Unique Girl Names: Uncommon, Unusual, Cool

Elif is the Turkish form of Alif, the name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. Actor Natalie Portman gave another spelling to her son, Aleph.

Revel is a joyous word name that may appeal to parents wanting a non-traditional Biblical choice or simply a name that expresses how they feel.

In Buddhism, Dharma embodies the basic principles of cosmic existence--making it a fitting name for the hippyish character on the sitcom Dharma and Greg, whose middle name was Freedom.

A prominent character name from the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, derived from an Arabic word meaning "(water) droplet" ⁠— Katara belongs to a water tribe.

An unusual old school name which is made more modern by that fashionable El- beginning.

Evana is an intriguing feminization, but will often be mistaken for the better-known Ivana, thanks to the first Mrs. Trump.

Embroidered lace hankie of a name, used in a Thomas Hardy novel. That literary cred lends some gravitas.

Gilda, although related to the words gold and gilded, has definitely tarnished. It once shimmered with the seductive image of Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda, then was associated with the beloved early Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner. In opera, Gilda lives on as the name of the daughter of Rigoletto.

Paz, currently represented by actresses Paz Vega and Paz de la Huerts, would make a sparkling middle name choice. It originated as a title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Peace, and is one of the names that mean peace, derived from the Latin word "pax".

Eisele was originally a nickname for the Old German given name Isenhart, which derived from Isenlin — a nickname for a blacksmith.

The Kaveri is a prominent river in South India, where it flows through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is among the seven holy rivers of India, personified by the goddess Kaveriamma. The name was derived from kāvēri, the word for "river" in the Sankethi language. Sankethi, related to Tamil, is spoken in regions around the Kaveri. Cauvery is the Anglicized spelling.

Forsythe is a rare and intriguing surname name, most likely derived from the Old Gaelic name Fearsithe, meaning "man of peace." It may instead come from a bygone place name meaning "fairy meadow" or "fairy mound", from Gaelic fer "grass" or for "hill, mound" plus sithe "fairies."

Form of Ottilie or Odilia

A French-ified smoosh of Vietnamese Thuy and Lan, borne by French model Thylane Blondeau.

Festive name of the wife of Salvador Dali. In Spanish, Gala comes from the Roman name Galla, a feminine form of Gallus meaning "rooster" or "a person from Gaul".

A cool name, representing the Roman goddess of peace and offering a positive message to bestow upon a child. Pax is one of the most stylish new names that mean peace.

Although she declared her independence as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I--Good Queen Bess, Bess now sounds less passé than Beth or Betsy.

Eliška is warm and friendly, in the Misha, Sasha mode.

For most, Eureka will be tied up with the bathtub myth of Archimedes' discovery of volumetric displacement, making it linked to the idea of invention, discovery and innovation. Some Australians might more closely link it to the Eureka stockade, a 19th Century rebellion of miners and workers against the colonial British government. Amanda Knox named her baby girl Eureka in 2021.