# Unusual baby names



## cynthia mosher

So, we've been tossing around an idea to put together some sort of resource for baby names. There are lots out there that are the usual names and all over the web. We'd love to come up with something more interesting. So - unusual baby names. So let's share what names we've come across or have in our families.









I always thought Arizona and Mercedes were unusual names. Kenda is another I've come across.

Anyone have unusual names to share?


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## philomom

While Arizona is not my style, I do appreciate that it is easy to say and easy to spell.

Names that are too unusual don't do well here in the States. One of my acquaintances named her kid Uri, which is great in Israel I guess but here folks keep likening it to urine. Not okay.


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## kythe

I live in Arizona, and when my daughter was in kindergarten she had a classmate named Arizona. Arizona's older sister was Kenya (like the country). I'm not aware that anyone teased these girls about their names, at least at that age. It was simply a fact.

Mercedes is not as unusual in my area, though some people see it as "ghetto" or "trashy".


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## mamarhu

Paloma (means "dove", symbolizing peace) is fairly common in Spanish and Italian, less so in English. But still easy to pronounce and spell for someone who never heard it before.

I love the sound of the word Calliope, but probably would not saddle a kid with that.

I met a little boy named Callahan the other day, and thought how well it would go through different ages and styles - a 7 YO, a teen football player or rock musician, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or an organic farmer, a grandfather - almost anyone could carry that name well.


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## Lazurii

Names from my circle (colored the sex of the child):

Genoveva (Spanish name, nicknamed Genie), Rylan, Afton, Daschel, Kiefer, Arcadia, Colt, Lavender, Embry, Zeza, Soleo, and Corgan.


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## andrea w

We just named our new daughter Luna Claire. My mom thinks its kinda weird but she'll get used to it! I labored all night with the full moon- it seemed to fit! I'm not worried about her being teased. There's a lot of diversity in names where we live.


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## bazil323

I am totally a name collector. I used to write short stories in high school, and I had notebooks of names that I wanted to use for characters, which is sort of coming in handy now that we are expecting. Some of my favorites hubs has vetoed or I just know our families would cringe are in the first list, and most come from either Irish or Greek origins or just sorta mixed together myself.

Boys:

Imriel, Xilades (zee-lah-dehs), Faolan (pronounced fow-lan, kinda rhymes with ow-man)

Girls:

Aoife (pronounced ee-FAH), Aesil (ay-sil), Lirael, Kelai'ah

Our frontrunners for boy names that we may actually use are:

Royal Artaxerxes (Royal is my grandpa's name, and Artaxerxes just sounds really cool and strong with it)

Xysan Royal (Xylis is DH's name and nickname is Xy, so it's Xy's son, lol. pronounced zeye-son))

Xantes Royal (pronounced zahn-tays, inspired by Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo)

Our girl names aren't so unique, Kjirsten Kai or a mash-up of the great-grandma's names Mayrah Joyithee or Mayrah TheaJoy (from Mayo & Sarah and Joyce & Dorothy).


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## MLog

Not super unusual but I had students who were sisters named Georgia and Carolina which I thought was cute.


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## KaliShanti

My first son's name is Praetorian. That's unusual.


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## Alexandriakyger

Finneus Ouroborous (or-obo-rus) Both husband and I are very pale. Finneus means "fair" or if spelt with a Ph means "the oracle" and Ouroborous is a symbol of a serpent eating its own tail used to symbolize the eternal cycle of life and rebirth or something that eternally recreates itself. Please for humanity stay away from the top 100 names. We are drowning in conformity. :|


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## PacificMar

Our younger daughter is named Luthien, and she's the only one we know. Her name comes from The Lord of the Rings. We adopted our elder daughter, Kathryn, and thus we didn't get to name her, but she likes having such a dignified name, and the spelling is unusual. If we had a son, we thought of naming him Astyanax ("star-fingered"); it's from The Iliad. However, he might have gotten sick of pronouncing it for people!

In general, we like unique names. In response to concerns about being teased for an unusual name, I'd say that children pick all kinds of things for which to tease one another, and being named Joe or Mary doesn't confer immunity. However, I think it's important to determine if the child is likely to get stuck with an embarrassing nickname, and some names are just too gimmicky for me--especially if they're coined by Hollywood stars!


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## Cyllya

I like behindthename.com as a resource. It's focused on name etymology.

Some I like are

Aveline

Avril

Alathea (truth)

Adalaida would nice, except I always get that song stuck in my head....

