Iola
Greek or Welsh
"violet; beautiful lady"
Isla is hot, Iona is cool – maybe it's time Iola got a second look? Last heard from on Carol Burnett's Mama's Family show, Iola feels like just the sort of uncommon, vowel-rich, vintage name that…
Aster
English; Amharic
"star"
This is a fresh new addition to the botanical list; comedian Gilbert Gottfried made it a real bouquet when he named his daughter Lily Aster. And the name of the little girl on television's Dexter…
Mercedes
Spanish
"gracious gifts, benefits"
Mercedes is one of the few names attached to luxury living that we can wholeheartedly recommend, it being a legitimate Spanish appellation stemming from one of the epithets given to the Virgin…
Lux
Latin
"light"
This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides , originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in…
Titania
Greek
"giant, great one"
This name of the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream has a delicate, lacy charm similar to Tatiana's, but that first syllable could cause embarrassing problems.
Bronte
Greek
"thunder"
This lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name, makes a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . While the original name took an umlaut over…
Chaucer
English
"maker of breeches"
One of the most distinguished names in literature could become a hero name in a family of poetry-lovers -- or be seen as a trendy new occupational name.
Riordan
Irish
"bard, royal poet"
Has a legitimate first name history in its native land and an appealing meaning, but pronunciation is far from obvious.
Chester
Latin
"fortress, walled town,"
Chester is a comfortable, little-used teddy-bear of a name that suddenly sounds both quirky and cuddly. Chester was a Top 100 name in the US from the 1880s to 1929, gradually fading till it finally…
Cedric
Celtic
"bounty; loved"
Soft yet solid, Cedric was invented by Sir Walter Scott for the noble character of the hero's father in Ivanhoe , presumed to be an altered form of the Saxon name Cerdic ("bounty"), or the Brythonic…
Arwen
Literature, Sindarin, Welsh
"noble maiden; fair, blessed"
Best known as the princess of the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings , Arwen is a fantasy-inspired choice that feels perfectly down to earth. In 2022, it entered the UK Top 400, making it one of…
Ianthe
Greek
"purple flower"
Like Violet, Lavender and Lilac, Ianthe is a purple flower name. Chosen by the poet Shelley for his daughter, Ianthe has a poetic, romantic, almost ethereal quality. In the ancient myth, she was the…
Galway
Place-name
Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris…
Asta
Norwegian
"divine strength"
This Scandinavian name was made famous in English-speaking countries as the name of the dog in the "Thin Man" series. Danish actress Asta Nielsen was another famous bearer. Asta can be considered as…