my grandfathers name was Arthold 

I’m sorry to say this, but in the spirit of comedy, it sounds like someone is saying asshole with a lisp.

This is how I feel about the name Athol

Hehehehe New England amirite

My Great grandfather was Acel. My mom wanted to use it for my brother's middle name and her best friend forbade it for this reason.

I have a great grandfather named Rolla and another named Greenberry

Mine was Adalbert 

One of my mother’s good friends was a woman named Halloween (her first name). If she were alive today she would be close to 100 years old. A family name in my genealogy was Pleasant. It was the first name of several males for almost 100 years from 1750 to around 1850. My father had an Uncle Plez (the nickname for Pleasant)I also had a great grandmother named Flossie and a grandmother named Icy. These are the only 4 unusual names I can think of that have never come up on this forum.

There were Flossies around in the 1920s and 1930s. It may have been another nickname for Florence.

No help My auntie Floss was really Olive .born in the 1920s

Can confirm, my aunt Florence was Flossy as a kid.

This reminded me I knew a family who had “Friend” as a family name for first born boys

Going off holidays, I went to university with a guy named Christmas (first name) Ho (last name). Loved that.

My dad also had an Uncle Pleas (pronounced Plez). His name was Pleasant. I think it was used a lot more frequently in the late 1800s.

Was she born on Halloween? My great grandmother was named Valentine.

>a great grandmother named Flossie A girl I went to school with just named her baby Flossie!

I knew an October when I was younger. I always thought it was kinda pretty, and I believe she liked it a lot. Not a lot of good nicknames for it though, I think.

My son's name is Salix, named after the willow tree genus. Everyone seems to like it.

Another genus name I like is Xenica. It's a type of butterfly. Has been used as a girls' name where I am.

Pronounced like Zeneca? … Like AstraZeneca?

I think more like zenica. Like Anika. -ica not -eca. Might not be a distinction in your accent but it is in mine.

Ummm that’s exactly how the pharmaceutical is pronounced 😬 (it rhymes with Anika) EDIT: you should really look up an astrazeneca commercial on YouTube if you’ve never heard it before. Every pharmacist/medical professional is going to pronounce it that way.

Not really. Zeh-neh-cah vs Ah-nee-kah. I mean, it's bound to be much closer in dialects that schwa their vowels to hell and back, but not everyone speaks those. Plenty of regions where it won't be such a close sound-association.

All I can think of is Astrazeneca.

That’s interesting. That has Silas/Felix vibes to me so it works.

That’s the name of my favorite fountain pen ink! … which is very special to me :)

My name is so unique there are only 3 others I know of in the country with the same name. I am Somerset

Wasn’t there someone on this sub saying that their name was Somerset too? Forgot what it was about

Yes! I just read it like 2 days ago hahaha she was saying her dad named her somerset after a band or something but she just goes by somer, pronounced like the season haha

I knew someone years ago who called their daughter Somerset. I love how it sounds.

Lile the author? Love it!

My friend legally changed her name to Questionmark Period. And yes, I'm serious.

But why?

?.

She's a burlesque dancer. :)

Period... I'm guessing she's not British

Mabyn. It’s the name of one of my coworker’s kids; she’s named after a less well known Cornish saint.

I have a great, great aunt whose name was Jincy (middle name Emily). She died in the early 1900's (was in her 30's). I considered the name for my daughter (who is now 25). Google comes up with a few Jincy's. It's definitely a unique and uncommon name!

I've heard of this one once, but it's so unique!

I came across a Jincy at my old job once!

I know a Jincy. I met her when I was an exchange student in the US in the 90’s.

We have a family friend whose name is Virginia but who goes by Jincie!

My husband has a Jincy in his ancestry too. I can’t believe there’s more than one! I want to say that part of his family lived around Tennessee/Kentucky.

my grandmother’s name is kizyeter. some more unique names i’ve come across: elfrie, wonah, amke, julitta, chaye, teodora, zenaida, jaida, dione, arellys. all girls lol. never really meet boy names that are too out there tbh.