Ainsley

Azalea

Basil

Blaze

Calanthe (kal-AN-thee, beautiful flower)

Cale (dog)

Cassarrah (etymology behind this one is dumb )

Elincia

Estelle (star)

Estrella (star)

Astra (star)

Esther is growing on me too (star or Ishtar)

Estera (star/Ishtar)

Gale/Gail

Normally, I'd like Gaye/Gae, but... 

Gallahad

Gloria... tempted to name a daughter this and call her Glory...

Gloriana

Jacinda (hyacinth)

Idris (lord)

Jaylyn/Jaylin (doesn't really mean anything)

June (as an English name, it's derived from the goddess Juno, but I believe it's the same pronunciation as Juun, Japanese for innocent.)

Iris (rainbow)

Lucian, if you pronounce it like LU-see-an.

I would like Micaiah, but I can't stand the etymology

Petra (stone)

Selene (moon)

Shae/Shaye (admirable, hawk-like)

Wren

Xanthe (blond) (nobody will pronounce this correctly)


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## guen

Our girls have traditional, classic names but we ended up picking somewhat less common, Gaelic names for our two boys: Taegan for our first son and Kaelan for the baby. It has always been a little tricky naming our babies, needing to find names that we liked and were readily pronounceable in both languages (German and English). Many names we liked, we didn't care for the pronunciation in one language or the other (usually English).


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## Cherry_Blossom

I always liked Cecily for a girl, but I had only sons. It's not too wierd, but I've never met a Cecily.


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## 3lilchunklins

I just named my youngest DS Solomon, not crazy unusual, but not common either ;-)
My 3 other kids call him Solo for short, DH calls him Sully. My mom jokingly called him salmon once


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## MTMomof7

Several of my kid's names are unique

Kyler (boy)

Keaton (boy)

Anastasia (adopted girl so we kept birth name)

Baylor (boy)

Brynlie (girl)

Rawley (boy)

Levi (boy)


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## itsybistyspider

I have an Ursa Luna (a bear showed up and looked in our door just after her birth) and luna because of the moon that night

and Saule (lithuanian word for sun, her dad is lithuanian) Poppy (because she was born under the costa rican sun, and she can thrive anywhere like a poppy).

I have a sun and a moon


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## vermontgirl

My kids names...

Harvest George

Esther Maple

Phlip Joseph (but we call him Pippin or Pip)


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## HJensen

My son is Porter and my daughter is Cecelia. My niece is Mara. I don't know that they are unusual names, but they don't seem to be very common at the moment. I have a friend with a boy named Maverick Dean, and I jut met a little boy named Judah.


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## edensmama

We have Eden Raine dd, Brett Edwin ds1; Edwin for Great grandfather and Brantley Albert ds2; Albert for other great grandfather. I always liked Meadow and Ada for girls. Boys I like Ari, Ryder, Kellen. My name being Autumn was very unusual when I was growing up, now it's pretty common.


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## HJensen

I also have a friend with two little girls named Edith and Agnes.


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## ndrasmith

Our little girl born 3/13/13 is named Annika Juniper, but we call her Kiki!


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## Rhyannon Walker

My son's name is Felyx Turbo. I'm pregnant with our 2nd right now. We haven't decided on a boy name yet, but if this baby is a girl her name will be Faye Shadow.


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## rosedoe

Well my son is Trenton Nicholas Taylor and my daughter is Graelyn (gray lyn) Pepper Kay. lol


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## Amanda Trudeau

My sister named her son's with different middle names of Danger and one named Lightning.

My youngest son is named ***** which I have never met one before yet.

Pregnant and looking for unique names I like reading everyone's responses. ***** thinks our baby should be named Rainbow!


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## blueyesar

For Girls:
Kyran (pronounced kai-ren)
Kyala (pronounced kai-ay-la)
Lazrin
Knightley
Ryann
Remington (nickname "Remy")
Aislyn
Willa

Boys:
Zinn
Paxton
Britain
Chili
Nevan
Jagger
Kade


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## mama2toby

Some from my kids and circle of friends:

Cedar

Tobias

Savanna

Meadow

Solan

Ocean

Mojave

Solana

Raina

Zara

Zaila

Summit

Rhythm

Kayin


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## CA Country Girl

I really liked Everest for a boy, but we had 2 girls. I also like Vitali (Russian).

My daughters are Adiya Janis and Juniper Lee. My real name is Darth Ann (so I could not name them something too common).

