I realize that is not a very snappy title I’ve got going on up there. BUT I AM STICKING TO IT.
This is the second in our new series of posts designed to be a brainstorming/idea-getting place for people looking for a particular kind of name. Our first post focused on unisex names. This time, I’d like us to make lists of names we really love, but that are too uncommon for our own naming style. Like, where you’d think “Oh I WISH this name would be used more, so that I could use it!,” and where, if you knew a friend who was more daring, you’d wish SO HARD that SHE’D use the name for HER child. Or maybe you’d use it as a middle name. Or they can be names that you don’t personally feel are too unusual, but that your family or spouse consider too unusual, so you’re frustrated and wish someone else could use them. It’s not that we think the names are UNUSABLY unusual—just too unusual for our own particular circumstances, or more unusual than they should be considering how awesome they are.
Remember that we are not being real STRICT around here with these category posts. Picture someone looking around the internet, thinking, “What I want is some more UNUSUAL names. I wonder what OTHER people like? I’d love to just BROWSE a LIST.” We won’t worry about whether our own standard of “unusual” matches theirs or not; we’ll just say what names we consider to be in that category, and let them browse to their own standards.
We also won’t worry about being COMPLETE. I find that as soon as I set my mind to this task, I think I need to list EVERY SINGLE unusual name I like—or that if I only list a few, they must be my VERY TOP few, and also I must have an equal number of boy and girl names. But no! That is not necessary! We can just…toss a few out, all casual-like! And we may come back whenever we want to add another one! And duplicates are fine—even desirable, to show consensus.
Here are mine:
Clover
Emerald
Ivy
Magnolia
Marigold
Millicent
Minerva
Persephone
Barnaby
Frederick
Giancarlo
Macon
Rufus
Mine are Waverly and Xavier. The first is maybe not too unusual, but refers to a geographic area near us so it’s out. The second will be fine for some but is too unusual for my husband, so it’s out.
Lilith
Cecily
Ivy
Zella
Zettie
Thea
Linden
Gavin
Whit
This is a bit skewed, as I’ve kept lists of the ‘on the edge’ names, but not of the ‘awesome, but no way’ ones I’ve run across, so I’ve forgotten most of the later.
Clover and Persephone are both also on my list, so I’ll add Wren.
I DO know a Wren, but my family would vocally object if I tried to use it.
I second Clover and Wren, and would add:
Abilene
Alfred
Tobias (never Toby)
Jedidiah
Dixie
Asa
Who am I kidding-this could be my short list.
Aha! I have a list of these handy–
Blue
Fred
Miriam
Muriel
Anders
I’ll agree with Marigold, but its on the list for a middle name.
Minerva(Minnie)
Hermione(basically anything from Harry Potter)
Harriet
Raspberry
Thorn
Tiberius
Leif
Joaquin
Guilllaume
Ettienne
Jean-Yves
Saoirse
Adelaide
Emerson
Ophelia
Talulah
Seamus
Our favorite girl name is Saoirse (pronounced Sare-sha or Seer-sha) but we feel like the spelling/pronunciation thing would be ridiculous, as it’s not a common name in our area. Isn’t it beautiful though? I guess my naming style for boys is a little more traditional… could only think of one name on my list that’s unusual.
I love Saoirse too. It really is too bad that the spelling and pronunciation are so different.
My favorite name, which we discussed before we had our first child here, is Dock, for a boy. But alas, our last name won’t do with Dock.
I also love Suzannah, but we can’t get passed the old song. Add Clementine to that, because I think a Clemmy could be cute.
I also love Mary Jane or Mary Joanna. But I can’t help but think of marijuana when I think of Mary Jane.
My list is much more limited by my partner’s last name (starts with a vowel, two syllables, ends in s) than anything else, which means that my “can’t use” list is not so much unusual as just will never work. It includes Penny, Carys, Rhys, Finn, and Phineas.
But my “probably couldn’t convince him” list includes such jewels as Anastasia, Anais, Persephone, Clover, Juniper and Lorelei; Phineas, Jasper, Wolfgang, and Hansel.
Of course, my partner didn’t like Liam when I told him it was going to be our son’s name, and I managed to convince him, so…never say never.
ooh yeah, I love Jasper too.
Briony
Tamsin
Wren
Leia
Kestrel
Magdalena
Verity
Amaris
Meira
Iris
Esther
Rosemary
Griffin
Slate
Gideon
West
Basil
Lachlan
Drake
Blaise
Ronan
Thaddeus
Sterling
Titus
Tabitha!
Girls;
Acacia
Briarly
Amara
Amythest
Sapphire
Boys:
Trace
Cruz
Parks
Oakley
All the great Irish girl names that don’t look like they are pronounced, which wouldn’t work in the States.
Saoirse (noted above)
Aisling
Aoife
Niamh
Aine
Daisy.
I tried so hard to get my husband to agree to this name during both of my pregnancies and he just wouldn’t go for it. And I can so see either one of my girls being able to pull it off.
I love Sebastian and Jasper but know my husband would never go for either too. He said they were too flowy, whatever that means.
I love the name Arlis… but I would use it for a girl rather than a boy. I’m also a huge fan of Atticus (for a boy).
