Unusual Girl Names

Honora and Honoria are two ways of softening the severity of Honor, while retaining its righteous meaning. They were predominant until the Reformation, when the Puritans adopted the abstract virtue names, and were introduced to Britain by the Normans.

The pure, simple HONOR--as chosen by Jessica Alba, is perfect as it is. It does have some literary cred though--Henry James created a character called Honorine for his novel The Tragic Muse.

Hypatia, an ancient Greek name, has a distinguished namesake: Hypatia of Alexandria was an early philosopher and scholar of mathematics and astronomy--as well as inventor of several scientific instruments.

Idalah is a town in Zebulon that makes a distinctive first name for a modern girl. Where the boys get most of the ancient yet unusual Biblical names, Idalah is one for the girls' side.

This Spanish form of the yet-to-be-revived Ignatius was borne by an early and influential Philipina nun known as Mother Ignacia.

Hilary may feel too connected to a single personality, but this version offers a fresh and interesting alternative.

Saint's name made infamous by Philippine dictator's wife Imelda Marcos. A more positive famous bearer is the British actress Imelda Staunton, best known for playing Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter movies.

Even purer than Chastity...and as difficult, at least outside the Hispanic community.

In mythology, Iphigenia was sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon -- a difficult legacy to pass on to a daughter, and only one reason the name is hardly ever used.

With the popularity of Isabella, you might think of Isabelline as a further elaboration -- though it would be the definition of gilding the lily. But Isabelline is also a color, an amorphous pale yellow-gray-cream most often seen in horses' coats or birds' plumage.

The name of an ancient country located in South Asia Minor, perfect for someone looking for a rare and feminine name with history.

Sister of Antigone and daughter of Oedipus in Greek mythology, Ismene's name is unlikely to make it in modern times because of its teasability factor. Ismay or Esme would be better bets.

The island home of Odysseus, and city site of Cornell University, sounds soft and pleasant enough to make it a candidate for babynamehood.

Unusual and unfashionable name found in Toni Morrison's novel Tar Baby.

Jaslene, a reality show-related name via former America's Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez, a smoosh of Jasmine and the 'ene' ending, has dropped from Number 599 in 2007 to 976 in 2010.

Jemima, the name of a strong and beautiful Biblical daughter of Job, has long been among the chicest choices of aristocratic Brits, most recently ranking at #231 there in 2017. But despite its lovely sound and peaceful meaning, this attractive name hasn't ranked in the US Top 1000 since 1893, no doubt due to the problematic association with racial stereotyping, exemplified by the Aunt Jemima brand of pancakes.

This biblical name of the mother of King Jotham of Judah has an appealing soft Russian accent.