175+ Rare Baby Names for Girls (Vintage to Modern)

The truly rare names are the ones that make a nurse pause when she writes them on the bassinet card. Not Aria-with-a-twist. Not a Top-500 name spelled sideways. The kind of name where someone says it back to you slowly, turning it over, and then says, that’s lovely — because they’ve never heard it before but it sounds like it has always existed.

Popularity below is calculated from Social Security Administration data through 2024, the most recent year on record.

Here’s what’s in store – 

This is a list of 200+ girls’ names that fall outside the U.S. Top 1000, or sit so low on it that you could go years without meeting another one. Some are dusted-off Edwardian relics. Some are quiet Welsh and Italian and Persian imports that haven’t crossed over yet. Some are nature words and saints’ names and old literary heroines that deserve another century of use.

I’ve grouped them by feel rather than alphabet, because that’s how name decisions actually happen — you fall for a sound, a softness, a sharpness, a story. Each entry has its real meaning, its real origin, and a one-line note from me on the vibe or where you might recognize it from.

Take your time. The right one usually announces itself.

Vintage Names Quietly Coming Back

These are the names your great-grandmother’s friends might have had — names that were once common, fell off a cliff around 1950, and are now obscure enough to feel fresh again. Each one carries a whiff of pressed linen and handwritten letters.

Adelaide

• Origin: Germanic (Old High German, via French)
• Pronunciation: AD-el-ayd · ˈædəleɪd
• Meaning: of noble character
• Popularity: #271 and rising (#284 → #271, 2024)

Has the old-money calm of a name that never needed to try.

Bernadette

• Origin: French (from Germanic)
• Pronunciation: ber-nuh-DET · bɜːrnəˈdɛt
• Meaning: brave/strong as a bear
• Popularity: #1,247 and falling (#1,236 → #1,247, 2024)

A saint’s name with a French village softness; nickname Birdie does a lot of work.

Cordelia

• Origin: uncertain (Shakespeare’s spelling of a historical British name, Cordeilla, possibly linked to the obscure saint’s name Cordula)
• Pronunciation: kor-DEEL-yah · kɔːrˈdiːljə
• Meaning: Heart, daughter of the sea
• Popularity: #1,065 and rising (#1,117 → #1,065, 2024)

Shakespeare’s truest daughter; soft enough for a baby, regal enough for an adult.

Dorothea

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: dor-uh-THEE-uh · ˌdɔːrəˈθiːə
• Meaning: gift of God
• Popularity: #2,066 and rising (#2,759 → #2,066, 2024)

Edith

• Origin: Old English
• Pronunciation: EE-dith · ˈiːdɪθ
• Meaning: rich/blessed in war
• Popularity: #528 and falling (#503 → #528, 2024)

Three crisp syllables that feel weather-worn in the best way.

Frances

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: FRAN-ses · ˈfrænsəs
• Meaning: French, or more literally “a Frank” (member of the Frankish people); from Old French Franceise, ultimately Latin Franciscus.
• Popularity: #379 and rising (#405 → #379, 2024)

Quietly handsome; Frankie or Frannie for everyday.

Geneva

• Origin: Place name (Geneva, Switzerland)
• Pronunciation: jeh-NEE-vah · dʒəˈniːvə
• Meaning: Juniper tree
• Popularity: #1,603 and falling (#1,537 → #1,603, 2024)

Sounds like a place because it is one, but the name predates the city’s fame.

Harriet

• Origin: English (from French Henriette, feminine of Henri/Henry)
• Meaning: home ruler, ruler of the household
• Popularity: #1,157 and falling (#1,130 → #1,157, 2024)

Both Tubman and the Spy — strong association equity.

Imogen

• Origin: Celtic (Scottish Gaelic), via a Shakespearean misprint
• Meaning: maiden, girl (from Scottish Gaelic ‘inghean’)
• Popularity: #1,126 and rising (#1,213 → #1,126, 2024)

British shorthand for elegant; underused stateside.

Josephine

• Origin: French (feminine diminutive of Joseph, ultimately Hebrew)
• Pronunciation: JOH-zeh-feen · ˈdʒoʊzəfiːn
• Meaning: may he (God) add — inherited from Joseph
• Popularity: #56 and rising (#64 → #56, 2024)

The full Jo is grown-up; Posy or Effie if you want sweet.

Kathleen

• Origin: Irish (Anglicization of Caitlín, ultimately from Greek via French Catherine)
• Meaning: Pure
• Popularity: #1,109 and falling (#1,021 → #1,109, 2024)

Underused now, which is exactly why it’s interesting again.

Lavinia

• Origin: Latin (place name Lavinium, Latium)
• Pronunciation: luh-VIN-ee-ah · ləˈvɪniə
• Meaning: Woman of Rome
• Popularity: #2,139 and rising (#2,346 → #2,139, 2024)

Roman myth and Victorian novels in one breath.

Margery

• Origin: English (medieval form of Margaret, ultimately Greek)
• Meaning: a pearl, by way of Margaret
• Popularity: #11,854 as of 2022 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Sturdier than Margot, rarer than either.

Nellie

• Origin: English (diminutive)
• Pronunciation: NEL-ee · ˈnɛli
• Meaning: pet form of Nell/Eleanor/Helen, popularly rendered ‘bright, shining one’
• Popularity: #521 and rising (#615 → #521, 2024)

Standalone-charming the way Sadie and Hattie are.

Opal

• Origin: English (19th-century coinage from the gemstone name, ultimately Sanskrit)
• Pronunciation: OH-pal · ˈoʊpəl
• Meaning: named after the opal gemstone; the gem-word itself traces to a Sanskrit term for ‘jewel’
• Popularity: #450 and rising (#486 → #450, 2024)

Briefly popular in 1910, almost gone by 1970, now climbing back quietly.

Phyllida

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: leafy, of leaves
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A literary cousin of Phyllis with much more life in her.

Rosamund

• Origin: Germanic (Frankish/Lombardic)
• Pronunciation: ROZ-ah-mund · ˈrɑːzəmənd
• Meaning: horse protection (folk-reinterpreted as ‘rose of the world’)
• Popularity: #7,858 and falling (#6,353 → #7,858, 2024)

Rosamund is popularly said to mean ‘rose of the world’ (Latin rosa mundi) — this reading genuinely circulated in medieval times, but it’s a folk-etymological reinterpretation of the original Germanic name meaning ‘horse protection’.

Sybil

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: SIB-il · ˈsɪbɪl
• Meaning: prophetess, oracle
• Popularity: #1,564 and falling (#1,449 → #1,564, 2024)

Downton brought her back, but she’s still rare enough to feel singular.

Theodora

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: thee-oh-DOR-ah · ˌθiːəˈdɔːrə
• Meaning: God’s gift
• Popularity: #812 and falling (#776 → #812, 2024)

Theo as a nickname is having a moment; the long form is still wide open.

