Unique Middle Names for Girls

A mash-up of popular name trends, French is all at once a place name, word name, and surname name. It's evocative of a favorite celebrity baby name fad of using nationalities as names as opposed to places, as in Mariah Carey's Moroccan.

Marvel, now a character name in The Hunger Games series, was a miracle name of yesterday, on the girls' Social Security list until 1941 and reaching a high of 487 at the turn of the last century, when Marva was also in style.

Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe.

Meraki is one of those untranslatable words that only exist in a single language. It's the Greek concept of putting your whole heart into something. NPR says, "Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table."

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi," which translates to "cold water." Nairobi is popularly known as the Green City.

Supermodel Shalom Harlow glamorized this name, which is heard as a greeting every day in Israel.

A Gallic twist on a word or nature name, which has a nice lemony feel. 

Leaf is a hippieish choice that, for girls, still retains an evergreen quality.

This evocative term for a stone or shell carved in relief could make a striking first name for a girl, though she would have a starring role in her story, rather than a cameo.

North's image and gender status was irrevocably changed when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their newborn daughter. But why not? West is firmly established as a name, Easton is coming up strong, and North has a nice solid sound as well -- certainly as appropriate for either gender. South, though, not so much.

Dune is a haunting and evocative sandy-beach name, which also has sci-fi connections. Dune is a science fiction franchise that was launched by Frank Herbert's 1965 novel. Some interesting Dune character names include Alia, Leto, Siona, Bellonda,and Tamalane.

Chosen by aviators Charles and Anne Lindbergh for their daughter, Reeve is another single-syllable surname waiting to be borrowed by the girls.

ALLEGRA is a delicate ballet-dancer name; ALLEGRO, which means a fast-paced movement in music, is stronger and more vibrant.

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.

An early day name worthy of consideration today for someone seeking a truly unusual name.

If Erykah Badu can name her son Seven, why can't you name your daughter (or son) this? Eleven has recently gotten a lot of attention via the character on the TV show Stranger Things.

A star in the "tail" of the Cygnus constellation.

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera that was transmogrified into the modern play Rent. Boheme means a literary or artistic person who lives outside conventional society.

Cool, cruising choice for either sex.

Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.