Unusual / Interesting names

A multicultural option that's equally intriguing but more unusual than Maia. Connected to water and the ocean, it is a Top 100 choice in Spain and Puerto Rico and has been rising up the charts in France and the UK in recent years. Alternative (and equally multicultural) spelling alternative Nya has also proved popular.

Basque name for a Spanish city where the Virgin Mary appeared in medieval times, now a popular girls' name throughout Spain.

Sweet and endearing, à la Mignon and Manon.

This Latin-sounding place-name, created by C. S. Lewis for his Chronicles, will undoubtedly be adopted by a few admiring parents.

Hip-swayingly evocative.

A name rarely heard outside the Latino community, but it was popular enough in the early 2000s to crack the Top 200. Since then, it's lost ground.

Nekane is the decidedly modern, upbeat-sounding Basque form of the sorrowful and dated Spanish Dolores. Basque names, largely unknown in English-speaking countries, offer a fresh lexicon of names, and Nekane is one of the more appealing. An interesting update for Nicole.

A sweet yet substantial name of Welsh origin, Nerys has the fresh feel of Carys, but the vintage charm of Mavis, Morag, and Lois. Likely borrowing from the Welsh element nêr meaning "lord, chief", Nerys is a feminization and could then mean "lady".

Has a pure, clean aura, but is also evocative.

More unusual alternative to Tiara.

An interesting and unusual member of the "Nic" family--far more distinctive than NICOLE or NICOLA.

A sweet, simple Sanskrit name which would work in many languages and has an sparkling, colorful meaning.

Symbolic name given to girls born on TuB'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees.

Has a pleasantly fizzy, effervescent feeling.

Nyala is a secret nature name with a fashionable animal meaning. Nyala might be an appropriate name for a baby girl born under the sign of Capricorn, which is symbolized by the goat, or in the Chinese Year of the Goat -- though the last one was 2015 and we won't have another until 2027. Although the nee beginning is most frequently cited as the correct pronunciation, the name can -- and often will -- be pronounced with the first syllable rhyming with my and sigh.

Very rarely used, could provide a distinctive alternative to Lydia.