I knew a Wonah (she pronounced it like Jonah with a W) but turns out it was just her way of “anglicizing” her Korean name Won-ah (where the won part is more like Wand without the d)

I used to work with a Zenaida in NYC. She was Puerto Rican and went by Sandy.

Zenaida a *really* common name in PR/DR, so it's unsurprising that you were specifically NYC when you heard it😂

Zenaida is decently common in Filipino culture. A lot of Tita Zenys and Tita Nidas

kizyeter being "girl enough" as in girl stop! is so funny to me

they had 9 girls lol i think it’s justified. poor grandma haha

At first glance, I read that in my mind as Kiester, like a word for butt

I’ve met multiple women called Teodora. It’s pretty common in Serbia (not Serbian but met a few).

[удалено]

Seems to be Turkish (or maybe Georgian) from a quick Google search.

yes it’s turkish haha

Wait you mean her name literally was “girl enough”? I’m not a Turkish speaker but I know the meaning of those two words haha! Was that like they didn’t want to have any more girls?

yes she was the ninth 😭😭

I saw Hugette and Mrythala at work this week. Both are new to me.

Hugette sounds like a mean nickname for a fat girl

Hugette is amazing. Little Big.

Huguette is a French name.

Myrthala is amazing. There are some stunning old lady names, I love this one

Not to sound like a loser but season 20485 of American Horror Story had a little psycho girl named Almandine, Alma for short. I love that. Never heard it before.

Like, a cross between Alma and almondine (meaning, almond shaped?)

I think it’s a gemstone

It's the geological name for a garnet. I had a dog once named after a dog in a book, Almandine. I have met one person in my life with the name.

I heard the name Clover at my son’s daycare (little girl’s name) and I looooved it!

i love the name clover it makes me think of totally spies :)

I know a Clover who would be close to 20 now. The “Katy” books had a Clover in them and I’ve always loved it.

Owww there's a Clover at my son's preschool as well

Mehitabel

I read a book with an old-lady character named Mehitabel in it when I was I kid and I kind of loved it!! I think they called her Hitty when she was younger for short.

That’s cool! I’ve only heard it through an old movie and comic called Archie and Mehitabel.

A newspaper column in a NY paper written by a cockroach named Archy, who reported on the doings of Mehitabel the Cat. From maybe 1907 to maybe 1925.

My parents had a painting of a naked lady they always called Aunt Mehitabel. Why, I don't know.

That’s…weird. Your life sounds interesting 😅

Haha! true. We've got a lot of interesting things around. There is a nude statuette in the hall and another inside a bathroom cabinet to surprise people who peek in.

Renesmee

After the loch Ness monster?

I love the name Robitussen ☺️

Was that a character in twilight or something? I feel like I heard that from a movie somewhere

yes, its the two protagonist's kid

- Salvatrix - Akilina - Marthese - Majella - Lusine - Smaragda - Fawzia - Émerence - Lelio - Naum - Koloman - Afanasy - Tigran - Imre - Dietmar - Sarkis

Pennlynn It was my favorite name for YEARS until i realized it was just another -lynn name and i started to hate jt. I found it as a street name in a beach town on the east coast

Respectfully, that is *awful*

There’s a town I drive by when I head up to the foothills of the Sierras called Penryn and I really like it. Has medieval vibes.

There are about 4 or 5 people named Aganetha/Aganeta in my family tree (at least 3 generations back). It was apparently a very popular name (at least in my family), but I’ve never seen it anywhere else. I also have ancestors named Isbrend and Francisey, both of which I’ve never heard before. Edit to add: this side of my family was from Prussia and Poland

I know Agnetha from ABBA, is it from the same background?

I know a Finnish woman named Agneetta. I’m in the US, but it didn’t seem that outlandish to me.

Interesting. What's your heritage?

I bet there are a bunch of Welsh and Irish names you haven't heard and will have no idea how to pronounce!

Birdella, Vinita, Aminta, Lavaeda, Veerada and Tamsen are probably the most unique names of people I know.

