Favorite Girl Names- Unique

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.

If you feel, as many parents do, that Gabby or Gabi is too harsh a short form for the mellifluous name Gabriella, try Brie, Brielle, or Briella.

Though it sounds so modern, Brielle is, among other things, a traditional Cajun contraction of Gabrielle, but it has now spread far beyond that community. Brielle is also the name of a historic seaport in the western Netherlands.

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

Brisa is commonly used in Latino families, all but unheard of in others.

Brooke has long projected an aura of sleek sophistication, and can also be seen as a stylish water name.

A fresh and gender-neutral take on Gen Z favorite Brooke, Brooks is a stylish and sleek choice. Currently in the US Top 100 for boys, Brooks is also given to 70 girls each year. A small number at the moment, but, with Harper, Avery, Emerson and Marlowe trending upwards, that number could increase in coming years.

Bryony is an unusually strong plant name --the bryony is a wild climbing vine with green flowers --that caught on in the U.K. before sprouting here. The name of the young character in the Ian McEwan novel Atonement is spelled Briony, which is the variation and Bryony the original.

Bunny may be adorable, but is it really enough of a name for your daughter? Plus if Buffy is fluffy, what would that make Bunny? Still, Bunny as a baby name is in the spotlight since Bryan Adams named his little girl Mirabella Bunny.

Calla is a lily name that is much more distinctive and delicate than Lily. Rarely heard today, it did appear in the popularity lists in the last decades of the nineteenth century.

Calliope is the name of the muse of epic poetry -- and also the musical instrument on the merry-go-round. Bold and creative, it would not be the easiest name for a girl lacking such qualities. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. While Americans usually pronounce this name with a long I sound and the emphasis on the second syllables, Greeks pronounce it with the emphasis on the third syllable -- ka-lee-OH-pee.

From the botanical name for common heather, Calluna vulgaris, which ultimately derives from the Greek kallos "beauty". A unique, nature-inspired route to the fashionable nicknames Callie and Luna.

The Spanish Camila, pronounced ka-MEE-la, is the fastest rising version of this ancient Roman name, but recent royal Camilla may have helped promote the British brand.

At one time just the sound of the name Camille could start people coughing, recalling the tragic Lady of the Camellias, the heroine played by Greta Garbo in the vintage film based on a Dumas story, but that image has faded, replaced by a sleek, chic, highly attractive one.