I saw another Juniper on this list and I know that is not terribly uncommon, but I love it.

I also saw Calliope on the list, which I thought about for DD1 and Iris, which I thought about for DD2.

We also thought about Echo (which is classic greek, but sounded a bit too hippy for us). I like Clementine, though it was a bit much for my husband.

I personally like unique names that are still fairly phonetic for English speakers. I don't really go for unique spellings of near common names.


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## Chapsie

My babies are Judah, Galilee, and Shiloh. ( Bible place names ).

Other names that were on our list:

Boys:
Silas
Kerith
Adriel
Naphtali
Elias
Elisha
Ezra
Jared
Micah
Seth
Canaan
Rhodes
Abel

Girls:
Ariel
Kerith
Bethany
Moriah
Keturah
Magdala
Magdalen
Haven
Dagny
Tindra
Maja/meja
Kiersten
Linnea
Novalie
Elin
Johanna
Lovisa
Mira
Berea
Tirza
Cana
Mesha
Petra

Rarely used Biblical names and Scandinavian names


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## urchin_grey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bazil323*
> Faolan (pronounced fow-lan, kinda rhymes with ow-man)


My 8yo is Bram Faolan.  But we pronounce it FEH-lahn. We've yet to meet another Bram though. We chose well because my ex and DS have a super common last name.

My DF and I are TTC and Tika is at the top of our list for a girl. Lore, Rune, and Bell are possible middle names. I've also always loved Rook but that was going to be DS's name if he were a girl so it was mine and my ex's girl name. It would seem wrong to use it now.

For boys I like both Simon and Silas. DF likes Alistor/Alistair.

One of my sisters has a Jacen (nn Jace) and a London and my other sister has a Gavin. She thought she was being original but now there are Gavins everywhere!


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## Sharlla

Yes


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## DHinJersey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Alexandriakyger*
> 
> Finneus Ouroborous (or-obo-rus) Both husband and I are very pale. Finneus means "fair" or if spelt with a Ph means "the oracle" and Ouroborous is a symbol of a serpent eating its own tail used to symbolize the eternal cycle of life and rebirth or something that eternally recreates itself. Please for humanity stay away from the top 100 names. We are drowning in conformity. :|


People should actually feels free to choose whatever names work for them and their families. I assure you no harm will come to humanity, and there are plenty of arguments in favor of more traditional names.


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## Viola

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *urchin_grey*
> 
> One of my sisters has a Jacen (nn Jace) and a London and my other sister has a Gavin. She thought she was being original but now there are Gavins everywhere!


I think of Gavin as a classic name, and a lot of those came back into prominence in the 90s.


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## mtiger

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DHinJersey*
> 
> People should actually feels free to choose whatever names work for them and their families. I assure you no harm will come to humanity, and there are plenty of arguments in favor of more traditional names.


Ditto that. There's nothing right or wrong in choosing a child's name - traditional or non. How does it hurt anyone if a parent chooses a more traditional name? Both of my kids have them - Andrew George (aka Andie; patron saints of Russia and England - my and his Dad's heritage) and Catherine Anne (aka Cat; for both grandparents). I'm not telling people they shouldn't name their kids whatever they choose to - why should they tell me how I should (have) name(d) my kids? SMH.


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## DHinJersey

Love those names! They sound like royalty.

maybe some people discount the deep meaning people take from culturally relevant or ancestral names. My son's middle name is Emanuel...both a good Hebrew name and his grandfather's.

Some people value uniqueness for its own sake, and I say great. Others value common bonds and tradition more. Neither is "right."


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## moving toward

If you call your wee one an Irish name outside of Ireland be prepared for them to have a lifetime of spelling and repeating their names. Irish names can be hard - i know a girl called aoife and she now just has eefa on her biz card. Beautiful name but hard work.


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## DHinJersey

Agree...knew a guy named Eoin in grad school. People always wanted to pronounce it Eowyn like the Tolkien character. Imagine mixing up Irish with Old English! The idea...


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## philomom

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *moving toward*
> 
> If you call your wee one an Irish name outside of Ireland be prepared for them to have a lifetime of spelling and repeating their names. Irish names can be hard - i know a girl called aoife and she now just has eefa on her biz card. Beautiful name but hard work.


Parents really should think this stuff through a little better. Unless you are living in a very large metropolitan area, many unusual names just don't pass. it's frustrating for kids to say and spell their name out to everyone or endure being called the wrong name just because you don't want to make trouble.