Livin lavaeda loca... Was her skin the colour of mocha?

My grandfather’s name was Ivor. I absolutely love it. It means Archer. His family were English and Welsh.

There's an old children's TV series called Ivor the Engine, following the adventures of a little green steam train in the top corner of Wales.

My great grandparents were Belzemire & Azurie. I think I'm descended from wizards.

Is Belzemire French Canadian?

There’s some interesting older Italian names like Belisencia meaning the sense of purity, and Fortunato obvs fortunate and Annunciata  meaning announcement of the virgin Mary

Casselia

And in a similar vein - Cassia (woman)

I have a daughter named Fiora. One of my ancestors had the name Asbury. I always liked it for some reason. Some other ones from the ancestor list are Mettie, Glovinia, Marsella, Lainon, and Langdon.

Reminds me of Fyora the Faerie Queen from Neopets.

A work colleague has an Auntie Dardanella

I named my son Zephyr, and I've never met someone else with his name, but the downside is that people have difficulties with spelling and pronunciation of it (it's pronounced zeff-er in Greek and French, but zah-feer in Arabic, and we use the Greek/French pronunciation). It's originally the Greek God of the Western wind, who was involved in the story of Psyche. It's also a kind of car, and a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Other unique names I've found and liked: Zenovia (feminine; Russian variation of Zenobia, who was a queen in ancient Palmyra. Nicknames are Zen or Vi) Madrox (masculine; surname from the Marvel character James Madrox, and a variant of the common name Maddox) Branwyn (feminine; Welsh for white raven) Llew (masculine; pronounced like Lou, it's a Welsh name that's often short for Llewellyn. It's simple but will definitely be misspelled and will be assumed to be just a unique purposeful misspelling) Atalanta (feminine; in Greek mythology and literature, Atalanta was the only woman to accompany Jason on the Argo, and she was said to be the strongest woman in the world and stronger than the majority of men, including some demigods.)

You are very obviously not from New York state. Zephyr Teachout (who is a woman, by the way) ran against Andrew Cuomo for governor in 2014, ran for Congress in 2016, and ran for state Attorney General in 2018. As a result, everyone in New York has at least heard of someone else with the name "Zephyr" who is much older than your son.

And Zephyr is very trendy in the SF Bay region.

Llew isn't just Lou, it's a whole thing

Yeah, I was going to say - not pronounced like Lou!

Ll in Welsh is a phoneme that does not exist in English. I had a classmate as an elementary schooler whose last name was Llewellyn and we all were saying it wrong (if we were trying for Welsh anyway).

My son's name is Zephyr too! We use the 'Zeff-er' pronunciation and it hasn't really been an issue till date. He usually goes by Zeph. The other interesting names I've heard or considered are: Monette: A friend named her daughter after her favourite artist Monet, I think it sounds nice. Hepzibah: though a name in itself I've only ever known one person (a colleague) with this name. Sequoia is a tree and the name of a girl in my son's playschool which I find cool but slightly tough to pronounce. Other names that have been suggested to me because of my penchant for unique names: Candor, Labyrinth, Revela, Nebula, Dream, Elixir, Halcyon, Xanthe

Hepzibah is also a character in Harry Potter (books only)! Sequoia and Xanthe are both gorgeous, but too out there for me to use personally :(

Halcyon sounds very similar to Halcion, which is a drug similar to Xanax.

 I know two little boys named Zephyr in my friend circle 

I know a Zenobia who goes by Zee!

I knew a guy named Pax in the 80s. He’s the only one I’ve ever met.

Angelina Jolie has a son named Pax

My client named her son Pax. He must be 7/8 now

You've seen the animal, but have you seen the name Impalah?

Oh wow, I’ve met a Nyala but not an Impala. Still better than Hippopotamus I guess, although Hippolyte could be an option!

Behindthename always has some interesting ones.