Rupert
Lachlan
Ronald
Agatha
Claudia
Juniper
Ginevra-dh doesn’t believe it’s a “real” name
Luna
Winifred
Clover
Verity
I know many children with some of the above names. I know three girls named Ivy and an Adelaide. The name we’re planning to use for a girl is Lyra, a name made popular by the His Dark Materials series (Golden Compass). Both hubby and I love how the name is unique yet recognizable, and I think names like Lila and Kyra will help improve its mainstream appeal.
Some other unusual names I love:
Beatrix
Maxine
Fiona
Calvin
Milo
Rupert
How lucky that orhers are more daring than us?! My cousins are Emerald, Sapphira and Magnolia- Emma, Saphie and Maggie. My aunty got SUCH a hard time when she named her daughters, but their names are so cool!! However, Their younger brother was named Rock, but my aunt changed it to Brock when he was about two due to so many negative reactions…….even brave people can have namers remorse, I guess!!
My favourites are: Siorese, Agnes, Carys, Beatrix ( Trixi) and I had a friend Cinnamon in school and wondered how on EARTH her mother could name her that…..but now I love it and salute her braveness!! Cinnamon (no nickname, ever) suited her spirited, easygoing, artistic and sociable name perfectly.
I’m excited to see Verity popping up on people’s lists because that’s a name my husband and I actually agreed to use during pregnancy 2 – but then we had boys. I adore that name! We named that son Quinino nn Quinn
Awesome-but-too-unusual for us names include:
Clementine
Athena
Clyde
Larz
My 4 favorites:
Ignatius
Archibald
Leonie
Cosima
Baxter
Saoirse
Alistair
Fritz
Holland
Cecily
Iris
Magnolia
Wren
Trinity
Silas
Calvin
Asa
Greer
I seem to like names that sound vaguely like Thumbelina. You know, the old German/Swedish names that are very long and tripsy on the tongue. Example: WENDOLENA! The fairytale association didn’t occur to me until I got vocal objections all around! I also used to love the name Cinnamon for a girl but was told it sounded like a stripper name :( I would so name a boy Bagley if I could! Or Heinrich if I could get away with it.
There are certain names I adore, but my husband has strongly nixed for the weird factor:
India
Esmeralda
Ottilie
Elodie
Esme
All of our boys names are fairly normal. Either that or we both like strange boys names. : )
We considered a lot of what most people would call unusual names, but these are the a few from our lists:
Loki, Taggart, and Tiberius for a boy. Bronwyn and Briar for a girl.
oh, and Huxley, too. Love that.
Girls:
Glory
Honor
Story
Flora
Liesl
Boys:
Leif
Noel
Roger (I guess that’s more outdated than unusual, but I love it and no one else does)
It was fun to see my daughter’s name (Claudia) on someone else’s list!
I love the names Carys and Adria!
Boys: Jasper and Theodore.
Unfortunately it is not a mutual love in my husband has vetoed all my favourites preferring Elizabeth and James (which I also love but much more common).
I JUST made a list of names I love that could never use! Ahh, name nerdiness.
Oy, I love some Irish names that I could never use here because no one would ever say them correctly.
Aoife (EE-fah… kinda like Eva)
Grainne (GRAWN-ya)
I also love Ailith. I love the sound. My fiance would NEVER go for it.
I love Lavender, too, but I couldn’t name someone Lavender…
Yep, all girl names. I’m far more into girl names.
Just a few that I love (some repeats!):
When I read The Shipping News, I fell in love with Quoyle for a boy (interesting character, also a type of knot) and Petal for a girl (seems so sweet and delicate)
Boys
Seamus
Atticus
Jasper
Dexter
Grey
Lachlan
Hamish
Magnus
Girls
Anya
Verity
Clover
Scarlett
Beatrix – nn Bee
Freya
Isla
Esme
Carys
Saoirse
Siobhan
Allegra – why did that pharmeceutical company decide to mess up this gorgeous name???
Juniper
Lark
Wren
Blythe/ Bliss
Maren/ Murron
Arya
Fallon
I also love the names of the girls from the Blog GirlsGoneChild
Fable
Reverie
Boheme
I can only think of girls names– and I would use any/all of these I could, but my husband won’t:
Maive
Greer
Beatrix
Astoria
Luckily my husband is still relatively brave, so we still have some pretty unusual names that we have used or will use, but these were all no-go’s.
Atticus. Lachlan. Jasper. Franklin.
Mirabelle
Beatrix
Giselle
They just don’t go with our non frilly other names.
And my husband wanted to name our daughter Elsa : elsabeth
Girls:
Athen
Calloway
Waverly
Piper
Boys:
Sefton
Devereaux
Thaddeus
Titus
Seamus
Blue
November
Bonnie
Darcy
Mina
Murphy
Jules
Lorelei
Tabitha
Alto
Pippa
Sam (only Sam, not Samantha)
Saffron
Cadmium (Caddy)
Barbara, with Bobbie as a nickname
Zelda
Hero
Lux
Tuesday
Wednesday
March
Friday
Rocket
Brenn
Sully (or Sullivan)
Declan
Sirius
Remus
Flynn
Jones
Smith
Rhys
Conrad
August
Winston
Arnold
Patrick
Wendell
Felix
Ralphie
McCoy
Cricket
Rudy
Art
Sebastian
Gordon
Beauregard
Hollis
Gable
Indigo
Casey (I wish I could still justify using this for a boy! But I think he would be mistaken for a girl and hate me forever).
Morgan (actually my middle name, and the name of my great-grandfather. I would love to use it as a middle name for a boy. It just strikes me as such a boyish name, in spite of its 90s-girl-name period).
