Unique Girl Names: Uncommon, Unusual, Cool

An old-lady name in Scandinavia today, but Eivor may get a fresh start in the US, where it is associated with Assassain's Creed character Eivor Varinsdottir. Interestingly, the video game inspired several sets of parents to use the name for their sons in 2021 — the first year Eivor was ever recorded — but it has never made the charts for girls.

Kyriaki is the feminine variation of Kyriakos, derived from the Greek word kyrios, meaning "lord." It is also the Greek word for Sunday, meaning it doubles up as a word name.

Amabella is an elaboration of Amabel, a popular medieval name. Neil Gaiman and Liane Moriarty used Amabella as a character name in their novels, The Graveyard Book and Big Little Lies, respectively.

A warm-sounding word and virtue name used by the Puritans and still popular in parts of Africa, especially in the Favour spelling.

Resonant and unusual.

Yulisa is a spelling variation of the Latin American Julissa or Julisa. Yulisa clarifies the pronunciation of the name for English speakers.

Tahani, a somewhat unusual Arabic name for girls, has popped up twice on TV recently: it's the name of one of the main characters on NBC comedy The Good Place and a teenaged contestant on So You Think You Can Dance.

In the Bible, there is a reference to the Kerith Ravine, where God told Elijah to hide in order to be provided with water during a drought. There is also a Kerith in the James Michener novel The Source. A soft and gentle and very unusual addition to the category of biblical place names.

This and two other female forms -- AQUILA and AQUILINA -- of the Roman family name Aquilius might live on in modern times.

Dovie was a fairly popular nickname name a century or more ago, dropping off the Top 1000 in the 1940s only to be heading straight back uphill now.

Romantic name, feminine form of the ancient name Romanus or the modern Roman, that may rise again with the league of Rom-beginning names that also include Romy and Romilly. Romana's downside: Easy to confuse with the more familiar Ramona.

Xaviera is one of the most intriguing and rarest female forms of a male name. Only a handful of baby girls are named Xaviera in the US each year, compared with nearly 3500 baby boys named Xavier.

Juba, a strong and resonant unisex name, belonged to an ancient African king, is a city and river name, and is traditionally given to Ashanti (of Ghana) girls born on Monday.

Eula is a slightly sweeter and more compact version of Eulalia. Currently, neither name is given to more than a handful of girls each year. Eula was fairly popular in the US during the early twentieth century, and she last ranked in the Top 1000 in 1960.

In Choctaw culture, people could have multiple names over a lifetime. New names would be bestowed upon tribe members after major life events.

Authentic, melodic place-name for the adventurous, chosen by rapper LL Cool J for his daughter and given to nearly 80 baby girls in the US last year. Italia of course is what the Italians call Italy.

Short for Olukemi or a rare name in its own right, this Yoruba name has a beautiful meaning. A notable bearer is British MP Olukemi (Kemi) Badenoch.

In geography, a meridian is a line drawn around the curve of the Earth between the North and South Poles. The term comes from Latin meridianus, meaning "pertaining to midday", and the association with midday has led to the word gaining an added figurative meaning of "pinnacle; culmination".

A fresh and pretty Japanese name which would be an unusual route to the popular Emmy/Emi nickname. In Japanese, this name can be formed from a variety of different kanji combinations with different meanings, but "laughing child" and "beautiful child" are two appealing possibilities.