Unique Unisex Middle Names

Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.

One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

This unusual English word name and surname was the middle name of American sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, after his mother's maiden name. Its striking sound and appealing meaning make it a promising virtue name possibility for either gender.

A name with vision.

Lorca is a Spanish place name from the province of Navarre, but more famous as the last name of the eminent Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, who was the direct inspiration for the name of Leonard Cohen's daughter Lorca.

While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.

A tad spacy.

Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend") and to denote a person who is fantastic "what a legend"). Who can live up to that?

For basketball fans, in honor of Magic Johnson. Or anyone who believes in magic.

African-American and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth was born as Isabelle into enslavement. She adopted her new name when she began traveling and preaching abolition in 1843. Sojourner is a heroine name that may, with the rise of spiritual word names such as Journey and Genesis, finally be ready for prime time.

If you want to move beyond Maya.

Christmas is a day name long and quietly used as a name for babies born at Christmas. Prettier and more modern than Noel or Noelle.

This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.

As a name, a bit too p. c.

Tree is an ultimate nature name, made famous by longtime Taylor Swift publicist Tree Paine, born Trina Snyder.

This word name shines bright and comes with the nickname Bea.

The vowel ending tilts this sharply toward the feminine, and at this point Havana still has some political implications as well.

An interesting Canadian province and city name that has some literary history as the name of a character in Dickens's Bleak House; could make a distinctive choice for parents with northern roots.