Quirky, Fun, Unusual Middle Name Ideas for girls

Artemis, one of the key figures of the female Greek pantheon, is the ancient virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, childbirth, and a protector of young girls, later associated with the moon. Artemis is the equivalent to the Roman Diana, but a fresher and more distinctive, if offbeat, choice.

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina-- makes a heavenly first name. Actress Rena Sofer and British musician Julian Cope used it for their daughters.

Now that parents have picked virtually every name in the garden, from the common Rose to the captivating Zinnia, some are reconsidering the old, more generic names like Flora and Posy and Blossom — which was last in favor in the 1920s and still has a Floradora showgirl aura.

Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous -- some might say outlandish -- choice. Distinctive and charming? Or better suited to a farmyard animal? Your call.

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.

Briony may be the variation and Bryony the original, but many parents will see this as the more authentic-feeling version of this attractive botanical name. Still unusual in the U.S., Briony is in the British Top 100 and may appeal to parents as a fresh spin on Briana or Brittany or an honorific for a Brian, though it bears no relationship to the male name.

It's a place. It's a wine. It's a color. -- no wonder trend-heavy Burgundy's been discovered as a name.

This hyper-rhythmic name has two evocative references. In Greek mythology, she was an island nymph, a daughter of Atlas, who delayed Odysseus from returning home. It is also a genre of West Indian music, originating in Trinidad and Tobago and largely popularized in the States by Harry Belafonte.

It's a nature name evocative of rushing waterfalls. But also a dishwashing detergent.

Celtic goddess of poetry, though less-than-poetic name.

Common name in Wales that's all but unknown in the U.S. Certainly an attractive choice ripe for export. In the UK it sits at Number 330.

Reference to the mythological Three Graces of womanly charm, this one representing charity. Pronounced in Greek as starting with a back-of-the-throat H sound, most English-speakers would translate that to something closer to KAR-is. It's also the name of a girl who lived in Atlantis in the novel Taliesin, and appears in the Margaret Atwood novel The Robber Bride.

With other fruity names like Clementine, Olive and Plum ripe for the picking, sweet Cherry remains remarkably underused: just 27 baby girls received the name in 2017, down from 343 at its peak in 1948. The unsavory slang meaning no doubt goes a long way towards explaining its fall from grace.

In Greek myth, Circe, daughter of Helios, the sun, was a sorceress living on the island of Aeaea, who could turn men into animals with her magic wand, which is just what she did to Odysseus's crew in Homer's Odyssey, transforming them into swine. All was forgiven, however, as Circe and Odysseus later had a child together—Telegonus.