Interesting Names List

Commonly used in Japanese families.

Evocative of hulas, leis, and luaus.

A name that crosses cultures, Idris was virtually unknown before the emergence of the charismatic Idris Elba, first on The Wire and then depicting Nelson Mandela in the acclaimed film.

A Quranic name especially popular in Muslim South Asia.

The calming variety of marijuana, used as a baby name every year since 1992.

A striking and feminine possibility associated with a modern hero — longtime Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The Indre is a river in France. Spelled Indra, it's the name of a powerful deity worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains — roughly the South Asian equivalent of the Greek Zeus or Norse Odin. But either Indra or Indre might make a simple, captivating, attractive name for a modern little girl.

Io may be one of the slightest names in the book, but there aren't many two-letter names with as much substance as this Greek mythological example. Io, a name used for the largest moon of Jupiter, was in classic myth raped by Zeus and escaped from him by changing herself into a cow.

Iridiana is related to the Greek name Iris, who in Greek mythology was the personification of the Rainbow. Iridiana is a frillier version of the name, likely to appeal to people who prefer Isabella to Isobel and Delphinia to Delphi.

It might be surprising to know that this name originated as a Scottish place and surname name, as in Washington Irving. It became a popular choice for first-generation Jewish-American boys, such as best-selling authors Irving Stone and Irving Wallace, whose parents looked to surnames from the British Isles to confer a measure of assimilation and class. Irving Berlin changed his name from Israel; actor Ving Rhames streamlined and coolized it. Irving was a Top 100 name during World War I, and though we don't envision it reaching those heights again, we can see some hipster parents having their own little Ving.

This is a Greenlandic girls' name made famous when Princess Mary and Prince Frederik named their twin daughter Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda.

Similar to Ivana but less personality-driven.

Attractive, rhythmic choice with roots in several languages and cultures. It's a lesser-known a celestial name, meaning "star" in Basque and referring to a star in the constellation Boötes in Arabic.

Jack getting too common for you? Here's a distinctive twist.

A name with something for everyone: for romantics, it's a beautiful Indonesian island; for teckies, it's a computer programming language.

This Dutch version of Jules is used for both girls and boys. The association with the vaping product of the same name (but different pronunciation) makes this one a no-go in the US.

Lush and unusual.