Unique names for a girl

An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.

Woody Allen introduced us to the name Zelig as the ever-morphing title character of his 1983 film. Zelig does have an upbeat meaning, and nickname Zelie makes it accessible for a girl, though it's an undeniably quirky choice for either gender.

Parents searching for a simple, peaceful name may be attracted to this one.

Zephyrus was the Greek god of the west wind, and all names associated with him have a pleasantly gentle, breezy feel.

Zephyr may not be a name often heard in the U.S., but its variations are used throughout Europe. Zephyrine, a cousin in sound and feel if not in fact to such lovely names as Severine and Seraphina, has distinctive possibilities.

A highly unusual Old Testament name that had a burst of popularity in the States in the 19th Century.

Zinnia is an unusual floral choice with a bit more edge and energy than most and beginning to find its way onto namers' wish lists of botanical possibilities. Named after an eighteenth German botanist called Johann Gottfried Zinn, it appears in Roald Dahl's Matilda as the young protagonist's mother.

There are many variations of this name, with or without the initial T and the final h, with one p or two. In the Bible she was the wife of Moses.

This name of a constellation in Orion's belt has an astral feel; it also belonged to the first woman to win a Pulitzer prize in drama, Zona Gale.