Most of these are names I’ve used for book characters, or have been used for characters in other books, and I’ve adored but thought, “No, no, too much!” My favorite names that I could never use but still adore include the sibling set from Hilary McKay’s Casson Family series–Cadmium Gold (Caddy), Saffron, Indigo, and Permanent Rose (Rose).
I seem to only have girl names. I like girl names so much better though.
Verity
Vesper
Maeve
Imogen
Wilhelmina
Names we never could have used but I LOVE:
Elodie
Eloise
Everett
Emmett
Zebulon (nn Zebby, how cute is that???)
My number one would have to be Canaan for a boy. I love biblical names, but all of the ones I like are way too common for my liking. I LOVE Canaan, but it’s nothing like the rest of my naming style.
Others for boys:
Linus
Sterling
Atticus
Girls:
Clementine
Louisa
Greta
Lucia (loo-cee-uh)
Cecily
Cosette
I floated the name Errol for both of our boys but was soundly vetoed.
Pepper. I would name my daughter Pepper in a heartbeat if A) I had another daughter (we don’t plan to), and B) it went with my other children’s names (it doesn’t) and also C) my husband would agree to it (I doubt it).
Thisbe. I would have loved to have had a Thisbe, but just wasn’t brave enough.
I have a girl’s list handy–I kept sending ideas to my friend who was looking for an alternative to Jane (you may remember her post on this site a while back!) She liked old-timey names that didn’t end with the -a or -y sound. Some of these aren’t THAT unusual, but I left them on the list anyway.
Miriam
Pearl
Opal
Coral
Helen
Beatrice
Frances
Ruth
Agnes
Edith
Maude
Olive
Florence
Delphine
Esther
Penelope
Sybil
Margot
Arden
Lenore
Arlene
Imogen
Sabine
Hesper
Harriet
Estelle
Cecile
Lorraine
Millicent
Ardith
Elaine
Winifred
Marin
Elspeth
Emerald
Dolores
Ingrid
And some that didn’t fit her criteria but I couldn’t resist sending on:
Vera
Willa/Willamina
Dorothy
Cecily
I can’t think of too many boys’ names off hand, so I’ll just list the more unusual ones from my kids’ preschool!
Walter/Walt (LOVE this on a little guy!)
Bruno
Raymond/Ray
Calvin
Clement/Clem
For me, these fall into two categories. First, there’s the names I could never talk my partner into:
Tamsin
Elowen
Leocadie (family (first) name)
Verity
Bronwyn
Honor
Isolde
Dashiell
Silas
Otto
Felix
Sebastian
Linus
And then there’s the “Not my ethnic/cultural background” type names:
Ayelet
Hadassah
Saoirse
Parminder
Heera
Graciela
Christobel
Hamish
Jones
Woodrow
Thurgood
Girls:
October
Winter
Holiday
Wednesday
Calypso
Persophone
Boys:
North
West
Bram
Agustus
Caspian
Persephone
Magdalena
Lorna
Giacomo
Eugene
Guissepi
oh, yeah. I forgot Alden and Duncan for boys. Edith and Agnes.
Ok wow almost 50 comments and I don’t see my favorite secret crush name. And my husband loves it too. But we didn’t use it. And now we will likely name a future dog it so we can use the name. Inez. Inez Emerald.
January, Sage, Astor, Axel, Janessa
Girl:
Wren
Beatrix
Liesl
Greta
Brigitta
Daphne
Boy:
Jett(still trying to figure out a way to use this one as a nickname…)
Phoenix
Blaise
I know two little boys named Jethro who both go by Jet or Jett.
Boys:
Wolfgang (nn Wolf)
Zeppelin
Atticus
Royal
Girls:
Poppy
Storm
Juniper
Echo
Oh how fun!
My lists (all over the place!):
Girls:
Adia
Amalie
Amara
Anai
Cecily
Ceres
Daysha
Emre
Enara
Enya
Lola
Noelle
Quillan
Solenne
Zola
Boys:
Avram
Aitalas
Andres
Aurek
Calen
Cash
Conrade
Dante
Dario
Desmond
Efraim
Enzo
Henley
Hurley
Iestyn
Iram
Joaquin
Karsten
Kenai
Leandro
Leonidas
Mauricio
Octavius
Osric
Raanan
Rafe
Raiden
Remy
Rhys
Royden
Santiago
Talon
Tavarius
Tennyson
Teren
Tevan
Thedric
Traven
Truitt
Ulyses
Rowena
Gwendolyn
Georgina
Lola or Lolita (thanks, Nabokov)
Lloyd for a girl (like in The Little Colonel books, anyone?)
Eve
Hester
Edith
Gabriel
Julian
Tamsin
Anouk
Elspeth
Daphne
Agnes
Seraphina
Heidi
Freya
Iona
Roman
Pascal
Rafael
Leander
Girls:
Penelope
Francesca
Calliope
Sabine
Boys:
Hammish
Dashiel
Chester
Linus
i’m reading these names WILLING these people to use them. i understand everyone has reasons not to use certain names, but i say “too weird” is no reason to pass up on your favorite! your kids’ names are one of the only things in life you get total credit for. follow your heart!
i LOVE Pepper Ann. Adorable, spunky, everyone would pronounce it correctly. My last name has an -er ending, so plain old Pepper is out, but a double name first name is tough. And would everyone be certain it was only because of the cartoon? (it is, but it’s so great I aaaalmost don’t care.)