Una

• Origin: Irish (Anglicized form of Úna)
• Meaning: possibly ‘lamb’ or ‘one/unity’ (disputed Irish etymology)
• Popularity: #3,005 and rising (#3,376 → #3,005, 2024)

Simple, ancient, almost monastic in its quiet.

Verity

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: VER-ih-tee · ˈvɛrəti
• Meaning: truth (a Puritan virtue name)
• Popularity: #1,875 and falling (#1,706 → #1,875, 2024)

A Puritan virtue name that wears beautifully today.

Winifred

• Origin: Old English / Welsh (conflated names)
• Pronunciation: WIN-ih-fred · ˈwɪnɪfrɪd
• Meaning: joy and peace (Old English), merged with the separate Welsh name Gwenfrewi
• Popularity: #1,031 and falling (#963 → #1,031, 2024)

Winnie carries it, but Fred or Freddie is the secret sleeper nickname.

Yvette

• Origin: French
• Pronunciation: ih-VET · ɪˈvɛt
• Meaning: feminine form of Yves, meaning ‘yew (tree)’; sometimes associated with ‘archer’ since yew wood was used for bows
• Popularity: #1,616 and rising (#1,823 → #1,616, 2024)

A 60s name with enough distance to feel new now.

Adelheid

• Origin: German (Old High German)
• Meaning: of a noble sort
• Popularity: #6,147 and rising (#8,483 → #6,147, 2024)

For the family with German roots who want the source material.

Beatrix

• Origin: Latin (variant of Beatrice)
• Pronunciation: BEE-uh-triks · ˈbiːətrɪks
• Meaning: variant of Beatrice — brings happiness / blessed
• Popularity: #1,379 and rising (#1,401 → #1,379, 2024)

Clemency

• Origin: English (virtue name)
• Meaning: mercy, leniency
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Names That Sound Like Soft Light

These names share a quality — long vowels, lots of air, the kind of sound that lands gently. They’re the names that whisper rather than announce.

Elowen

• Origin: Cornish
• Pronunciation: EL-oh-wen · ˈɛloʊwɛn
• Meaning: elm tree
• Popularity: #898 and rising (#1,060 → #898, 2024)

Has bloomed quietly among Cornish families; still unknown in most of the U.S.

Saoirse

• Origin: Irish
• Pronunciation: SEER-shah · ˈsɪərʃə
• Meaning: freedom
• Popularity: #1,036 and falling (#959 → #1,036, 2024)

Pronounced SEER-sha; carried into the mainstream by Ronan but still rare.

Niamh

• Origin: Irish
• Pronunciation: NEEV · ˈniːv
• Meaning: bright, radiant
• Popularity: #3,148 and rising (#4,339 → #3,148, 2024)

Pronounced NEEV; one syllable, all glow.

Ottilie

• Origin: Germanic (via German, form of Odilia/Odile)
• Pronunciation: AH-tuh-lee · ˈɑːtəli
• Meaning: uncertain — likely ‘wealth’ or ‘homeland’ (Germanic aud-/odal- roots), not clearly tied to battle
• Popularity: #2,315 and rising (#2,636 → #2,315, 2024)

Soft and a little crystalline; nickname Tillie is sunshine.

Linnea

• Origin: Swedish (Latinized)
• Pronunciation: lin-AY-ah · lɪˈneɪə
• Meaning: the twinflower (Linnaea borealis), a plant named in honor of botanist Carl Linnaeus
• Popularity: #1,608 and falling (#1,467 → #1,608, 2024)

Magnolia

• Origin: English (flower name)
• Pronunciation: mag-NOHL-yah · mæɡˈnoʊljə
• Meaning: name of the magnolia flower, adopted as an English given name in the 19th century
• Popularity: #138 and rising (#144 → #138, 2024)

A flower name with old Southern bones.

Aoife

• Origin: Old Irish
• Pronunciation: EE-fuh · ˈiːfə
• Meaning: beauty, radiance
• Popularity: #2,230 and falling (#2,124 → #2,230, 2024)

Pronounced EE-fa; warrior queen of Irish myth.

Briallen

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: primrose
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A rare Welsh flower name that hasn’t crossed over.

Tamsin

• Origin: English (medieval contraction of Thomasina, feminine form of Thomas)
• Meaning: twin (via Thomas, ultimately from Aramaic)
• Popularity: #13,291 and falling (#12,061 → #13,291, 2024)

Lively and uncommon outside Britain.

Cosima

• Origin: Italian (feminine form of Cosimo, from Greek)
• Pronunciation: koh-SEE-mah · koʊˈsiːmə
• Meaning: order, beauty, or the (ordered) universe
• Popularity: #6,975 and rising (#8,585 → #6,975, 2024)

Quietly bohemian; Sofia Coppola put it on the radar.

Marigold

• Origin: English (flower name)
• Pronunciation: MAIR-ih-gold · ˈmɛrɪɡoʊld
• Meaning: the marigold flower; the flower’s name is traditionally explained as ‘Mary’s gold’ (honoring the Virgin Mary), not literally ‘golden flower’
• Popularity: #693 and rising (#713 → #693, 2024)

The flower with the most personality; a real grown-up name.

Seraphina

• Origin: Late Latin (name of early Christian martyrs), from biblical Hebrew seraphim
• Pronunciation: sair-ah-FEE-nah · ˌsɛrəˈfiːnə
• Meaning: of the seraphim, a class of biblical angels
• Popularity: #778 and rising (#971 → #778, 2024)

All vowels and warmth.

Eulalia

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: yoo-LAY-lee-ah · juːˈleɪliə
• Meaning: sweetly speaking
• Popularity: #2,693 and rising (#3,109 → #2,693, 2024)

Lalia or Eula as nicknames; gentle and very old.

Oriana

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: oh-ree-AH-nah · oʊriˈɑːnə
• Meaning: rising, of the dawn (from Latin oriens/oriri, ‘to rise’)
• Popularity: #1,842 and falling (#1,594 → #1,842, 2024)

Sounds new but is medieval — a romance heroine.

Calliope

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: kuh-LY-uh-pee · kəˈlaɪəpi
• Meaning: beautiful voice
• Popularity: #499 and falling (#491 → #499, 2024)

Big sound, fitting for the muse of epic poetry.

Isolde

• Origin: Germanic or Celtic/Brythonic (disputed)
• Pronunciation: ih-ZOHL-dah · ɪˈzoʊldə
• Meaning: uncertain — literally ‘ice’ + ‘battle’ in the Germanic reading, or ‘she who is gazed upon’ in the Celtic/Brythonic reading
• Popularity: #7,721 and falling (#5,458 → #7,721, 2024)

Tristan’s beloved; Wagner-grand but still wearable.

Persephone

• Origin: Ancient Greek
• Pronunciation: per-SEF-uh-nee · pərˈsɛfəni
• Meaning: Bringer of destruction
• Popularity: #737 and rising (#749 → #737, 2024)

Four syllables that earn their weight.

