Eclectic Girls Names

This unusual form of Alexandra might be seen and pronounced as a combination of Alex and Anne.

Obscure form of an old-fashioned favorite that's poised to make a comeback. This version, which owes as much to Alison as to Louisa, has a stylish A beginning and a multi-syllabic feminine grace.

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

Ambrosia combines some of the more whimsical qualities of more popular Aurora and Isabella, with a heavenly meaning.

Emily gets a Bohemian spin and a French accent when it becomes Amelie. This favorite among French girl names has been gaining notice here thanks to the charming 2001 French film Amelie; it entered the American popularity list in 2002 and is now solidly established in the Top 1000.

Anais, the name forever attached to the daring French-born American novelist and diarist Anais Nin, is unusual and French enough without appending an e, though some may think it clarifies pronunciation.

Annora is a noble name, a distinctive twist on its most essential form: Honor. Other variations to explore include Honora and Nora.

Aoife, pronounced EE-fa, is derived from the Irish word aoibh, meaning "beauty." Aoife was borne by several different heroines of ancient Irish legend. In one tale, she was the fiercest woman warrior in the world and enemy of her twin sister, Scathach.

Aveline is a name that's long been an obscure cousin of more widely-used choices, but may come into its own riding the tail of the megapopular Ava, which may derive from the same root.

A sweet, uplifting and still fairly uncommon modern virtue name. Its single syllable makes it especially good as a middle name, but it would also make a big impact in the first spot.

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.

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera that was transmogrified into the modern play Rent. Boheme means a literary or artistic person who lives outside conventional society.

Brisa is commonly used in Latino families, all but unheard of in others.

Possibility for a dark-haired babe.

Calla is a lily name that is much more distinctive and delicate than Lily. Rarely heard today, it did appear in the popularity lists in the last decades of the nineteenth century.

Camellia is a rare flower name with distinct roots related to the Camille/Camila group and has varied associations to the moon, water, wealth, and perfection. It could be thought of as a floral replacement for Amelia.

Capucine was a chic French actress half a century ago and has been one of the most fashionable girl names in France in recent decades, ranking in France's Top 100. Capucine is also popular in French-speaking Belgium. To Americans and other English speakers, this name still feels fresh -- so fresh that last year, no baby girls were named Capucine in the US.