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## 100%mom

Some names I've come across,
Blade
Pepper
Trae
Paven
Zuriel


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## CA Country Girl

Some fun names here ^. I love thoughtful names- common or uncommon. I think it is funny that some of the names that people select because they believe they are unique end up on "the top 100" in a couple of years (like Jayden in its various spellings). It is the irony of everyone trying to be unique together. Names cycle in some strange reminder of our group consciousness. I felt pang the 1st couple of times I saw that other people (here on mothering) had Junipers, but I still love the name and it suits my LO.

The names we pick should mean something to us and seem like something our children would be proud to wear, but we sometimes can't picture what nicknames or associations will come up about our kids names. I got made fun of for my name. My mom picked what she thought was a beautiful and unique name (Darth) and 2 years later George Lucas named the evil ruler of the Universe the same thing. I figure people making fun of my name may have kept them from making fun of my face. Kids find something. For my husband and I, naming both of our girls was months of discussing and trying to find common ground. DD1 wanted to weigh in on her little sis too. Someone above said her son wanted their baby to be named Rainbow. My DD was hoping for Iris (who represents the rainbow in greek myth) or Ruby.


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## suzyfsunshine

I like Rainbow.. And Arwin... Also Poet and a few other nontraditional girls names... We were told first we had a boy so we were going to name him Augustus. Now that we are having a girl we have no idea! My SO is on a mountain working and has alot of time to think.. So far he came up with Bebe.. I dont like it.. Naming is hard!


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## 3lilchunklins

Yea it's funny, I thought Cole was so unique 10 years ago, yea right! At least it is me & DHs names smashed together.... So I prob still woulda chose it even if I had known it was way more common than I thought


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## queenjane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *suzyfsunshine*
> 
> I like Rainbow.. And Arwin... Also Poet and a few other nontraditional girls names... We were told first we had a boy so *we were going to name him Augustus. Now that we are having a girl we have no idea!* My SO is on a mountain working and has alot of time to think.. So far he came up with Bebe.. I dont like it.. Naming is hard!


What about Augusta?


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## DHinJersey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CA Country Girl*
> 
> Some fun names here ^. I love thoughtful names- common or uncommon. I think it is funny that some of the names that people select because they believe they are unique end up on "the top 100" in a couple of years (like Jayden in its various spellings). It is the irony of everyone trying to be unique together. Names cycle in some strange reminder of our group consciousness. I felt pang the 1st couple of times I saw that other people (here on mothering) had Junipers, but I still love the name and it suits my LO.
> The names we pick should mean something to us and seem like something our children would be proud to wear, but we sometimes can't picture what nicknames or associations will come up about our kids names. I got made fun of for my name. My mom picked what she thought was a beautiful and unique name (Darth) and 2 years later George Lucas named the evil ruler of the Universe the same thing. I figure people making fun of my name may have kept them from making fun of my face. Kids find something. For my husband and I, naming both of our girls was months of discussing and trying to find common ground. DD1 wanted to weigh in on her little sis too. Someone above said her son wanted their baby to be named Rainbow. My DD was hoping for Iris (who represents the rainbow in greek myth) or Ruby.


technically, Darth Vader is second in command of the Galaxy.


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## 3lilchunklins

How about:
Creed
Drezdyn
Lowell (means bear)
Lyric
Caleb
Maverick
Oliver
Chase
Jeremiah
Mack

For girls:
Sage
Joy
Genesis
Willow
Ariel
Aspen
Autumn
Heaven
Rayna
Burgundy
Hazel
Amethyst


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## RStelle

My name is Rigel & my sister is named Lyrica. Lyrica is now the name of a pain med, so that is annoying for her to have people comment on all the time. No one has ever picked on us for our names, but I get so tired of constantly having to explain how to pronounce it, what it means, everyone always wants me to spell it, or explain "why" I have it (um, idk, it's just my name). It's just annoying. I do like that I have an unusual name, and I think it's kinda cool that I've never met anyone with the same name as me. I decided I wanted a name that was a less unusual for DD, so we ended up naming her Petra. I like that she isn't going to have 10 other kids with the same name as her in her class, but people don't make a big issue out of her name like they do with mine.

I recently read that in some countries they have a very limited number of approved names, like just a few thousand, and you aren't allowed to name your kid one that's not on the list, or to name a girl a name from the boy list or a boy from the girl list. Does anyone know if that's true?