Anneliese

• Origin: German (compound of Anna + Liese)
• Pronunciation: an-uh-LEEZ · ænəˈliːz
• Meaning: grace plus devoted to God (compound of Anna and Liese/Elisabeth)
• Popularity: #1,405 and rising (#1,920 → #1,405, 2024)

The full version of every short form you know.

Romilly

• Origin: English (surname from French place name Romilly)
• Pronunciation: ROM-ih-lee · ˈrɑːmɪli
• Meaning: from the French place name Romilly, associated with ‘Roman’
• Popularity: #6,095 and rising (#7,568 → #6,095, 2024)

Soft and surnamey; equally at home on a boy but luminous on a girl.

Wilhelmina

• Origin: Germanic (Dutch/German feminine form of Wilhelm)
• Pronunciation: wil-hel-MEE-nah · ˌwɪlhɛlˈmiːnə
• Meaning: will/desire joined with helmet, i.e. resolute protector
• Popularity: #1,817 and falling (#1,541 → #1,817, 2024)

Big name, big nicknames (Mina, Willa, Billie).

Galadriel

• Origin: Tolkien’s Sindarin (constructed language)
• Meaning: maiden crowned with a radiant garland
• Popularity: #7,697 and rising (#8,630 → #7,697, 2024)

For the family who’d actually use it; rare for good reason.

Lirien

• Origin: modern invented name (pseudo-Welsh/fantasy styling)
• Meaning: Song-daughter
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Lyrical and almost unknown.

Aurelie

• Origin: French (from Latin)
• Pronunciation: aw-ray-LEE · ˌɔːreɪˈliː
• Meaning: golden one
• Popularity: #4,473 and rising (#5,574 → #4,473, 2024)

The French form of Aurelia, lighter on the tongue.

Eluned

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: Idol, image
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Pronounced eh-LIN-ed; an old Welsh name with quiet shine.

Saskia

• Origin: Dutch/Frisian (from a Germanic element meaning ‘Saxon’)
• Pronunciation: SAHS-kee-ah · ˈsɑːskiə
• Meaning: a Saxon woman
• Popularity: #3,732 and rising (#4,174 → #3,732, 2024)

Rembrandt’s wife; cool, clean, European.

Names With Sharp Edges

If the soft-light names feel like cashmere, these feel like polished steel. Short, often consonant-heavy, with a flick of attitude. Names you don’t have to grow into — they arrive fully formed.

Wren

• Origin: English (Middle English)
• Pronunciation: REN · ˈrɛn
• Meaning: the small songbird
• Popularity: #213 and falling (#195 → #213, 2024)

One syllable, all spine.

Hark

• Origin: English (word name)
• Meaning: to listen
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A directive that doubles as a name; almost no one is using it.

Vesper

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: VES-per · ˈvɛspər
• Meaning: evening; the evening star (the planet Venus at dusk)
• Popularity: #2,789 and falling (#2,265 → #2,789, 2024)

Bond film notwithstanding, still rare and beautifully somber.

Greer

• Origin: Scottish (surname)
• Pronunciation: GREER · ˈgrɪr
• Meaning: reduced Scottish form of Gregor/Gregory; inherits Gregory’s Greek root meaning ‘watchful, alert’
• Popularity: #1,980 and rising (#2,383 → #1,980, 2024)

Greer Garson’s name; brisk and underused.

Plum

• Origin: English (word/nature name)
• Meaning: the plum fruit
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A nature name with bite; British author Plum Sykes wears it well.

Briar

• Origin: English (Middle English)
• Pronunciation: BRY-er · ˈbraɪər
• Meaning: thorny shrub or bramble
• Popularity: #522 and rising (#549 → #522, 2024)

Sleeping Beauty’s other name; tougher than Rose.

Lark

• Origin: English
• Pronunciation: LARK · ˈlɑːrk
• Meaning: the songbird
• Popularity: #3,534 and falling (#3,501 → #3,534, 2024)

Bright, brief, a little defiant.

Maeve

• Origin: Irish (Anglicized form of Medb/Meadhbh)
• Pronunciation: MAYV · ˈmeɪv
• Meaning: intoxicating / she who intoxicates
• Popularity: #75 and falling (#73 → #75, 2024)

The warrior queen Medb; soft sounds, hard reputation.

Sloan

• Origin: Irish (surname)
• Pronunciation: SLOHN · ˈsloʊn
• Meaning: warrior; raider (from Gaelic ‘sluagh’, army/host)
• Popularity: #762 and falling (#689 → #762, 2024)

Crosses over from the surname pool with confidence.

Margot

• Origin: French (short form of Marguerite/Margaret)
• Pronunciation: MAR-goh · ˈmɑːrɡoʊ
• Meaning: pearl, carried over from Marguerite/Margaret
• Popularity: #126 and rising (#148 → #126, 2024)

Iris

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: EYE-ris · ˈaɪrɪs
• Meaning: rainbow; also the name of the Greek goddess/messenger of the rainbow, and the flower named after her
• Popularity: #71 and rising (#78 → #71, 2024)

The flower, the goddess, the messenger between worlds.

Astrid

• Origin: Old Norse / Scandinavian
• Pronunciation: AS-trid · ˈæstrɪd
• Meaning: divinely beautiful (popularly also glossed ‘divine strength’)
• Popularity: #383 and rising (#399 → #383, 2024)

Pippi Longstocking’s creator; never overused, always cool.

Cleo

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: KLEE-oh · ˈkliːoʊ
• Meaning: glory, fame
• Popularity: #603 and rising (#610 → #603, 2024)

Short for Cleopatra but stands alone now.

Frida

• Origin: Old Norse / Germanic (two distinct origins)
• Pronunciation: FREE-dah · ˈfriːdə
• Meaning: beautiful/beloved (Scandinavian) or short form of “peace” names (Germanic)
• Popularity: #1,252 and falling (#1,153 → #1,252, 2024)

Kahlo gave it a paint-splattered glamor.

Hedda

• Origin: Scandinavian/German
• Pronunciation: HED-ah · ˈhɛdə
• Meaning: battle (via Hedwig)
• Popularity: #16,204 as of 2007 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Ibsen heroine; sharp and not for the faint-hearted.

June

• Origin: Latin (via Old French)
• Pronunciation: JOON · ˈdʒuːn
• Meaning: named for the goddess Juno, whose name traces to a root meaning ‘youthful vitality’
• Popularity: #152 and rising (#171 → #152, 2024)

A short, bright month name that’s quietly leaving its peak.

Marlowe

• Origin: English (place name: Marlow)
• Pronunciation: MAR-loh · ˈmɑːrloʊ
• Meaning: Driftwood
• Popularity: #624 and rising (#835 → #624, 2024)

Surnamey, smoky, jazz-club cool.

Nico

• Origin: Greek (via Nicholas/Nicola/Nikos)
• Pronunciation: NEE-koh · ˈniːkoʊ
• Meaning: victory of the people
• Popularity: #4,165 and rising (#4,253 → #4,165, 2024)

Velvet Underground singer; spare and chic on a girl.