I still hope to use these one day:
Phineas
Seamus
Damien
Isla
Lorelei
I just have basic high school Spanish and I’m not hispanic in the slightest but I LOVE the name Javier, nickname Javi!
I have so many of these! Love this topic!
Mirowska
Krishna
Micka
Katarzyna
Xiomara
Starling
Kestrel
Aeowyn
Sapphira
Femke
Ravenna
Mojdeh
Mireya
Caoimhe
Geneve
Rhodri
Delacroix
Brenix
Bryer
Stellan
Most are out due to partner veto, pronunciation issues, or just too long of names for my taste.
For me it’s theme names and nature names. I love Pride and Prejudice names:
Darcy (boy or girl)
Pemberly
Georgiana
Harry Potter names:
Hermione
Luna
Cedric
Ginevra
Nature names: (They don’t feel like “real” names sometimes when I say them)
Juniper
Rowan
Linden
Balthazar
Bartholomew
Solomon
Arundel
Aladdin
Everest
Montague
Orlando
Oberlin
Salvador
Wisteria
Donatella
Aquifer
Leonora
Passage
Pandora
Quintana
Rozenn
Rumi
Noemie
Odessa
Guinevere!
Persephone was the first one I thought of! And I agree about Clover and Wren.
Astrid
Iona
Calliope (arguable)
Isolde
Galahad
Perseus
Percival
I know many girls with Irish names that include: Siobhan, Sinead, Mairead, Aiofe, and Aisling/Aislin, so those don’t seem too out there for me. Nmaes that are too out there for me to use would include:
Lennox (nn Leni for a girl)
Juniper
Penelope
Niamh
I also know a Stone, who is a boy – definitely an interesting choice. Some boys names are:
Xavier
Winston
Walter
Conrad
Phillip (not too out there, but it hasn’t been common lately where I live)
Theodore
Thaddeus
Nicolai
Lennon
Grey/Gray
Aurelia
Poppy
Agnes
Kismet
Moira
Winifred
Hamish
Reginald
Bronson
Colter
Off the top of my head?
Penelope
Willa
Maeve
Agatha
Hamish
Graham
I only really have a boy name list here because I have a boy so had to try–and reject–a whole lot more names.
Aksel
Emil
Johan
Rhys
Clayton
And one for a girl: Briony.
This is fun!
Girls:
Agate
Bellatrix
Cimarron
Genesis (nickname Ginny)
Hester
Juniper
Linden
Magenta
Sage
Sierra (thanks to my accent, I pronounce it like a nasal Sara)
Wilhelmina
Caius
Everest
Clarity
Cambria
Scarlett
Persephone
Briar
Brynn
Julian
Herbert (not so much unusual as out of style)
Gareth
Wallace
Anaïs
Bellatrix
Larkin
Zephyr
Hugo
Ford
Blaise
Graham
Ezra
Garrison
Brier
Rendor
Emerald
Calla
Risa
Leland
Blessing
Creed
Palmer
Bliss
Baron
Steele
Lander
Trucker
Indee
Carver
Fuller
Frye
Eulalie
Georgina nn “Georgie”
Matisse
Odette
Romilly
Signe
Aldous
Alistair
Ephraim
Lionel
Oren
I will have to come back later and add more, but I love Briggs for a boy and Poet for a girl.
Girls
Aislinn
Andromeda
Calliope
Christabel
Desdemona
Dreama
Elysia
Euphemia
Jezebel – well, it is a pretty name…
Krystyna – the Polish version of Christina, NOT a creative spelling
Lorelei
Mercedes – stupid car
Ophelia
Persephone
Psyche – too much teasing potential
Rhiannon
Salome
Seraphina
Serenity
Ursula
Verity
Boys
Balthazar
Casimir
Crispin
Dmitri
Orion
Vladimir
Here are some that are totally normal to me, but “too weird” for my husband:
Liesl
Zoe
Leo
Linnea
Zelia
Lucia
Zenobia
(Hmm….I’m noticing a strange pattern of “L” and “Z” names…)
Milo
Nico
These are the ones that one of us likes, but are too weird for both of us:
Orion
Enver
Zinnia
Vern
Canyon
Lake
Lane
West
Rhys
Rhett
Forest
River
Autumn (our last name is a season)
Oakley
Scarlett
AMOS. Love that name. But it sounds too closely to anus. Eeep.
Hubby wont agree to: Fox, Crew, or Rhett for a boy or Kelti, And Clarke for a girl.
Leonie/Leona
Giselle
Belen
Astrid
Mooney
Pearl
Zabelle
Zinnia
Maiza
Tomasina
Marguerite
Marilla
Simone
Dominic Domingo
Peter
Leonard Lionel
Xavier
Leopold
West Weston Wesley
Grover
Barney
Micky for boy or girl
Art
Ernie
Frederick
Rafael
Inigo
Otto
Frank
Hector
Ike
Zeke
India
Wilhelmina
Calogera
Antonette
Antonia
Salvatore
Antonino
Giuseppe
…all those great Italian names that go with my last name don’t go well with the BF’s name :(
Isla (pronounced “eye-la”)
Ivy
Hazel
Luna
All of these I could totally do, DH is a little more conservative and can’t be talked into them!
In reference to Anonymous a few posts above, Dimitri is my top boy’s name and I intend to use it if I ever have a boy!
