Favorite Girl Names- Unique

Unfamiliar Asian choice that can work for a parent in search of something really different.

Finding a really distinctive name is probably a better way to make sure your child stands out, but then again, is choosing Unique really any different to parents choosing Saint, Messiah, Chosen, Dream, Miracle, or Blessing?

Another hidden gem of a feminist name! Valasca was a warrior-queen. When Queen Libussa died, Valasca took control and created a women-centred state in what is now the Czech Republic. Among Valasca's decrees were that only women and girls would be trained for the military. Her nation lasted for only 7 years, when she was slain in battle. All in all, one of the most inspiratiional Czech names for girls.

Vanessa was invented by writer Jonathan Swift for a lover named Esther Vanhomrigh—he combined the first syllable of her last name with the initial syllable of her first. Swift used it in the poem Cadenus and Vanessa in 1713. A century later, Johan Christian Fabricius used Vanessa as the name of a genus of butterfly.

Diminutive of the Italian Giovanna, or sometimes Vanessa or Ivanna.

Varuni is a Hindu goddess and the consort of Varuna, the Hindu God of the water, making this one of the many mythological names with water meanings. Varuni, also known as Varunani, emerged from the ocean and is known as the personification of amrita (the nectar of immortality). She is also known as the "agent of transcendent wisdom".

Velvet is a name that couldn't possibly be softer or more luxuriant. Many people have fond memories of it via the character of Velvet Brown, played by the young Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, an intrepid young woman willing to masquerade as a boy to race her horse in a dangerous steeplechase.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

Vera was the height of fashion in 1910, then was for a long time difficult to picture embroidered on a baby blanket. Now, though, it has come back into style along with other old-fashioned simple names such as Ada and Iris.

If you love Puritan virtue names and want to move beyond Hope and Faith and Grace, this is a wonderful choice, both for its meaning and its sound. A rare find here, though occasionally heard in England. It was used in Winston Graham's Poldark novels, was Madonna's name as James Bond's fencing instructor in Die Another Day, and made a brief appearance in Harry Potter. Not to mention being a fixture on British and Australian soaps. Verity also appears in one of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries.

Violet is soft and sweet, yet with a vivacious edge. Today, Violet is the top flower name for girls, outranking Lily and Iris in the Top 100, and the second most popular color name for girls after Scarlett.

Vivia, the fresh Italian version of newly popular name, streamlines and even vivifies the original.

Vivian is the classic spelling, now in the Top 100, while Vivien is the most common alternative. This one foregrounds the "Anne," and so could serve as a nod to a relative or friend by that name.

Embroidered lace hankie of a name, used in a Thomas Hardy novel. That literary cred lends some gravitas.