Quill

• Origin: English (word name)
• Meaning: a feather, especially one used as a writing pen
• Popularity: #3,136 and rising (#3,532 → #3,136, 2024)

A word name with a writer’s soul.

Reeve

• Origin: English (occupational surname)
• Pronunciation: REEV · ˈriːv
• Meaning: a medieval bailiff or local steward
• Popularity: #10,876 and rising (#11,963 → #10,876, 2024)

Surname-as-firstname with a bookish glint.

Vada

• Origin: uncertain (possibly the Italian place name Vada, or a modern coinage)
• Pronunciation: VAY-dah · ˈveɪdə
• Meaning: Knowing
• Popularity: #960 and falling (#829 → #960, 2024)

My Girl made it a quiet hit; never widely adopted.

Wynn

• Origin: Welsh (surname)
• Pronunciation: WIN · ˈwɪn
• Meaning: fair, white, blessed, from the Welsh surname Wynn, related to Gwyn
• Popularity: #1,992 and rising (#2,311 → #1,992, 2024)

Tiny and luminous.

Zelda

• Origin: German (via Griselda) / Yiddish (feminine of Zelig)
• Pronunciation: ZEL-dah · ˈzɛldə
• Meaning: grey battle-maiden (via Griselda); also ‘blessed’ as a form of Zelig
• Popularity: #748 and falling (#704 → #748, 2024)

Fitzgerald gave it the glamour, the video game gave it the recognition.

Tove

• Origin: Old Norse/Scandinavian
• Meaning: Beautiful, good
• Popularity: #7,891 and falling (#6,138 → #7,891, 2024)

Tove Jansson, the Moomins author; pronounced TOO-vuh.

Names From Greek and Roman Myth

The pantheon is full of names that haven’t been touched in decades. Skip Athena and Diana — the rare gems are next to them.

Calanthe

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: kuh-LAN-thee · kəˈlænθi
• Meaning: beautiful flower (tentative)
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

An orchid genus; lush and almost untouched as a name.

Thalia

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: THAY-lee-ah · ˈθeɪliə
• Meaning: to bloom, flourish
• Popularity: #658 and falling (#573 → #658, 2024)

The muse of comedy and pastoral poetry.

Hypatia

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: highest, supreme
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Alexandrian philosopher and mathematician.

Andromeda

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: ruler of men (Greek mythological name)
• Popularity: #2,300 and rising (#2,397 → #2,300, 2024)

The constellation and the chained princess.

Selene

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: suh-LEE-nee · səˈliːni
• Meaning: moon (as the Greek moon goddess)
• Popularity: #675 and rising (#708 → #675, 2024)

Aurora

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: uh-ROR-uh · əˈrɔːrə
• Meaning: dawn (name of the Roman goddess of the dawn)
• Popularity: #16 and rising (#22 → #16, 2024)

Past its rare phase but still relatively uncommon as a full given name.

Daphne

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: DAF-nee · ˈdæfni
• Meaning: laurel tree
• Popularity: #192 and rising (#241 → #192, 2024)

Was lost in the Scooby-Doo era; emerging again.

Penelope

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: puh-NEL-oh-pee · pəˈnɛləpi
• Meaning: uncertain; possibly linked to a Greek word for a duck species
• Popularity: #28 and falling (#23 → #28, 2024)

Climbing fast — catch it before it’s everywhere.

Briseis

• Origin: Ancient Greek
• Meaning: daughter of Briseus (a patronymic, not an independent lexical meaning)
• Popularity: #4,564 and falling (#4,377 → #4,564, 2024)

Achilles’s beloved in the Iliad.

Atalanta

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: of equal weight; balanced
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The huntress who could outrun any man.

Eirene

• Origin: Ancient Greek
• Meaning: peace
• Popularity: #9,063 and rising (#9,790 → #9,063, 2024)

The original form of Irene, with more breath.

Hesper

• Origin: Greek (from Hesperus, the evening star)
• Meaning: evening star
• Popularity: #16,133 and falling (#6,524 → #16,133, 2024)

Ismene

• Origin: Greek (mythological name, precise root uncertain)
• Meaning: Knowledge
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Antigone’s quieter sister; soft and rare.

Larissa

• Origin: Ancient Greek
• Pronunciation: luh-RISS-ah · ləˈrɪsə
• Meaning: citadel, fortress (from a Greek place name), or possibly named after a mythological nymph of the same name
• Popularity: #1,615 and falling (#1,478 → #1,615, 2024)

A Greek city and a sea nymph.

Junia

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: youthful (traditional gloss, exact root debated)
• Popularity: #2,442 and falling (#2,298 → #2,442, 2024)

An early Christian woman called an apostle by Paul.

Octavia

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: ahk-TAY-vee-uh · ɑːkˈteɪviə
• Meaning: eighth (feminine form of the Roman family name Octāvius)
• Popularity: #295 and falling (#279 → #295, 2024)

The emperor Augustus’s noble sister.

Livia

• Origin: Latin (Roman)
• Pronunciation: LIV-ee-ah · ˈlɪviə
• Meaning: uncertain (feminine of Roman name Livius)
• Popularity: #836 and falling (#826 → #836, 2024)

Livia is often glossed as ‘life,’ but that’s not supported — it’s the feminine form of the Roman family name Livius, whose actual root is disputed (sometimes linked to ‘bluish’).

Hermia

• Origin: Greek (via Shakespeare)
• Meaning: Messenger
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The fierce-hearted lover in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Calista

• Origin: Greek (via Latin)
• Pronunciation: kuh-LIS-tuh · kəˈlɪstə
• Meaning: most beautiful
• Popularity: #1,457 and rising (#1,711 → #1,457, 2024)

A 90s flash; back into rare territory now.

Niobe

• Origin: Ancient Greek (mythological name, root obscure)
• Meaning: Fern
• Popularity: #13,083 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Tragic figure of myth; striking and unused.

Ione

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: eye-OH-nee · aɪˈoʊni
• Meaning: violet
• Popularity: #8,114 and falling (#7,789 → #8,114, 2024)

The actress Skye gave it visibility; still uncommon.

Aretha

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: virtue, excellence
• Popularity: #13,616 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Queen of Soul — and a quietly inheritable name.

Phaedra

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: FEE-drah · ˈfiːdrə
• Meaning: bright, shining
• Popularity: #6,086 and falling (#5,090 → #6,086, 2024)

Nature Names Beyond Willow and Wren

The big nature names are already taken. These are the rarer corners of the garden, the field, the forest, the sky.

Linnaea

• Origin: Latin (botanical, honoring Carl Linnaeus)
• Meaning: twinflower, the plant genus named in honor of botanist Carl Linnaeus
• Popularity: #11,681 and rising (#14,429 → #11,681, 2024)

The Latin spelling of Linnea.