Besides that, there aren’t many boys names I like so here are the girls:
Protea
Solange
Zulima
Phaedra
Ilsa
Rezenet
Clotilde
Nineveh
Amandine
Miette
Solenne
Kitra
Petra
Sephiroth
Cimarron
Girls:
Ailbhe
Anwen
Araminta
Demelza
Eugenie
Romola
Boys:
Emlyn
Mungo
Ptolemy
Girls:
Helen
Agatha
Hilda
Ramona
Iona
Simona
Boys:
Ephraim
Hiram
Ivan
Solomon
Gus
Sebastian
Everett
Fortunately DH and I agree on all girls names.. even convinced him that Sutton was perfect for baby girl #2 despite reluctancy at first!! Boys names are a competely different story:
Rhys
Hollis
Pierce/Piers
Leif
Rafe
Hopefully if/when baby #3 comes if it’s a boy he will give in once again!
Amity
Amethyst
Amaryllis (all with nn of Amy)
Golden
Chrysanthymum
Calendula
January
Aubergine
Oasis
Soliloquy (nn Lily)
Epiphany (nn Poppy)
Eloquence (nn Ella)
Watson
Crew
Domingo
Briggs
Castle
Vito
Hawkins
Lawson
Oakley
Hamilton
Ernest
Bruin
Great post, Swistle!
loving all the Celtic names!
my favourite girl’s name EVER is Findabhair.
it would sadly be brutalized by everyone and likely result in teasing. it’s similar to Guinevere (with F), but I have no love for that name…
Gus
Grover
Sullivan
Oscar
Gordon
Amos
Jasper
Atticus
Opal
Agnes
Estelle
Zuri
Talulah
Ramona
Girls:
Anina
Carys
Elise
Isla
Jade
Jezebel
Kyrie
Rhiannon
Seraphina
Thessaly
Boys:
Arlie
Finn
Deacon
Gage
Jacobi
Jasper
Luca
Milo
Sebastian
Porter
And so many more!
I don’t think anyone has mentioned this one yet, but I love Theodosia. It was even Theda Bara’s real name. But I just can’t image that on a little girl! Does it sound unusable to anyone else?
Also:
Sabine
Salome
Fable
Rowena
Cosima
Forrest
Hiram
Leif
Hugo
Tesla
I love this! A lot of these names mentioned above are on our baby name list! I love so many of them and will definitely be back again to browse and add to the list. It’s rare for me to find a name too weird – but here are some…..and secretly I still may try to use them :-)
Fable
Hermione
Juniper
October
Primrose
Remember
Spring
Sunday
Finnick
Gable
Hezekiah
And the ones I’m so grieved about: Ever and Evening. I’d use them in a heartbeat if it weren’t for clashing with our last name!
Caspar
I’m surprised to see Lorelei on so many unusual lists! I love the name and fully plan on using it if I get the chance :) Some names I like if they wouldn’t elicit eyebrow raising:
Appolonia
Gretel
Chalcedony
Marilla
Hugo
Arthur
Niello
Valentine
Asa – I love this and would have it on my list of possibilities, if only my husband could be convinced.
Scout – I love this for a boy but nearly everyone thinks it is better for a girl, or a dog.
Casper – too dangerous for a mixed race individual.
Caspian – Husband thinks it sounds too “Whimsical”
Dexter – Serial Killer and “poindexter” associations.
Wilhelmina – I love the idea of this one, but I know I would hate the clunkyness of it if it were my own.
Clover – this one is almost moving to my actual possibilities list
For a girl I also like:
Jemima…very popular in the UK but here in the US associated with pancakes.I know an English girl with that name and it is just lovely.
For a boy:
Rafe: a wonderful character in my favorite novel, Wolf Hall, so the name has really grown on me.
Oh I love Emil for a boy but I’m unsure of how to pronounce it. I’ve only ever known one and he pronounces it Ee-muhl, but it seems to me it should be pronounced Ee-meel.
Gilbert. I read Anne of Green Gables while pregnant, and fell in love. Husband nixed it. But, I manage to convince him to name our daughter Blythe :)
Also, Clementine.
Poppy. I keep forgetting about Poppy. And Philippa.
Pandora or Sosie for a girl!
It amused me, scrolling through the comments, to see that all of my children’s names made several “too unusual” lists! Especially since I don’t think my daughter’s name, Miriam, is all that unusual. (Her middle name is, however, Ines.) My boys are Jasper and Rhett.
The names we rejected for being too weird included Jasper’s middle name, Clive. We still kind of wish we had just used it for his first…
For girls: Marisol, Delphine, Edith, Agnes, Astrid, Margot, Eleni, and most unusual of all, Phaedra.
I can only think of boys names – for some reason I find it harder to be adventurous with male names:
Barnaby
Wilbur
Bernard
Wolfram
Forgot a favorite: Sonora/Sinora (from the movie Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken). I also love Elnora with cute nn possibilities (Nora, Ella, Nonie)
Anton/Antonin (if only Tony weren’t the go to nickname)
Atticus
Augustin
Barnaby
Casimir
Caspar
Caspian
Cassius
Ender
Ignatius
Phinneaus
Solomon
Ceridwen
Clothilda
Elfrida
Eowyn
Everild
Ida
Ramona
Saoirse
Starling
Zosia
I call these my guilty pleasure names ;)
Clementine–top of the list!
