Unusual Girl Names

This unique baby name is stronger, more distinctive than April or Avril.

Acantha is one of the unique baby names in the stylish mythological category that also might count as a flower name. In Greek mythology, Acantha was a nymph beloved by Apollo. An unusual and attractive choice that could make a creative way to honor a grandma Rose.

A Roman forename, and later family name, used for both sexes in ancient times (but more commonly men).

Spelled Alastríona in its native language, this Irish cousin of Alexandra is little-known but fairly intuitive.

Young Canadian pop singer Alessia Cara has given this spicy-sounding name a new lease on life, propelling it into the Top 1000 in 2016. (It was one of the year's fastest-rising girls' names.) The main risk is that it feels so close to Alexa, Alicia, Alexis and Alyssa-- all becoming overused -- that it could be mistaken for one of those more familiar names.

Alexandra is a name with many international variations, elaborations and short forms, and Alexandrine is one of the more unusual. Another, Alexandrina, was the first name of Queen Victoria.

The Alhambra, which means "red city," is in Granada, Spain. British writer Ali Smith used it for a character in her novel The Accidental.

This is a name used as a pseudonym by Celia in Shakespeare's As You Like It to conceal her real identity. It was later seen as a character in the Ken Follett novel Pillars of the Earth. Can also be spelled Alienna, taking it further away from the alien connection.

Alma is a somewhat solemn, soulful name that had a burst of popularity a century ago, then faded into the flowered wallpaper, and is now finding its footing once more.

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

Amalia is a widely cross-cultural name, heard from Italy to Romania, Germany to Scandinavia. The current heir to the Dutch throne is Princess Catharina-Amalia of Orange. It can be pronounced ah-MAH-lee-a or ah-mah-LEE-a.

This fragrant, almond-scented name has hardly been heard in this country, which is a pity--we've loved it since John Malkovich used it for his now grown daughter.

A rarely heard name that was the title of a hugely popular Big Band song in the forties. Amapola, with the emphasis on the third syllable, is one flower name that has not been widely discovered.