Great For Book Charcters

Adira is one of those rare names that's both little-used and simple, and crosses languages easily. Pronounced ah-DEER-ah, Adira is given to only a handful of girls in the US each year and could make a worthy substitute for such overexposed favorites as Ava and Ariana.

The independent Alex has become a classic in its own right. One of the truest unisex names, Alex is used almost equally for both sexes. Alex is used both on its own and as a short form of formal names of both genders, such as Alexander, Alexandra, and Alexis.

Allaire, a last name in France. could make a first, with its light and airy feel.

A rarely used play on Amber, making it more feminine and both more modern and old-fashioned at the same time.

Amias or Amyas is a unique name with an attractive sound and feel and a lovely meaning. Though it might sound like a Biblical name, it is not, but is a surname that may be related to Amadeus or even be a male version of Amy--which would make it one of the few boys' names to be derived from a girls'.

This lovely name from Spenser's The Faerie Queene is borne by a character who represents married love. A related unusual-yet-usable choice: Amabel.

Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 60 percent girls and 40 percent boys.

Rarely heard outside of Wales, Arianwen is one of many pretty wen-ending names prominent in ancient Welsh legend.

There's something particularly attractive about names with an interior "j" and Arjan is a prime example. The Punjabi version is pronounced with a conventional j as in jar; the Dutch Arjan, which is a variation of Adrien, pronounces the 'j' like a 'y'. Another Dutch version is Arje.

Quirky cool Arlo is now well and truly back. Last year it broke into the US Top 200 boy names and consistently ranks among the most popular boy names on Nameberry.

Asher—an excellent, soft and sensitive Old Testament choice—is a baby boy name on the rise, and is a Nameberry biblical favorite.

Fans of writer Paul Auster might consider this a worthy alternative to the trendy Austin.

This evocative name of a dramatic tropical Indian fig tree is ready to move west.

In Italy, often refers to the joy at the birth of a long-awaited child.

A newly hatched cousin of Bree and Brea.

A little heavy on the fiber content; we prefer Bram. But Bran is also the Celtic god of the underworld, whose symbol is the raven.

Less commercial-sounding than Brand.

Would be an obscure but winning entry in this category, except for its similarity to the word brassiere, which would certainly arouse unwanted attention in grade school.

Surname name with feminine final ley. The Welsh name Bryn, though also unisex and veering toward the girl world, is far more attractive.