Poppy
Linnea
Lyric
Storey
Juniper
Larkin
Persephone
Minerva
Evangeline
Tallulah
Isla
Ayelet
Adair
Heidi
Olive
Caspian
Anderson
Deacon
Phoenix
Sirius
Atticus
Aidric
Casper
Hugo
Lennox
Leopold
Finian
Arlo
Enzo
My husband has vetoed:
Girls:
Gladys (too old lady)
Jasmin (too stripper!?!)
Pilar (Love this character in For Whom the Bell Tolls, our last name is hispanic…it could work…he says no)
Hermia (despite being “little, but firce”, hubby said no way)
Boys:
Atlas and Cedar (I think these names sound strong and masculine…the thinks they sound like nouns)
My husband has vetoed:
Girls:
Gladys (too old lady)
Jasmin (too stripper!?!)
Pilar (Love this character in For Whom the Bell Tolls, our last name is hispanic…it could work…he says no)
Hermia (despite being “little, but firce”, hubby said no way)
Boys:
Atlas and Cedar (I think these names sound strong and masculine…the thinks they sound like nouns)
Love this question!
Auden
Lux
Bronwyn
Briony
Wren
Winter
Andersen
Lakelyn
Lochlyn
Laken
Aurora
Flynn
Archer
Atticus (seems to be on a lot of lists!)
Fun stuff!
Forgot to add…
Grier
Honor
Haven’t even mentioned these to my hubby, don’t think he’d go for them ;)
And I think “navy” is Soo cute for a girl. But our last name is pronounced like a color, so that’s out!
We love Jasper for a boy, however our daughter is Rosalie. I hate the Twilight reference. Blah!
Okay, so some of these aren’t “weird/unusual” just not as common. They are taken straight off of mine and my husbands baby name list.
Girls:
Amaya
Claudia
Jemma
Hollis
Esther
Stella
Marley
Nia
Giselle
Corinne
Bridget
Adina
Tabitha
Cozette (my daughter’s name)
Sariah (my daughter’s name)
Lena (family name that both my daughter and I have)
Boys:
Sid/Sidney
Mordecai
Maximus
Abe/Abram
Roland
Tristan
Dieter
Dietrich
Lars
Wolfgang (husbands idea)
Ender
Harvey
Amos
Asa
Ezekiel
Ezra
Hezekiah
Hyrum
Dakota
Otto
Saul
Elden
Lawson
Dickson
Si/Silas
Cael
Noticed a lot of people have Lachlan on their list, especially in the first 50 or so commenters. Here in Australia it is in the top 10! Jasper is also not at all unusual here.
Boys:
Thor
Crispin
Torstein
Gunnar
Eskil
Girls:
Lovisa
Elin
My husband is swedish so I think about those kind of names a lot.
Tatiana and Roisin for girls.
One of my favourit boys names is Dion but hubby says it’s a girls name thanks to Dionne Warwick.
I got the biggest kick out of all three of my kids’ names being on this list – Eleni, Rhys and Isla. :)
Here are some on my never to be used, always to be loved list:
Stellan
Enzo
Linnea
Lucia (Italian pronunciation)
Caia
Oh and how could I forget Aoife and Aisling?
most fun game ever!
My list:
girls:
Manna
Elysium (from 12th night, means heaven, nn Elise)
Viola (clearly, I’ve got a 12th night thing)
Matilda
boys:
Canaan (Saw it above too!)
Maria, counter with Deion Sanders. The only other Dion I know is my husband, so I definitely think male when I hear it.
Tobin and Castor. Both boys names that my husband thinks are too unusual :-(.
Some that I love but don’t think my family would (read, husband, mother & inlaws!)
Boys
Atticus
Bruno
Casimir
Guy
Leif
Lennox
Odin
Solomon
Stellan
Thaddeus
Ulysses
Winslow
Winston
Girls
Anoushka
Bijou
Elettra
Eugenie
Inez
Juniper
Ondine
Orla
Phaedra
Saffron
Zuleika
I love Ophelia but I don’t know that I’d use it. I also love Bianca but my husband isn’t on board with it.
When I was in middle school I decided if I ever had a son I would name him Jack Daniel. I have since changed my mind on that (which kills me, I still love the name, but couldn’t do it).
I have been working on this list for a few days now. Here are names that are awesome but have a roadblock set in front of them beyond the fact that I am not pregnant. I might even say that “too out there” would never be a roadblock if I really loved a name. My son carries a name most have never heard of, but his sibling will never have these names:
Veda
Waverly
Harmony (nn issues)
Salome (a family name)
Helena (nn issues)
Orla (last name issues War-)
Freya
Maeve
Lavinia
Lydia (grandma’s sister, so can’t use without having honored her first!)
Mireya
Leocadia (Family Name)
Warren (last name issues)
Ernesto
Casimir
Edward (last name issues)
Elias (issues w/ last name)
Dashiell
Ivan
Ottilie is my all time favorite name. I love it, but get bad reactions from people when I say it out loud.
Arietty
Siorese (Sir-sha or Seer-sha)
Guenevere (Gwen-ev-ear)
Beatrice or Beatrix
Blaze
Fox
Wolf
Bear
Soldier
Hero
I LOVE these names but did not use them and now will never get the chance! Maybe my kids will consider them…
I like Olive for a girl and love love love Griffith, Garreth, Garrick, and Bearach (Irish; can be pronounced like Barack or Bear-ack. I personally prefer the latter pronunciation). My husband, unfortunately, likes none of these. Perhaps I can wheedle Garreth in for a middle name :)
I saw alot of names that I have on my own list of possibilities! I love unique names, so all of my names are pretty much what some would call ‘out there’.