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## moving toward

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RStelle*
> 
> My name is Rigel & my sister is named Lyrica. Lyrica is now the name of a pain med, so that is annoying for her to have people comment on all the time. No one has ever picked on us for our names, but I get so tired of constantly having to explain how to pronounce it, what it means, everyone always wants me to spell it, or explain "why" I have it (um, idk, it's just my name). It's just annoying. I do like that I have an unusual name, and I think it's kinda cool that I've never met anyone with the same name as me. I decided I wanted a name that was a less unusual for DD, so we ended up naming her Petra. I like that she isn't going to have 10 other kids with the same name as her in her class, but people don't make a big issue out of her name like they do with mine.
> 
> I recently read that in some countries they have a very limited number of approved names, like just a few thousand, and you aren't allowed to name your kid one that's not on the list, or to name a girl a name from the boy list or a boy from the girl list. Does anyone know if that's true?


Not sure but I know there was a couple in brazil trying to call there girl moata and to get some sort of petition to prove it was a real name. It's very common in nz


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## Newbian Mama

Love this thread. Like someone upthread said, I love to write short stories so I keep a notebook of names for my characters. I love unusual names, names from other countries/cultures, nontraditional names, and differently spelled common names. Names are so personal and almost every parent takes great thought in naming their children. My name is highly unusual so maybe that's why I feel that way. I love names like Tomorrow, Blue, Thursday, Winter, and gender swap names. However, I'm adopting and that is influencing my list. My favorite names in my circle of friends are Zariah (girl) and Xaviera (girl).

Edited for grammar


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## CherryBombMama

I love my daughters name, Xochitl Tonantzin. Xochitl means flower, and her middle name is the name of many Aztec goddesses, but we choose the one of "Mother Earth." She is also believed to be a crossover to the Virgin of Guadalupe . Catholic stuff for my husband. For me, Mother Earth 

I knew a baby adopted from Ethiopia named Zamira. And actually just met a girl named Zahra.


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## Brooklyn82

We named our first son after my Dad... Seabrook. It has been carried down in the family but very different. I love it!!


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## Annie-76

I don't like Mercedes but Arizona could be nice ..


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## gypsymama2008

My favorite unusual names

Girls:

Etta

Analia

Alara

Saoirse

Lyra

Boys:

Tenzin

Tavin

Talon


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## Serenyd

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *suzyfsunshine*
> 
> I like Rainbow.. And Arwin... Also Poet and a few other nontraditional girls names... We were told first we had a boy so we were going to name him Augustus. Now that we are having a girl we have no idea! My SO is on a mountain working and has alot of time to think.. So far he came up with Bebe.. I dont like it.. Naming is hard!


My cousin was named Ruby and her nickname ws Bebe!


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## Mittsy

My name is Gwyneth, and my kids are Catharina and Peter. I love old fashioned names that are nowhere near being "popular". Here are some of my favorites:

Girls

Agnetha

Anneliese

Beatrix

Klara

Guinevere

Lyra

Magda

Theodosia

Hazel

Boys

Arthur

Walter

Magnus

Oskar

Leopold

Linus

Ezra

Eliezer


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## queenjane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DHinJersey*
> 
> unless you want to name your kid after the crappiest state capital in America, I'd vote nay.


Hmm. Thats an interesting perspective. When i think of names like Augusta, or Georgia, or Savannah i think of old Southern belle type names but not necessarily the PLACE itself. I see "Augusta" as the female version of August or Augustus. When i suggested it, it was only because i found it surprising that someone who was going to name a son Augustus had no idea what to name the child if she's a girl...even though there is a female version of the name that is essentially the same name. To each their own of course. I guess it just goes to show that what an individual associates with the name is more important than the actual name in determining whether its a "good" or "Bad" name for a child.


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## IdentityCrisisMama

Members, keep in mind that even if we are just tossing names around, naming a child is a deeply personal and sensitive issue. I have removed a post and sent a PM. Check your inbox before posting, please. See the UA for guidance on how to post as a member of this community.

Carry on...


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## DHinJersey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *queenjane*
> 
> Hmm. Thats an interesting perspective. When i think of names like Augusta, or Georgia, or Savannah i think of old Southern belle type names but not necessarily the PLACE itself. I see "Augusta" as the female version of August or Augustus. When i suggested it, it was only because i found it surprising that someone who was going to name a son Augustus had no idea what to name the child if she's a girl...even though there is a female version of the name that is essentially the same name. To each their own of course. I guess it just goes to show that what an individual associates with the name is more important than the actual name in determining whether its a "good" or "Bad" name for a child.


