Really Unusual Names That I Love!

This town in central New York might make a rhythmic first name.

Name of the legendary ancient Greek poet and musician — whose music was so beautiful it made trees dance and rivers stop to listen — would provide a child with a challenging but indelible identity.

Ottilie is trending in the UK, where the pronounced T helps the name sound pretty and delicate, rather like Amelie and Elodie. Ottilie is less popular in the US, where many Americans pronounce it as a near-homonym for "oddly".

Has good vibes via the stork's intimations of longevity.

Sophisticated, stylish feminine form of Pascal especially appropriate for girls born around Easter or Passover.

Philomena is an earthy Greek name now used in various Latin countries. While it has felt simply clunky for many years, it's starting -- along with such sister names as Wilhelmina and Frederica -- to sound so clunky it's cool.

Phinnaeus is the antique spelling of the antique name single-handedly revived by Julia Roberts. Finn is the nickname she uses that you might find appealing too.

This version of the sea god's name may be more ready for prime time than the Roman version, Neptune -- slightly.

Twist on the attractive and underused biblical name Keturah.

Mother of rising star actress Quvenzhané Wallis.

Used almost exclusively in England; would make an equally amiable short form here for Raphael or Rafferty -- and could also stand on its own. If you're looking for boys' names starting with R, this is one of your cooler choices.

Unique choice, with a pleasant antique feel.

Well used in Israel, likely to be confused with Ramona here.

Madonna did much to polish up the image of this old-neighborhood Italian choice when she picked it for her son with British director Guy Ritchie, and several years later it was also used by Rose Byrne and Bobby Canavale for their son. It now feels much more mainstream than many celebrity baby names, sharing the quirky appeal of some other so-far-out-they're-in baby names as Bruno and Hugo.

A name commonly used in Spain and Italy, it refers back to the annual Roman ceremony of hanging garlands of roses on tombs.

Name with connotations both mystical and tragic, newly popular in Europe. For English speakers, though, this name might be ruined by its homonym ruin.

A botanical name of Bulgarian origin, it could refer to plants from the Alcea genus, or be a variation on the Macedonian name, Ruža, meaning "rose".

Over the top for even the most ardent Anglophile. Sacheverell Sitwell was a member of the prominentliterary Sitwell family.