Indigo

• Origin: Greek (via the color/dye name)
• Pronunciation: IN-dih-goh · ˈɪndɪˌɡoʊ
• Meaning: named after the deep-blue indigo dye/color
• Popularity: #923 and rising (#961 → #923, 2024)

A color name with more body than most.

Juniper

• Origin: English
• Pronunciation: JOO-nih-per · ˈdʒuːnɪpər
• Meaning: the juniper tree/shrub; occasionally a folk-etymology variant of Jennifer (from Welsh Guinevere)
• Popularity: #111 and rising (#113 → #111, 2024)

Climbing in popularity, still rare enough to feel chosen.

Hollis

• Origin: English (topographic surname)
• Pronunciation: HOL-is · ˈhɑːlɪs
• Meaning: one who lived near holly trees
• Popularity: #1,237 and rising (#1,395 → #1,237, 2024)

Surnamey and forested.

Saffron

• Origin: English (flower/spice name)
• Pronunciation: SAF-run · ˈsæfrən
• Meaning: named for the saffron crocus flower and its golden spice
• Popularity: #5,564 and falling (#4,718 → #5,564, 2024)

Warm, golden, a little 70s.

Tamarind

• Origin: Arabic
• Meaning: Indian date, from Arabic tamr hindi, the name of the sweet-sour fruit tree
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

An unusual food/plant name with great vowels.

Cypress

• Origin: English (nature name)
• Meaning: Mediterranean tree
• Popularity: #2,439 and rising (#2,496 → #2,439, 2024)

Quietly arboreal and ungendered.

Birch

• Origin: English (nature name/surname)
• Pronunciation: BURCH · ˈbɜːrtʃ
• Meaning: the birch tree
• Popularity: #9,873 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Crisp, Scandinavian-feeling, almost unused.

Solstice

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: the sun standing still (astronomical solstice)
• Popularity: #6,870 and rising (#7,199 → #6,870, 2024)

A celestial event as a name — bold but real.

Meadow

• Origin: English (vocabulary word)
• Pronunciation: MED-oh · ˈmɛdoʊ
• Meaning: a field of grass (grassland)
• Popularity: #327 and rising (#351 → #327, 2024)

Less common than you’d think for how pretty it is.

Hazel

• Origin: Old English
• Pronunciation: HAY-zel · ˈheɪzəl
• Meaning: the hazel tree, and by extension its light-brown color
• Popularity: #19 and falling (#18 → #19, 2024)

Edging closer to popular but still wearable as rare.

Wisteria

• Origin: New Latin
• Pronunciation: wis-TEER-ee-ah · wɪˈstɪriə
• Meaning: name of the flowering vine, itself coined to honor 19th-century American anatomist Caspar Wistar
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A long, climbing flower name.

Calla

• Origin: Latin (botanical name, root disputed)
• Pronunciation: KAL-ah · ˈkælə
• Meaning: uncertain (disputed ancient reading, possibly ‘cup’ or ‘husk’)
• Popularity: #1,514 and rising (#1,604 → #1,514, 2024)

Single-syllable softness with a botanical anchor.

Hyacinth

• Origin: Greek (via a saint’s name, from the mythological figure Hyacinthus)
• Pronunciation: HY-uh-sinth · ˈhaɪəsɪnθ
• Meaning: the hyacinth flower (also linked to the color purple)
• Popularity: #4,801 and rising (#6,761 → #4,801, 2024)

Long out of fashion; ripe for someone to claim again.

Petal

• Origin: English (nature name)
• Meaning: flower petal
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

About as soft as a name gets.

Yarrow

• Origin: Celtic (river name) / English (plant name)
• Meaning: rough (Celtic river name); also the yarrow herb
• Popularity: #8,922 and rising (#9,712 → #8,922, 2024)

Witchy and herbal; a hedge-witch’s daughter.

Cerelia

• Origin: Latin (uncertain, possibly tied to Ceres)
• Meaning: Of the spring
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Linked to the goddess Ceres of grain.

Fern

• Origin: English (nature name)
• Pronunciation: FURN · ˈfɜːrn
• Meaning: the fern plant
• Popularity: #1,261 and rising (#1,428 → #1,261, 2024)

Charlotte’s Web girl; tiny and verdant.

Coralie

• Origin: French (from Latin coralium)
• Pronunciation: KOR-ah-lee · ˈkɔːrəli
• Meaning: coral
• Popularity: #3,396 and rising (#3,997 → #3,396, 2024)

A French diminutive; sea-tinged.

Calluna

• Origin: Greek (botanical Latin)
• Pronunciation: kuh-LOO-nah · kəˈluːnə
• Meaning: to sweep (heather, used for brooms)
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The botanical Latin behind heather; rare and lovely.

Olive

• Origin: English (medieval saint’s name Oliva, from Latin oliva)
• Pronunciation: AH-liv · ˈɑːlɪv
• Meaning: olive tree; popularly linked to peace via the olive-branch symbol
• Popularity: #171 and rising (#180 → #171, 2024)

Past peak rarity but still under-the-radar in many regions.

Aster

• Origin: Greek (via Latin)
• Pronunciation: AS-ter · ˈæstər
• Meaning: star (namesake of the star-shaped flower)
• Popularity: #2,745 and rising (#3,281 → #2,745, 2024)

Iolanthe

• Origin: Greek (literary coinage)
• Meaning: violet flower
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A Gilbert and Sullivan heroine.

Marina

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: muh-REE-nah · məˈriːnə
• Meaning: of the sea
• Popularity: #640 and falling (#572 → #640, 2024)

A water name that never reached saturation.

Solenne

• Origin: French
• Pronunciation: soh-LEN · soʊˈlɛn
• Meaning: solemn, dignified
• Popularity: #4,357 and rising (#6,887 → #4,357, 2024)

Soft and ceremonial; almost unused outside France.

Old-World Names With Modern Confidence

These travel well across passports — French, Italian, German, Spanish names that are deeply familiar in their home countries and almost unheard here. They have weight without being heavy.

Anouk

• Origin: French (modern popularization, disputed diminutive of Anne)
• Meaning: Grace
• Popularity: #13,588 and falling (#10,384 → #13,588, 2024)

Tiny, chic, two syllables of self-possession.

Hadewych

• Origin: Old Dutch / Germanic
• Meaning: battle, strife
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The 13th-century mystic poet Hadewijch; for a deeply unusual pick.

Ines

• Origin: Spanish/Portuguese
• Pronunciation: ee-NESS · iˈnɛs
• Meaning: pure, holy (via the Agnes/Hagne lineage)
• Popularity: #1,282 and rising (#1,570 → #1,282, 2024)

The Iberian sister of Agnes, much softer.

Lucinde

• Origin: French (from Latin, via Lucinda/Lucia)
• Meaning: light
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Helena

• Origin: Greek (Latinized form of Helen)
• Pronunciation: HEL-uh-nah · ˈhɛlənə
• Meaning: Light
• Popularity: #414 and rising (#457 → #414, 2024)

The mother of Constantine, the trojan beauty — rich associations, light syllables.