Boy’s that I love but can’t use:
Jet(my brother and I have fought over this family name for quite some time, but while I do still love it, I think the fight has taken some of the love for it away, so I gave it to my brother. And after all, he is older.)
Cullen(twilight ruined this)
Carlisle(twilight, again)
River(a younger cousin is named this)
Braxton(it’s on my list, and for some reason I can’t take it off, but I’ve actually always kind of love-hated it)
Chevelle(it’s also my fave car)
Camper
Eli(little cousin’s name)
Guy(feel like it’s too popular)
Wallace
Girls names:
Persephone(meaning)
Hermione
Marilyn Lucille(Monroe and Ball combined! But I like them together, not seperate and no nn! But no one would call her the whole thing)
Aria
Claidissa(Claidi)
Harley
Melody
Lolita
Sorcha
Sutton(my dad’s wifes maiden name)
Belle
Lemon
Montana
Birdie
Havana
Antoinette
Journey
My Top Possibilities:
Boys:
Ebenezer(nn Eben)(N <3 w/this!)
Leif
Declan
Chord
Waylon
Greer
Memphis
Girls:
Meadow
Azalea
Eyre(like Jane Eyre)
Salem
Auburn
Saoirse
Georgiana
Ever
Everleigh
Paulette(grandma’s name)
Wilhelmina(great gma’s name was Wilma)
Poet
Story
Persia
Clementine
Fable
Clover
Poppy
Harvest
Lark
Eowyn
Shohleh
Isolde
Auden
Sorry for the length! Got carried away! Enjoy!
HERMIONE
Juliet
Pippa
Pearl
Miranda
Winter
Tsipporah
Shane
Beau
Levi
Zion
Aurelia
Cordelia
Elodie
Verity
Tamsin
Maris
Amity
Loni
Melina
Rhea
Heath
Nils
Aubrey
Giles
Alden
Harmon
Javier
Hugh
Phineas
Atticus
Nothing my family or friends say could deter me from a name i really liked, but they would put up a fuss!
Thisbe
Prairie
Tupelo
Mitten
Nettle
Persephone
Flora
Magnolia
Ivorie
Dovie
Elfin
Posey
Leisel
Amity
Nepenthe
Nebula
Minnow
Hero
Langley
Lupo
Edgar
Aleph
Arley
Ezra
Ochre
Elden
Rocket
Moses
Mowgli
Robin
Jonah
i love this game…
mine are:
loki
liko
indigo
jericho
artemis
lavendar
maceo
chayton
october [nn toby]
luz [sounds too much like “loose”]
israel
misael
ayelet
blaze/blaise
storm
evander
javier [nn javi]
niamh
monet
lionel
lake
scout
posy
journey
delano
apple
justice
paloma
ocean [but i might actually use it]
and these are names other people mentioned that i know people in real life with [i know a lot of people who have chosen their own names, so i noted that- not because it’s less valid of a name but because it’s a bit different than someone’s parents giving them a name]:
cecily
ivy
wren
miriam
blue (nn]
saoirse
adelaide [chosen]
penny
lorelei [chosen]
juniper
iris
lachlan [chosen]
amara
sapphira [chosen]
athena
clyde
india
grey [chosen]
anya
freya
siobhan
allegra
siobhan
felix
sebastian
rudy
cricket [nn]
casey
morgan
louisa
lucia
pearl
edith
ruth
esther
helen
arden [chosen]
estelle
lorraine
elaine
dolores
vera
dorothy
raymond
winter [chosen]
giuseppe
duncan
alden [boy and girl]
echo
cash [nn]
joaquin
eve
gabriel
daphne [nn]
rowan
linden [chosen]
solomon
philip
walter
penelope
grahame
clayton
sierra
risa
bliss [chosen]
rhiannon
ursula
orion
vladimir
nico
zoe
zinnia
canyon [also on my list of weird ones]
giselle
astrid
simone
simona
antonia
antonino
salvatore
deacon [chosen]
luca [chosen]
sabine
arthur
marisol
margot
ida
linnea
anderson [chosen, nn andy]
jasmine
gemma
bridget
corinne
nia
adina
cozette
lena
mordecai
roland
ezekiel [chosen]
harvey
roisin
tatiana
eugenie
orla
lydia
eli [my actual name!]
miranda
shane
rhea
nils
jonah
lilith
I have a few I haven’t seen show up on these lists:
Nimue
Isolde (I might actually use this, but I’d rather have Tristan for a boy)
Fyodor (Dostoevsky’s first name! I love it)
Percival
I have found not only my own name, but my sister’s and my brother’s on quite a few of these lists! :) My name is Jemima, my (twin) sister is Gretel, and my brother is Barnaby (always called Barney). I love all of our names! I love having an uncommon / unusual name, so please use some of these beautiful names you have in your lists! Some of mine include…
Pandora (but worried about the ‘Pandora’s box’ associations…)
Hermione (I’ve seen this on a few. I LOVE Harry Potter and it’s such a great name, but I think I will confine it to the mn spot)
Scout (Love the name, but feels a little nicknamey to me)
Neroli (my grandmother’s name)
Enid (I LOVED Enid Blyton as a child, but is this just too dated?)