I was thinking of Augusta, Maine. Just a little joke.


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## michelleepotter

I like Irish / Gaelic names, but I agree that it would might be difficult for kids who don't live in diverse areas. It doesn't seem to bother my kids, but we live in a major metropolitan area, with lots of immigrants from the UK, and even when people aren't familiar with the actual names we've used, they are used to dealing with names from other cultures.

Names we've used / like:

Boys:
Seamus
Hamish
Diarmuid
Lochlan
Aodhan

Girls:
Sinead
Aisling
Roisin
Aoife
Ariene


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## limabean

I wouldn't go this route with my kids, but the book-series-turned-television-series Game of Thrones has some really beautiful names. Here are some of them:

Boys:

Tyrion

Tywin

Stannis

Bran

Theon

Joffrey

Samwell

Eddard

Khal

Drogo

Baelish

Tyrell

Girls:

Cersei

Daenerys

Melisandre

Sansa

Arya

Talisa

Ygritte

Shae


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## queenjane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DHinJersey*
> 
> I was thinking of Augusta, Maine. Just a little joke.


I didnt even know there IS an "Augusta, Maine" lol.


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## queenjane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RStelle*
> 
> My name is Rigel & my sister is named Lyrica.


I know a Rigel! Very unique name. I think she said she was named after a constellation or something??


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## avismama24

Our son's name is Avi. It didn't seem unusual to me, but everyone comments on how "different" it is. We are not Jewish or from Isreal, where Avi is a more typical name. We liked the name Avett from a boy and Avett become Avi. It fits his well!


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## limabean

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *queenjane*
> 
> I didnt even know there IS an "Augusta, Maine" lol.


It's the state capital.


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## DHinJersey

I knew lots of Avis growing up (Jewish)...but yeah, definitely not common in areas without Jews.


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## hmkrueger

I have a son named Blaise and another named Urban. We're expecting #6 in July and if baby is a boy, Ignatius is at the top of the list (probably Iggy for short)


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## alaskanmomma

My youngest is named Calliope (Cah-lie-oh-pee), it's pretty darn unusual


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## tracyamber

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *alaskanmomma*
> 
> My youngest is named Calliope (Cah-lie-oh-pee), it's pretty darn unusual


Oh that's a beautiful name!


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## aHikaru

My baby boy Arrow was born this past Mother's Day


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## tracyamber

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *aHikaru*
> 
> My baby boy Arrow was born this past Mother's Day


Congrats!!!!


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## Tiffa

I am very drawn to more unique whimsical names, but I like my share of traditional too. For instance *Charlotte* and *Amelia* are two of my choices for a girl, but I am also considering *Hazel*, *Athalia*, or *Elowen*. For a boy I don't really like traditional names for some reason. My top picks right now are *Koen*, *Kieran*, or *Gracen* (just realized they all end in N).

Some others I have come across.

Girls:

*Seraphine* - The name of my great, great something grandmother.

*Tally*

*Shayd*

*Devannee* - Pronounced *Day-vah-nee*

Boys

*Griffin*

*Ronan*

*Brance* (a little less used)


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## colsxjack

We struggled when naming our kids.

We wanted something not too common, but not "weird", hard to pronounce or hard to spell.

We have:

Arden Mattea DD

Kai Paxton DS

Lachlan Jack DS

For our DD, we were also considering Emery.

Our sons were hard. They are twins, and coming up with four names we liked was difficult.

Their names mean Ocean and Land of Lakes. I like that they are matching and also represent me and my partner. One of us from the Pacific Ocean and the other from the Great Lakes.


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## DHinJersey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *alaskanmomma*
> 
> My youngest is named Calliope (Cah-lie-oh-pee), it's pretty darn unusual


The muse of poetry!


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## dauphinette

My fave type of thread!

From this thread I loved:

Jagger Linnea

Zinn Moonlily

Drezdyn Ocean

Summit Petra

Oliver Paloma

Everest Poppy (On my short list)

Seabrook(So unique) Harvest(Also on my list)

Callahan Maple

Oskar Kai

Eliezer Pip

Arrow Willa

Phlip Clementine

From this thread I know IRL:

Calliope Remington

Juniper Alister

Joy Jeremiah

Willow Griffin(2, actually, and in the same school!)