Mireille

• Origin: Provençal (Occitan)
• Pronunciation: mih-RAY · mɪˈreɪ
• Meaning: admired one; coined by poet Frédéric Mistral for his 1859 poem
• Popularity: #8,245 and falling (#6,325 → #8,245, 2024)

Pronounced mee-RAY; lyrical and very French.

Annika

• Origin: Swedish (diminutive of Anna)
• Pronunciation: AN-ih-kah · ˈænɪkə
• Meaning: grace
• Popularity: #962 and falling (#957 → #962, 2024)

Pippi’s best friend; clean and warm.

Beatrice

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: BEE-uh-tris · ˈbiːətrɪs
• Meaning: one who brings happiness (also glossed “blessed one”)
• Popularity: #579 and rising (#588 → #579, 2024)

Dante’s beloved; ripening into adulthood again.

Carlotta

• Origin: Italian (feminine form of Charlotte/Carlo)
• Meaning: free woman, via Charlotte, ultimately from Germanic “karl” (free man)
• Popularity: #3,223 and rising (#4,475 → #3,223, 2024)

The grander Italian sister of Charlotte.

Elsa

• Origin: German contraction of Elisabeth (ultimately Hebrew)
• Pronunciation: EL-sah · ˈɛlsə
• Meaning: pledged to God / God is my oath (via Elisabeth)
• Popularity: #938 and rising (#1,030 → #938, 2024)

Frozen probably hurt it; will recover.

Eleonora

• Origin: Italian (variant of Eleanor)
• Meaning: Light
• Popularity: #2,558 and rising (#3,147 → #2,558, 2024)

Roman and resonant.

Fiammetta

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: diminutive of the Italian word for “flame”
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Boccaccio’s muse; warm and golden.

Giulietta

• Origin: Italian, diminutive of Giulia/Juliet
• Pronunciation: joo-lee-ET-ah · ˌdʒuːliˈɛtə
• Meaning: youthful
• Popularity: #3,521 and rising (#3,862 → #3,521, 2024)

Less star-crossed than Juliet, somehow.

Heloise

• Origin: French/Germanic (disputed)
• Meaning: disputed: possibly ‘the chosen one’ (via St. Eligius) or ‘holy/whole’ plus ‘wood’ (Germanic)
• Popularity: #11,444 and falling (#7,388 → #11,444, 2024)

The medieval scholar; brainy and romantic.

Iolanda

• Origin: Greek or Latin/Old French (two converging derivations)
• Meaning: violet flower
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Iberian sister of Yolanda.

Klio

• Origin: Greek (via Clio)
• Meaning: glory, fame
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Klio is the German form of the muse Clio.

Lieselotte

• Origin: German
• Meaning: a blend of Elisabeth (“God is my oath”) and Charlotte (“free one”)
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The full version of Liesel; very rare in the U.S.

Magali

• Origin: Occitan/Provençal (variant of Marguerite)
• Meaning: pearl
• Popularity: #4,150 and rising (#5,325 → #4,150, 2024)

Noemi

• Origin: Hebrew (via Italian/Spanish, form of Naomi)
• Pronunciation: noh-EH-mee · noʊˈɛmi
• Meaning: pleasantness
• Popularity: #585 and falling (#576 → #585, 2024)

A Mediterranean lilt on a familiar name.

Oksana

• Origin: Ukrainian/East Slavic (form of Xenia)
• Pronunciation: ok-SAH-nah · ɑːkˈsɑːnə
• Meaning: hospitable, a guest/stranger (via Xenia, from Greek xenia)
• Popularity: #7,148 and falling (#5,504 → #7,148, 2024)

Striking, Eastern European, fiercely beautiful.

Pernille

• Origin: Danish/Norwegian (from Latin Petronella)
• Meaning: Rock
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Common in Scandinavia, unknown stateside.

Renske

• Origin: Frisian/Dutch (likely a feminine diminutive of Rens/Reinder)
• Meaning: Pure
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Sieglinde

• Origin: German (Old High German compound)
• Meaning: victory and gentleness
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Wagnerian and weighty.

Tatiana

• Origin: Latin (Roman family name Tatius + -anus); popularized via Russian usage
• Pronunciation: tah-tee-AH-nah · ˌtɑːtiˈɑːnə
• Meaning: Of the Tatius family
• Popularity: #1,079 and rising (#1,173 → #1,079, 2024)

Pushkin’s heroine; literary and lush.

Valentina

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: val-en-TEE-nah · vælənˈtiːnə
• Meaning: strong, healthy
• Popularity: #47 and rising (#49 → #47, 2024)

Climbing the charts; still uncommon as a full name.

Wilhelmine

• Origin: German (feminine form of Wilhelm)
• Meaning: determined protector
• Popularity: #15,062 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The German form of Wilhelmina.

Saints, Scholars, and Heroines

Names borrowed from women in history and the church calendar — not always the famous ones. These come with a story you can hand your daughter.

Hildegard

• Origin: Germanic (West Germanic *Hildigardu)
• Pronunciation: HIL-duh-gard · ˈhɪldəɡɑːrd
• Meaning: battle enclosure
• Popularity: #6,727 and falling (#6,252 → #6,727, 2024)

Hildegard of Bingen — composer, mystic, abbess.

Perpetua

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: eternal, everlasting
• Popularity: #8,805 and falling (#5,897 → #8,805, 2024)

The Roman martyr who wrote one of the earliest known women’s prison diaries.

Brigid

• Origin: Irish (Gaelic, from Proto-Celtic)
• Pronunciation: BRIJ-id · ˈbrɪdʒɪd
• Meaning: high, exalted one
• Popularity: #2,662 and falling (#2,620 → #2,662, 2024)

Patron saint of Ireland and a pre-Christian fire goddess both.

Ada

• Origin: Germanic or Hebrew (dual origin)
• Pronunciation: AY-dah · ˈeɪdə
• Meaning: noble (or ‘ornament, ‘ dual root)
• Popularity: #193 and falling (#178 → #193, 2024)

Ada Lovelace, the first programmer.

Marie

• Origin: French (from Hebrew, via Mary/Maria)
• Pronunciation: muh-REE · məˈriː
• Meaning: form of Mary/Maria; root meaning disputed
• Popularity: #639 and rising (#641 → #639, 2024)

Curie, Antoinette — vast company in two syllables.

Sojourner

• Origin: English (from Old French)
• Meaning: one who stays or travels temporarily
• Popularity: #17,368 as of 2021 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Sojourner Truth — a heavy name with great moral lineage.

Mahalia

• Origin: Hebrew (Biblical, exact root disputed)
• Meaning: Tender
• Popularity: #3,196 and rising (#3,251 → #3,196, 2024)

Mahalia Jackson, the queen of gospel.