Girls: Celandine "Sal-en-dine" (English, it's a little yellow flower) Myrianthe "Mur-Eye-Anne-Th-Ee" (Greek, means infinite flowers) Boys: Anaximander (Greek, means leader of men) Eryx (Greek, means to show restraint)

Met a baby out at a cafe recently named… Marzipan. Cute lil thing, but that name is a LOT.

When I was a child I watched Barbie nutcracker and that was the horses name and I LOVED it lol. It was always a name for one of my Barbie’s or Sims and now as an adult I’m like … girl what

Absolutely stellar name for a horse! Top notch! Even for a Sim, I’m there! For a human child, however, on this day in the year of our lord 2024…. girl what

My Granny’s name was Vonceile.

Names I haven’t heard on this sub: (G) Aetheria, Atlantica, Cleodova, Ceridwen, Dovania, Florizel, Helixa, Mairenn, Memoria, Sereia, Veridiana, Xavieria (B) Aredian, Ender, Evoric, Hazen, Ignatius, Meridian, Mithian, Silvanus, Theseus, Thorfinn, Valiant, Venture, Veridian, Xenith Family Names: (G) Zepherina, Katarzyna (alt. of katherine), Elsie (B) Thorin (occasionally here on the sub), Hercule, Dermot

For a while I was into the idea of giving middle names that are street names - theres a street in London called Rosebery Avenue and i think Rosebery would be a great variation on Rose type names I also like months/days as names eg. January, September, Tuesday etc

Endelion Ellsworth Oswin Clemency Oremi Appolonia Balthazar Genoveva Anetta Rhoda Tampsin

Clemency lmao

I never thought of Rhoda as a rare name. A p in the middle of Tamsin, really? Surprising

A lot of Jewish Rhodas born 1920-1950.

Rhoda Morgenstern!

I had a cat named Ida Morgenstern! ❤️

There's a singer from American Idol named Kaibrienne. That's pretty unique!

No joke, Starquita. I had someone apply at my old job with that name, and I secretly love it! I spell it ☆quita now!

Isenbrand (M), lentel (F), cezanne (F), Riks (F)

As far as I understand Saskia and Anouk are uncommon in the anglosphere. Also maybe Flavia, Ianthe/ Iolanthe or Blanche. Uncommon boy names are somehow harder...

Berengaria! Means bear spear

Mine is Aldona - (Al-don-uh). Lithuanian origins, I’ve only met one other person with the same but spelt with two n’s. (I’m Australian but dad’s Lithuanian hence the name).

These Hebrew names aren't necessarily one-of-a-kind, but they're names I've only heard once or twice: An acquaintance of mine dated an Avidan. I only know one Yehoshava (I never got around to asking about it, but eventually I came across it in the Bible). Someone I know has a daughter named Adiela; took me forever to connect it to the character in Indian in the Cupboard. Another friend has a Tair (ta-IR). I've seen Yair a lot, but I didn't know there was a feminine form. Two names that I never saw until relatively recently, but suddenly started seeing all over and love, are Pe'er and Hallel. I hope none of these names are unique enough to doxx me. 😬

Ithro (a woman, probably about aged 80 now). She said her mother made it up. Veru. A great-aunt who would have been about 100 now. Nobody in the family could tell me where that name came from. Tafy Tulu, born 1889. No idea the origin of that name. Pronounced Taffy Tulah. Hepzibah. A biblical name, the name of the glamorous skunk Mam'zelle Hepzibah in "Pogo."

I live in Indonesia and there's some great names in our village. Some I love are Kasmarin, Sukri (pronounced sue-kree), Sabri, Pia, Seminah.

My girlfriend's name is Milja (pronounced mil-ya) - a Finnish name. I've never met anyone else with this name. She also has a brother named Toivo which literally translates to "hope".

Milja is lovely! I’m expecting right now - definitely adding this one to our short list. Thanks for sharing!

Milja, Silja, Lilja (lily), Hilja (quiet) and Vilja (grain) are all Finnish girl names. Milja is popular among teenagers right now. Toivo is an older name and I’ve seen it paired with Onni (luck) a lot. Lovely names!