Persephone
Amos (I’ve seen this on a few, too)
Romeo (why is it acceptable for girls to be called Juliet but not for boys to be called Romeo? How unfair)
Ambrose (the ‘rose’ part just sounds too girly)
Lysander (have had comments that it sounds like mouthwash but I still LOVE it, especially with nn Sandy).
Just came across this list, and as I’ve been looking for an outlet to “let go of” some of my favorite, unusable names….also some my husband would never agree to as HE finds them too “out there.”
Persephone nn Poppy
Penelope nn Poppy (love, but my cat is Penny Lane soooo though it’s not too unusual I felt I had to lay it to rest here ha)
Imogen (not too unusual, I just don’t think anyone would pronounce it right without my nagging!)
Aurelia (not in a US diction, sorry)
Ophelia (same as above)
Bronwyn
Bryony
Alessandra (LOVE but not Italian so it feels weird; actually insert most Italian names here)
Viola
Ellery (hate androgynous or gender-neutral names)
Ainsley
Susquehanna
Brynnleigh/Brinley/Brinlee/Brynleigh/Brinleigh/Brynnlee/etc (also hate every spelling; it sounds so pretty)
Linnea
Everleigh
Lucia/Luciana
Aliya
Natasha
Evangeline
Sansa
Prudence (though MAYBE…Prue is a cute nn)
Aura
Lula
Ione
Phillippa
Aubrey
Carmel (as a middle name for my mom who hates her middle name so…no go!)
Cecelia (again, not too uncommon, but I’m not going around singing Cecelia 20 times a day)
Wren
Kiera (Keer-ah)
Keeva/Caoimhe
Orla
Saoirse
Mairead
Gemma
Aura
Lavinia
Jasmine
Birdie
Desdemona
Finiola
Boys:
Lawrence
Callum
Barnaby
Colton
Jonah
Lennon
Harrison
Ambrose (although MAYBE as a middle name?)
Elijiah
Ezra
Ephraim
Ezekiel
Elias
Alberth
Sebastian
…I guess I have a thing with E names for boys and B ones for girls!
Unusual/uncommon names I love; some I’d definitely use, some maybe not.
Girls:
Mar
Marais
Mariamne
Mazarine
Xiomara
Roses
Anaïs
Xanthe
Persephone
Artemis
Athena
Xia
Calliope
Art
Sienne
Aris
Ari
Aster
Astrid
Asa
Cassia
Carmen
Geneva
Wren
Lark
Isle
Valentine
Flore
Ira
Etienne
Mariel
Isolde
Asterix
Sonnet
Agnes
Anwen nn Annie
Linder
Sterling
Daria
Juno
Marine
Minerva
Marielle
Annecy
Larkin
Soledad
Luz
Lux
Flannery
Sinclair
Friday
Sunday
Tea (pronounced Tay-ah)
Anaïs
Agatha
Marigold
Mariposa
Evening
Ivory
Ivy
Ivoire
Ophelia
Serafina
Persephone
Ester
Juniper
March
January
India
Bridget nn Birdie
Stevie
Maire
Melrose
Altalune
Posey
Calliope
Linnet
Arden
Madigan
Noir
Oriana
Orion
Autumn
Asa
Bird
Birdie
Willow
Winslet
Wilde
Woolf
Margeaux
Zola
Xola
Xena
Linden
Essa
Mills
Mille
Red
Kestrel nn Kess
Kimber
Aurelia
Zanna
Plum
Izabel
Dallaway
Maguire
Dia
Nico
Autry
Eira
Cassiopeia
Delphine
Matisse
Zinnia
Ianthe
Junia
Indre
Ira
Mileva
Merry
Orianthe
Odelle
Thessaly
Emme
Georgie
Orchard
November nn Nova
Peridot nn Perry
Henna
Hunter
Hathaway
Aspen
Ember
Aeowyn
Geneve
Octavia nn Tavi
Aries
Ariel
Auburn
Persia
Monet
Theia
Valery
Valory
Silvet
Silver
Banks
Poet
Xanthe
Ocean
Scarlet nn Scout
Esmerelda
Emerald
Mallory
Saffron nn Saffy
Mirabel
Boheme
Indigo
Solander
Solace
Auden
Findabhair nn Finn
Zosia
Sunday
Marisol
Amarië
Anairë
Míriel
Indis
Lúthien nn Lux
North
Inez
Maren
Amelie
Agathe
Peregrine nn Perry
Sparrow
Arietty
Hero
Boys:
Kit
Dorian
Montgomery nn Monty
Forest
Ira
Wilder
Adams
Wells
Ford
Finnick
O’Hara
Cassian nn Cass
Fitzgerald
Apollo
Adonis
Aristides
Orlando
Oberlin
Salvador nn Sal
Salvador nn Sal
Fielding
Aidric
Felix
Fox
Peregrine
Atlas
Aleph
River
Orestes
Gray
Fennec
August
Gunner
Adair
Connall
Leonardo
Griffin
Morrissey
Orion
Adair
Ossian
Beckett nn Beck
Callahan
Casimir nn Cas
Fletcher
Bowen
Julien
Asa
Caspian
Ira
Ari
Aris
Aristo
Redding
Miller
Leander
Leandro
Osric
Hehe this was forever ago but I have to reply!
Girls:
Wendy (like Peter Pan :)
Maybe (nickname May)
Wednesday
Lavender
Dorothy (nickname Dot)
Marian
Minnie
Bea
Boys
Sebastian