Good DnD Names

Adair has flair, the grace of a Fred Astaire. It's a Scottish surname which came from the first name Edgar.

In Greek mythology, Amalthea is the name of a goat (or, sometimes, a goat-keeping nymph) who nursed the infant Zeus and protected him from his murderous father, Cronus. Thanks to the goat’s protection and nourishment, Zeus grew up to overthrow Cronus.

Astraea -- also found as Astraia -- is the Greek goddess of justice and innocence who became the constellation Virgo. A more unusual form of the many star-related names, from Astra to Esther to Estelle to Stella, all on the rise. Astraea was the daughter of Astraeus, the god of the dusk, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.

Barnaby, a genial and energetic name with an Irish-sounding three-syllable lilt, is an ancient appellation that manages to be both unusual and highly attractive and deserves to be used more than it is. A sweet-spot name that's a real winner.

Bean is a unisex word name with a cute and quirky feel. Early reader series Ivy and Bean features a young girl named Bean, short for Bernice Blue. It has appeal as a casual nickname or middle name, but it's harder to imagine as a given name.

Bryce is the preferred spelling over Brice for both genders, with nearly 70 girls named Bryce in one recent year vs. only five called Brice. But note that there were over 3000 boys named Bryce and 240 named Brice, making this a predominantly male name. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of director Ron, is the most notable female bearer of this name.

Calloway is one of those irresistibly jaunty, animated three-syllable surnames, like Sullivan and Finnegan — but this one has the added attraction of jazzy ties to the immortal "Dean of American Jive," Cab Calloway.

Carina is a pretty feminissima name whose fall from popularity may be speeded by similarity to (hurricane name) Katrina.

Casimir, a traditional name of Polish kings, could do quite well these days as we see the rise of Caspian, Cassius, Castiel, et. al. Like Leopold and Laszlo, Casimir is strong and worth considering if you've got an adventurous streak — and bet your son will too.

Forget the oil. It's one of the twins that make up the constellation Gemini, and a mythological name on the cutting-edge of fashion; used by Metallica's James Hetfield.

Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list.

It's a beautiful burnished metal -- but also slang for policeman.

Cosima, the kind of elegant and unusual name the British upper classes love to use for their daughters, is given to a handful of baby girls in the US after being chosen by two high-profile celebs in the same month; cool couple Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars as well as supermodel Claudia Schiffer. It was used earlier by celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, while the male form, Cosimo, was given to the son of Marissa Ribisi and Beck.

Cressida is a pretty mythological and Shakespearean heroine name much better known in Britain than it is here — an imbalance the adventurous baby namer might want to correct.

This royal Danish name has long been used across Scandinavia, Germany and Slavic countries and somewhat in the US around the turn of the last century --it was #622 in 1888. There were two notable silent screen stars named Dagmar, one with Polish, the other with Danish roots.

This old-fashioned name looks like it could be on the edge of a revival, following in the footsteps of Alden and Auden.