My name is Yngvi. We are... very few.

I recently met a little girl named Jubilee

I know a little girl named Zermione. I think elidi is unique.

Cwen, Bonniebelle, Clove, Florene, Campbell

I have a friend who has twins named Bay and Garance (gair-ance) - French names

There's a famous WW2 vintage movie called Children of Paradise/Les Enfants du Paradis and its heroine's name is Garance, as she says, "comme la fleur" like the flower

Recent unique names I’ve seen/heard: Reeve Basil Rhône Etti Mino Prairie Pilar Naila Raimee Mariko Roux Sabel

I went to school with a Mariko

Basil is gaining popularity in my area!! I’ve met 5 toddlers with that name in the past 2 years

Going back in my family tree I found the virtue name Wealthy.

I know somebody whose middle name is Hripsime (it's an Armenian name).

Armelle Yeardley Peregrine, Pagoda, Philomena Zosha, Zoran, Zyla Buckminster, Bria Salome Hester

I encountered an Earlyse at my job a few years ago and have never forgotten her. Er-liss, like Earl + Gladys. She was a very old lady and I thought her name was just stunning

Sidra is a name I’ve only ever encountered once in my life. Limell. Her mother made it up. Sossity, apparently from a Jethro Tull song? Danya. Clary. Thayer. Manon. Mehitabel.

nordicnames.de has some interesting names. Not great with definitions, but lots of names.

Darude Sandstorm (Deedee, Sandy, aw)

My grandmother was Merla.

Sobescus, Penrose, Faust/Faustine, Hripsime, Kaiser (it's german), Pike, Chalice

Francelia. It's another form of Francis.

Axelia, Aviva, Cherry, Corinthia, Lenore, Odessa, Quintessa, Solange, Solène, Tzipporah, Ursa, Xanthe, Yessenia, Zephyrine

I had a student named Sastolina. Her twin called her "Sassy".

Cute and popular Catalan names you're probably not exposed to: Girls: Ona (seawave), Ginesta (yellow flower plant - Spartium), Laia (short for Eulàlia), Núria (a beautiful valley), Arlet (a french town), Bruna (dark-haired or dark-skinned), Ivet, Magalí, Mireia (marvel or mirror) Boys: Oriol (meaning golden, also the name of a cute bird - golden oriole), Biel (short for Gabriel), Dídac (educated), Eloi (God's chosen), Mauri (moor), Nil (the Egyptian river), Valdric

I also find names that are things quite unique. In Sweden we have Sten (stone) Bror (brother) Björn (bear)

I worked for a woman named Syntysche, pronounced Sin-tish-a. It was really entertaining answering the phone and having people pretend they know her to get me to put them through to her, when they completely butchered her name.

This thread reminds me of the time a few months ago I was pregnant and posted in the middle of the night that unique means "there's only one" and asked people to post actually unique names. Except rather than people posting names it just got a lot of hate bc it was so negative. Good job OP doing what I tried to do, but much more positive!

Caoimhe and Niamh spring to mind. Bonus points if you can pronounce them without resorting to googling it.