Annie

• Origin: English (diminutive of several names)
• Pronunciation: AN-ee · ˈæni
• Meaning: pet form of Anna and several related names
• Popularity: #191 and rising (#202 → #191, 2024)

Oakley, Leibovitz, Lennox — packed with company.

Edna

• Origin: Hebrew (also used in Ireland/Scotland as an anglicization of Eithne)
• Meaning: delight, enjoyment
• Popularity: #2,054 and falling (#1,925 → #2,054, 2024)

St. Vincent Millay; poet’s name.

Zora

• Origin: Slavic
• Pronunciation: ZOR-ah · ˈzɔːrə
• Meaning: dawn
• Popularity: #918 and falling (#860 → #918, 2024)

Zora Neale Hurston — author with a name as full of light as her prose.

Veronica

• Origin: Greek (via Latin)
• Pronunciation: vur-ON-ik-ah · vəˈrɑːnɪkə
• Meaning: bringer of victory (from Berenice/Pherenike)
• Popularity: #392 and rising (#411 → #392, 2024)

The woman who wiped the face of Christ in tradition.

Cecelia

• Origin: Latin (variant of Cecilia)
• Pronunciation: sih-SEEL-yah · sɪˈsiːljə
• Meaning: blind
• Popularity: #568 and falling (#497 → #568, 2024)

The music association comes from the patron saint’s story, not the name’s etymology; the actual root is Latin caecus, ‘blind.’

Boudicca

• Origin: Celtic
• Meaning: Victory
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Iceni warrior queen who took on Rome.

Sybilla

• Origin: Latin (from Greek)
• Meaning: prophetess, oracle
• Popularity: #19,256 as of 2011 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Latin form, used for medieval queens.

Margaret

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: MAR-grit · ˈmɑːrɡrɪt
• Meaning: pearl (via Latin/Old French margarita), popularized by the 3rd-century Saint Margaret the Virgin
• Popularity: #119 and rising (#132 → #119, 2024)

Atwood, Thatcher, Mead — and a thousand nickname options.

Anaïs

• Origin: Old Persian (via Greek Anaïtis, ultimately the goddess name Anahita)
• Meaning: linked to Anahita, an ancient Persian goddess of water and fertility
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Anaïs Nin, the diarist; pronounced ah-nah-EES.

Clara

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: bright, clear, famous
• Popularity: #78 and rising (#98 → #78, 2024)

Clara Schumann, Clara Barton.

Henrietta

• Origin: English (Latinate form of French Henriette, from Henry)
• Pronunciation: hen-ree-ET-ah · hɛnriˈɛtə
• Meaning: home ruler
• Popularity: #2,135 and rising (#2,988 → #2,135, 2024)

Henrietta Lacks — a name with profound modern weight.

Names That Sound Like Poems

A category for the unapologetically lyrical — names with a melodic structure, repeated vowels, the kind of names you’d hesitate to shorten because the whole thing is the point.

Evangeline

• Origin: Greek (literary coinage)
• Pronunciation: ee-VAN-jeh-leen · ɪˈvændʒəliːn
• Meaning: good news
• Popularity: #174 and rising (#212 → #174, 2024)

Longfellow’s heroine; rolls forever.

Anastasia

• Origin: Ancient Greek
• Pronunciation: an-ah-STAY-zhah · ænəˈsteɪʒə
• Meaning: resurrection
• Popularity: #166 and rising (#167 → #166, 2024)

Four syllables of stained glass.

Genevieve

• Origin: French
• Pronunciation: JEN-eh-veev · ˈdʒɛnəviːv
• Meaning: woman of the tribe/kin
• Popularity: #165, holding steady (2024)

The G is a hum; the rest is air.

Arabella

• Origin: Latin (disputed, possibly a variant of Annabel)
• Pronunciation: air-ah-BEL-ah · ɛrəˈbɛlə
• Meaning: yielding to prayer (one of two competing theories)
• Popularity: #206 and rising (#227 → #206, 2024)

All the elegance of Isabella with less ubiquity.

Rosalind

• Origin: Germanic
• Pronunciation: RAH-zuh-lind · ˈrɑːzəlɪnd
• Meaning: from elements meaning roughly ‘horse’ and ‘soft/tender’ — something like ‘gentle horse’
• Popularity: #1,475 and falling (#1,440 → #1,475, 2024)

Shakespeare’s cleverest heroine.

Marianela

• Origin: Spanish (blend, likely María + another element)
• Meaning: Star of the sea + grace
• Popularity: #16,753 and falling (#16,721 → #16,753, 2024)

Compound name with the Spanish lyricism.

Solveig

• Origin: Old Norse (via Norwegian)
• Pronunciation: SOL-vayg · ˈsɑːlveɪg
• Meaning: sun’s strength (traditional gloss, second element of debated meaning)
• Popularity: #5,569 and falling (#5,358 → #5,569, 2024)

Pronounced SOOL-vay; from Peer Gynt.

Antonia

• Origin: Latin (feminine form of Antonius, origin unknown)
• Pronunciation: an-TOH-nee-ah · ænˈtoʊniə
• Meaning: Priceless
• Popularity: #1,052 and rising (#1,121 → #1,052, 2024)

Willa Cather’s My Ántonia; deep, prairie-strong.

Honora

• Origin: Latin (via Honoria/Honorius)
• Meaning: honor, esteem
• Popularity: #4,800 and rising (#7,390 → #4,800, 2024)

The Irish saint’s name; softer than Nora.

Madeline

• Origin: French (via Greek Magdalene, from an Aramaic/Hebrew place name)
• Pronunciation: MAD-uh-lin · ˈmædəlɪn
• Meaning: referring to Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee traditionally glossed as ‘tower’
• Popularity: #87 and rising (#94 → #87, 2024)

Past peak but still rare in its full form vs. Maddie.

Florence

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: FLOR-ens · ˈflɔːrəns
• Meaning: flourishing, blooming (from florens, related to flos ‘flower’)
• Popularity: #435 and rising (#522 → #435, 2024)

The city, the nurse, the singer — three solid icons.

Theodosia

• Origin: Greek
• Pronunciation: thee-uh-DOH-zhuh · θiəˈdoʊʒə
• Meaning: given/dedicated to God
• Popularity: #4,864 and falling (#4,553 → #4,864, 2024)

Hamilton put her on stages; rare in nurseries.

Eloise

• Origin: French (from Old German Helewidis, via medieval Latin/French forms, doublet of Héloïse)
• Pronunciation: EL-oh-eez · ˈɛloʊiːz
• Meaning: healthy and wide/broad (from Germanic Helewidis)
• Popularity: #64 and rising (#81 → #64, 2024)

The Plaza child; mischievous and refined.

Felicity

• Origin: Latin
• Pronunciation: fuh-LISS-ih-tee · fəˈlɪsɪti
• Meaning: happiness, good fortune (from Latin felicitas)
• Popularity: #486 and falling (#455 → #486, 2024)

A Roman virtue name; soft despite its meaning being so direct.