Ronan

Creative names I know from real life, not in this thread:

Bianca Marshall

Ximina Davis

Magnolia Mansfield

******(girl!)

Violet

Vita

Zola

Names I love that I don't know IRL and haven't seen on this list:

Pinkney Thyme

Ancienne Aldridge

Sobella Winston

Willabee Delachaise

Eulalie Penn

Jolie Langston

Petaluma Saffron

Caja Brigston

Callidora Hawthorne

Talitha Antler

Bliss Oak

Clothilde Freed

Tinsley Sailor

Ashby Banks

Swan Arman

Lys Angus

Tavia Gladstone

Tamar

Glow

Freja

Sigrid

Loxley

Gala

Thanks, I love playing the name game!


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## owlhowl

Willabee is soooo cute!!


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## Viola

Awww, Moonlily is my World of Warcraft character name, as is Viola. I also have a Kallidora. I guess when you stop having children, you have to give names to other things in your life. My favorite name, though, one I think would make a nice name for a child is Derowen. It's a Celtic name with a tree connotation, although I think I pronounce it incorrectly since I've read the accent should be on the second syllable, and I say it on the first. But it's pretty either way.


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## leah castillo

Hi I'm Leah and I have one daughter and her name is Harley xaniya and I like the name Simon I'm about to have another baby not sure what yet but I do need some names help please


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## vermontgirl

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *owlhowl*
> 
> Willabee is soooo cute!!


I agree. I am adding it to my possible fourth child list.


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## suprgrl

I have two sons: Silas (middle name is not unusual) and Cortez Archer.

Girl names I love:

Mirabai - Hindu
Saoirse - Irish - Freedom
Ethne - Celtic - Fire
Aurelia - Roman - Golden
Seira - Persian - Born in the Light
Arya - Sanskrit - nobel, great, truthful
Adonia - Greek - extreme beauty
Esther - Star
Liesel - German - God's Promise

Boy names I love:

Cael - Archangel, slender
Ossian/Oisin - Irish- Little Deer
Errol - English- nobleman, warrior, prince
Augustin - great, magnificient
Niall - Irish - cloud
Riven - torn apart
Rouslan - lion, blonde
Rafe -
Roan -
Jude -
Warrick - German - Protector
Chiron - (KAI-ron) healer, represents our deepest wounds and our efforts to heal them. Centaurian teacher to Jason, Achillies & Hercules. Chiron in natal charts points to where we have healing powers as the result of our own deep spiritual wounds.
Vitale/Vitaly/Vitali- life-giving


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## east carolina

I live in a country where there is an approved list of names







My DS is Rufus Ferdinand. He's the only Rufus I know personally, we've certainly never met one around here. Most people here are pretty conservative about names, but I've come across a Eunice, Arabella, Felix, Medard, Oscar, Berenice, Ignatius, Amos. Some older people here have crazy soviet names, I know a woman named Oktabrinka is honor of the Russian Revolution. She goes by Inka now







My family doesn't have any unusual names, just uncommon, old names that haven't made a come-back. Not yet anyway. I had a great aunt called Oda, a great uncle galled Gustav a great-grandmother called Leopoldine. One of my grandma's cousins was called Adolf (this was before WWII and luckily he died before a certain dictator tarnished the name forever).


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## limabean

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *east carolina*
> 
> One of my grandma's cousins was called Adolf (this was before WWII and luckily he died before a certain dictator tarnished the name forever).


In college, I dated a guy whose middle name was Adolf! It's definitely the only time I've come across that name in modern usage.


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## Greenlea

I have 3 sons - Zephyr, Nico and Silas.

We have a friend with 3 kids named Paikea (Pike-uh), Maple and Onterio.


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## erigeron

I am not a fan of unusual names, so I have none to contribute to this thread. I don't want to criticize anybody else's name choice, so I will confine my comments to the following:

I think if you are going to pick a name that is used in a fictional work, and you know it is used in that fictional work, you should know a little bit about that character. Someone posted a list of Game of Thrones names upthread. Some of those characters are real jerks. Even if you don't want to read/watch Game of Thrones and you just like the sound of the name, I think it would behoove you to know about the character as well. Because other people will, even if you don't, and they'll have associations.


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## limabean

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *erigeron*
> 
> I am not a fan of unusual names, so I have none to contribute to this thread. I don't want to criticize anybody else's name choice, so I will confine my comments to the following:
> 
> I think if you are going to pick a name that is used in a fictional work, and you know it is used in that fictional work, you should know a little bit about that character. Someone posted a list of Game of Thrones names upthread. Some of those characters are real jerks. Even if you don't want to read/watch Game of Thrones and you just like the sound of the name, I think it would behoove you to know about the character as well. Because other people will, even if you don't, and they'll have associations.