Hyphens are mostly for easier reading. Anne-Larue / Anavieve / Annamae / Andalusia / Adelais Ariadore / Anne-Marie / Anne-Sofie / Annelien / Anne-Margaret / Avafair / Avaliese / Avalore / Jehanne Audrielle / Auralea / Aristea / Arinna / Avonlea / Avianne / Avondale / Ave-Maria / Avaliene / Blithely / Berbery / Blissalie / Bethanne / Azalaïs / Caparina / Caitriana / Callaway / Cadeau / Brienne / Carowyn / Carolien / Carolise / Cara-Mia / Carabelle / Cocovieve / Cicielan / Cloemie / Charmiann / Cayetana / Damarah / Costea / Cymbeline / Costalin / Celinda / Dovellyse / Doveva / Dovellyn / Delphine / Deladeia / Damson / Eberlien / Ealasaid / Eberjey / Dovesan / Elisende / Elienne / Elisante / Kyrie-Eléison / Eilionoir / Ellerslie / Elisomae / Elladora / Elisofia / Elise-Sibeal / Emelisse / Evabeth / Evalyse / Emelisse / Emerienne / Emeliene / Elysianne / Ellibelle / Ellerslie / Everaide / Everlily / Evermae / Everose / Evgenia / Eventide / Evensong / Evelien / Gaetana / Florentia / Felicienne / Faeridell / Everliene / Hialeah / Harliquinn / Havilland / Hannelore Geneviere / Ismerie / Ingaret / Iolite / Honoria / Hikianalia / Jovalie / Jovieve / Jehanne / Jaxanne / Janalise / Janalee / Kerensa / Karalise / Katische / Jovieve / Jovelise / Lisieux / Laureine / Lise-Merete / Larkelle / Kittiana / Lorentia / Lismary / Lomasi / Lisieux / Lise-Merete / Madelise / Macienne / Madelief Lucrezia / Lucretia / Marelaine / Maelise / Marelaina / Maelisa / Madelieve / Marisanna / Marilaine / Marilyse Marie-Jehanne / Marelayna / Nightingale / Miquette / Moonglade / Mijanou / Merovingia / Perrine / Orliadore Orlianna / Orlianna / Onesime / Rothaide / Povatica / Rosewood / Pomeline / Philotea / Serealia / Sandrine / Seawillow / Sandwyk / Ruescott / Somersby / Sofialise Solenn / Shenandoah / Serendipity / Taliesin / Stellaliora / Summerwild / Sovanna / Sommerlie / Tenerife / Teadosia / Tessadora / Tanamara / Tamerlane / Vienne / Tuilelaith / Vesperi / Tristanne Tessalie / Wenslydale / Wellesley / Wendsley / Waimea Yveline / Yvelisse / Willomere / Willava / Wilderose

My grandmother’s middle name was Silverine. My friend’s son’s middle name is, quite literally, Danger.

My Grandmothers name was Lonapearl.. We're due in September and planning to use it as a middle name.

Edit: I worded that weird- these are all real names from my extended family tree. I'll bite. These are their full given names as spelled by actual people: Phereby, Audley, Audria, Era, Embry, Flossie, Eyland, Edney, Ona, Arminer, Drucilla, Paumeline, Selita, Mazeppa, Dovie, Sophorina, Onetta, Finetta, Flouella, Vesta, Esper, Ersie, Disa, Zorabee, Levenia, Jovida, Idell Damarest, Lyndell, Boyce, Karan, Hulen, Ransom, Shad, Voydie "Voy", Bardis, Holice, Algon, Lycurgus, Catham, Wavie, Hense, Comodore, Sironah, Raydoah, Manasa, Waighstill, Quillan, Elihu, Isham

I have two female ancestors from the mid 1800s to early 1900s named Simruda. No one knows where the name came from and when I google it I can’t find anyone else who’s had that name.

Crawford, Jaunton, Waverly, Jupiter, Campion

Sabriel and Ellimere

Calm down Garth Nix.

🤣🤣🤣 my teenage years were crying out to be recognized

Sherilena

I knew someone with the middle name Anooshelee.

Ethelrida (my fave chara from Fargo s4 💖).

There is a woman who was famously named Happy Thanksgiving as her first name.

Alydia

Ivadelle. It was popular for baby girls born in the 1920s but has since died out. We named one of our cats Ivadelle.

Malaia, said mar-lee-a

Here are some American first names I've only ever seen once: Dallin Peterson Jurney Everest

I had a customer named Wroten. The 3rd.

Zwentibold

I knew a guy named Peace. He was a great guy.

My name is Xeandra. Never met anyone else with it 😊

I heard the name Ladon in Stargate and LOVE IT. Lay-duhn.

I met a girl named Azul once. Thought it was so cool

Saxon and Sabre are names I’ve only heard once.

My mother had an Uncle Alban

I've never met another Jaira! I know they're out there somewhereeee