Lucinda

• Origin: Latin (elaboration of Lucia)
• Pronunciation: loo-SIN-da · luˈsɪndə
• Meaning: light
• Popularity: #1,717 and rising (#1,871 → #1,717, 2024)

Don Quixote’s beloved; flowery in a 1700s sense.

Annabelle

• Origin: Latin (variant of Annabel, via Amabel)
• Pronunciation: AN-uh-bel · ˈænəbɛl
• Meaning: lovable (true root); popularly read as ‘beautiful Anna’
• Popularity: #349 and falling (#340 → #349, 2024)

Sweetly lyrical without trying.

Magdalena

• Origin: Hebrew (via Aramaic/Greek Magdala)
• Pronunciation: mag-duh-LAY-nah · mægdəˈleɪnə
• Meaning: woman from Magdala (a town whose name means ‘tower’)
• Popularity: #838 and rising (#902 → #838, 2024)

The Spanish form; rich and warm.

Persimmon

• Origin: Native American (Powhatan/Algonquian)
• Meaning: named after the persimmon fruit, ultimately from a Powhatan word meaning roughly ‘dry fruit’
• Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Almira

• Origin: Coined name (literary invention, possibly modeled on Elmira)
• Meaning: Princess
• Popularity: #7,965 and falling (#6,176 → #7,965, 2024)

How These Names Are Trending

87 of these names rose in the U.S. Social Security rankings last year, and 60 are falling, per Social Security data through 2024.

How These Names Are Trending

87 of these names rose in the U.S. Social Security rankings last year, and 60 are falling, per Social Security data through 2024.

How These Names Are Trending

87 of these names rose in the U.S. Social Security rankings last year, and 60 are falling, per Social Security data through 2024.

How These Names Are Trending

94 of these names rose in the U.S. Social Security rankings last year, and 67 are falling, per Social Security data through 2024.

Handel wrote an opera for her; quietly grand.

How to Choose a Name From This List

Say it out loud. Not in your head — out loud, in the voice you use when you’re calling someone home for dinner. Names live in the mouth, and the ones that fit will feel obvious in the calling.

Pair it with your last name and listen for the rhythm. A short surname loves a longer first name (Wilhelmina Wu has a beat); a long surname wants something tidy (Wren Annenberg-Kowalski). Initials matter — write them out on paper and check for accidental words.

Test the nicknames. You’re not just naming a six-pound baby — you’re naming a toddler who picks her own shoes, a nine-year-old who signs birthday cards, a teenager who needs the name to ride alongside her on the first day of high school. If you choose Wilhelmina, you’re also choosing Willa, Mina, or Billie. If you choose Saoirse, you’re choosing the patient correction of mispronunciations forever — and the small joy of a name that means freedom.

Don’t let “what will people think” do the deciding. The most common regret I hear from parents is choosing the safer name. Almost no one regrets choosing the unusual one — a rare name becomes ordinary the day someone you love starts answering to it.

And give it a season. Sit with a shortlist of three for a week. The one that won’t leave you alone, even when you’ve moved on to packing the hospital bag, is usually the one.

Name Art for Your Favorite

Love a name from this list? MinimalistMama offers custom Name Art prints — personalized, minimalist nursery art with the name you choose, designed to match your aesthetic. A perfect gift for baby showers or to hang above the crib.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as a “rare” baby name?

Generally, a rare baby name in the U.S. is one that falls outside the Top 1000 names in the Social Security Administration’s annual ranking, which means fewer than about 250 babies receive it each year. Truly rare names — the kind in this list — are often given to under 100 babies a year, or don’t appear in the SSA data at all because they were given to fewer than five.

Will my daughter have trouble with a rare or unusual name?

Research from name studies and anecdotal accounts from people with uncommon names suggests the opposite — people with rare names tend to feel a stronger sense of distinct identity and report less of the “which one are you” experience common to popular names. They do learn to spell their name early and to correct gentle mispronunciations, but these are small trade-offs for many. Picking a rare name that’s still phonetically intuitive (Cordelia, Linnea) eases the pronunciation question considerably.

Are vintage names actually rare or are they making a comeback?

Both, depending on the name. Some vintage names like Adelaide, Hazel, and Penelope are climbing rapidly and may not feel rare in five years. Others — Edith, Bernadette, Sybil, Phyllida — remain genuinely uncommon and have shown little sign of mass return. If long-term rarity matters to you, check the SSA “Popular Names” tool to see the five-year trajectory before committing.

How do I make sure I’m pronouncing names like Saoirse or Niamh correctly?

For Irish and Welsh names especially, the spelling-to-pronunciation rules don’t match English. Saoirse is SEER-sha, Niamh is NEEV, Aoife is EE-fa, Eluned is eh-LIN-ed. Forvo (forvo.com) has native-speaker recordings of most names. If you’re falling for one of these, listen to it pronounced a few times before deciding — the right name should feel right out loud, not just on the page.

Is it okay to use a name from another culture if I don’t share that heritage?

Generally yes for widely-shared names (Maeve, Saoirse, Cosima, Anouk are used internationally) and for names rooted in mythology or shared European traditions. Be more thoughtful with names that carry specific religious, indigenous, or in-group significance — researching the name’s meaning and asking whether it would be experienced as borrowed by someone from that culture is a kindness worth the time. When in doubt, the gentler choice is to stay closer to your own family’s linguistic roots.

What’s a good rare name that won’t get her teased?

Teasing usually targets the strangeness factor relative to the school environment, not rarity in itself. Names that follow familiar English phonetic patterns — Cordelia, Marigold, Linnea, Imogen, Vesper, Wren — tend to land softly with kids even if peers haven’t heard them. Names that look unfamiliar on the page (Saoirse, Niamh) or have a slightly unusual sound (Niobe, Briallen) carry a slightly higher learning curve but are very rarely the source of real teasing, which tends to be about behavior far more than name.

Should I check social media handles before committing to a rare name?

It’s a sensible quick check — search the full first-and-last on Google and Instagram. With a truly rare name, you’re often the first to claim those handles, which is its own quiet gift. If you find a person of note already using the name (an actress, a controversial figure), it doesn’t necessarily rule the name out, but it’s good to know in advance so you’re not surprised by it later.

📊 Curious how popular a name actually is? Look it up in our Baby Name Popularity Checker — pulls live SSA data to show ranking trends.

Final Thoughts

The right name is rarely the loudest one in the room. It’s usually the one you keep coming back to — the one that, when you read it on a shortlist for the seventh time, still makes you feel a small private gladness. Trust that feeling. It almost always knows what it’s doing before you do.

Read next;

👦 100 Spring Baby Names for Girls and Boys

🎀 185+ Unique Baby Girl Names for 2026 (Rare & *Beautiful*)

🎀 35+ *Modern* Christian Names for Girls

✨ Love these names? Create free printable nursery art for any name →