Unusual Girl Names

Elegant and bright with plenty of flair, Rosalia this Sicilian Saint name is familiar in Spain and Italy. It refers back to the annual Roman ceremony of hanging garlands of roses on tombs, which could make it work as a commemorative name.

This spirited Spanish variation of Rosa was familiar in the mid-20th century, but is used more quietly now. Given to around 35 babies in the US each year, it could work as a fresh alternative to Roberta or Rosie.

A feminine form of Rufus, which has potential in the current trend for ancient Roman names.

Sanne is hugely popular in the Netherlands, but almost unknown here; which makes it an interesting prospect for the parent in search of an unusual name. Pronounced sah-na, Sanne is in keeping with the Dutch taste for nicknames plucked from the middle or end of a name vs. the beginning, such as Bas for Sebastien or Bram for Abram.

Beautiful Italian island, but as a baby name too redolent of sardines.

Scarla is one of a raft of modern names that have been spun from established names -- in this case, it's part Scarlett, part Carla -- to make something new and "different." Uniqueness is the value that drives parents to invent names like Scarla, Skyla, and Saylah, but we think you'd do better to seek out a genuine name that's more unusual and has less connection to current trends.

Some names rise in tandem in their male and female forms, but Sebastia is very rare while the male Sebastian is quite popular. But it certainly might be an attractive choice.

Seneca was both a Roman philosopher-statesman and is a Native American Iroquois tribe. Occasionally used for both girls and boys, Seneca is now a Hunger Games character.

This lovely name is a softened French version of Tziporah, the biblical wife of Moses. Unfortunately, in the US, it's become attached to the cosmetics franchise.

Name for a seventh child, back when people had them.

Would certainly be misconstrued as SERAFINA, adding a lot of confusion to a little girl's life.

This long-popular name in France sounds fresh, elegant and unusual here. Severine is the name of the most recent gorgeous James Bond Girl in the film Skyfall. Students of film history will associate the name with the complex character Catherine Deneuve played in the 1967 Bunuel classic, Belle de Jour..

Strange amalgam with little appeal.

Simple and pretty and user-friendly, the Welsh Sian was used by U2's Dave "the Edge" Evans for his daughter. In Welsh, it is also spelled Siân.

Sylvester Stallone used Sistine, the name of the Vatican chapel, the site of Michelangelo's magnificent frescoed ceiling, for one of his daughters -- an imaginative choice.

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.

Common in Scandinavia, this name has rarely come to our shores. The name of the heroine in Ibsen's Peer Gynt, Solveig is currently a widely-used name in Norway. Pronounced authentically, with a silent 'g', it becomes much more appealing.

Not-so-attractive short form of a lovely name.

Popular Russian name, familiar here via author Svetlana Stalin, the dictator's daughter.

The lovely Sybella is being nudged into the spotlight by two influences: the original Sybil (the most popular spelling) or Sibyl, name of the beauteous youngest sister of television's period megahit Downton Abbey, and Top Ten name Isabella. Biggest downside: There are an awful lot of girls with names that are variations of Bella around these days. But Sybella at least makes a distinctive member of the genre.