I posted the GoT list (and FWIW, both my kids have very traditional, normally-spelled names and I wouldn't have it any other way). I agree with your thoughts, although that's really true of any name, not just names from fictional works.

Some names are so common that one association with a bad guy doesn't really matter (like Joseph -- people aren't likely to immediately think, "OMG, you named your baby after Stalin!", especially since there are also biblical and other references for the name), but some are pretty strongly and unilaterally associated with a historical real-life villain.

But yeah, I'd do a double take if someone introduced me to their little baby Joffrey, although really, with that one, the parents could just be big ballet fans and have no idea that GoT even exists.


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## C.Arden

So far we have:

DS - Benjamin Magnus (he's always gone by Magnus and he wouldn't have it any other way)

DD - Cambria Arden

DD - Afton Whitney

DD - Hanneke Hennessey (pronounced like Annika, but with an H)

My kids all love their names and while they're not common names, they aren't hard to read/pronounce/spell (well, with the exception of Hanneke, people sometimes have trouble with that one).

We have another on the way but don't know the gender yet and don't want to obsess too much over names till we do, but it most likely won't be something "common".


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## mamarhu

When BigGirl was born, I didn't live in the US. I named her Pantera - the genus name for most of the big cats: panthers, lions, etc. To me, it was a strong, independent, and graceful symbol of my dreams for her. I was SO shocked to return to the US and find that a heavy metal band, a sportscar, and a very expensive perfume had that name. This is not the meaning I had intended at all, but the association most Americans would have with that name. My advice is to do some cultural research!


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## DHinJersey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mamarhu*
> 
> When BigGirl was born, I didn't live in the US. I named her Pantera - the genus name for most of the big cats: panthers, lions, etc. To me, it was a strong, independent, and graceful symbol of my dreams for her. I was SO shocked to return to the US and find that a heavy metal band, a sportscar, and a very expensive perfume had that name. This is not the meaning I had intended at all, but the association most Americans would have with that name. My advice is to do some cultural research!


And a band that's all bout aggression and anger, with an album cover featuring a closeup of a man being punched in the face. You poor thing


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## erigeron

If you want to get away from the heavy-metal association, Penny or Tara might make a good nickname... Or Cat if you want to get literal.

I knew a lady who gave her son a last name as a first name that was quirky but nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but then she moved to our city where that same name is the name of a giant shopping complex, and was pretty chagrined to find that out. I mean, still nothing wrong with the name, but I think that someone who lived here already would be very unlikely to pick that name for their kid.


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## devilish

DD1's name is Talia Elizabeth Anne. I had Talia picked out since I was 12 and I saw it on a TV show. Elizabeth and Anne are her grandmothers' middle names. Their first names are Delores and Carole which I don't like at all.

DD2 will be Gwendolyn Ruth Aimée. DH picked Gwendolyn, Ruth is his maternal grandmother's name, and Aimée is a family name from my side. It's French and it means loved. I can't think of a better name for a child than that.

If DD2 had been a boy, he would have been called Rory Étienne Dafydd. Rory from Doctor Who, Étienne Dafydd after our fathers.


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## dauphinette

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *devilish*
> 
> DD1's name is Talia Elizabeth Anne. LOVE!
> 
> DD2 will be Gwendolyn Ruth Aimee. LOVE!
> 
> .


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## lippy100485

We have a Phoenyx Rayne (Everyone HATED her name before birth... but she has been so beautiful even from birth that whenever anybody meets her... she is paraded around for all to see... which I don't like... but now... everyone says her name fits her beauty and personality... My Daddy calls her Wren - his little songbird instead of Phoenyx lol)

We also have a Roxanne Jubilee (I don't know anybody with Jubilee) and I absolutely love it.

I think I might be pregnant again.

If it's a boy... we like Alijah Jabril (Not too different)

But if it's a girl... either Xion (Zion) or Xoie (Zoey) which everyone hates the spelling... but love the names

I like Xion Axelle or Xion Arcadia or Xion Auralia or Xion Aoife or Xion Tallulah or Xion Talia lol (Some I got from this message board)

But haven't come up with anything for Xoie yet lol


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## Stephani Scoles

I named my daughter Pandora (panda) Hope! I


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## meme12

Sawyer
Arlo
Wiley
Ambrose
Anchor
Finn


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## att.un1912

find more such baby names here


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