Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Unique baby names and meanings


Finding a unique baby name for your baby boy or girl can be a daunting task -- picking the perfect name, combining it with the last name and getting input from everyone around you. It is particularly difficult if you want your child to stand out from all the other Johns and Janes. Here is a list of unique baby names to help you along your very important task of naming your beautiful new baby.


Perhaps you don't want your child to be one of a number of kids who have the same name in her kindergarten class, or maybe you grew up with a popular name and always longed for a name that was a little more different than what everyone else had. You also may be choosing a popular or family name for a first name, but are wanting to pair it with a unique middle name.

Coming up with a memorable baby name can sometimes be a challenge because often a unique name can come across as unpronounceable or, on the other hand, can be difficult to spell. Sometimes there is a fine line between being an individual and opening your child to teasing, so here is a collection of unique baby boy and baby girl names (with their meanings) that will hopefully be inspiring, individual and special while not being too unusual. Some even come from our own English vocabulary, from nature or have been used as names for decades.


Unique baby girl names

Aleta: Winged

Amity: Friendship, harmony

Aria: A tune for a single voice with instrumental accompaniment

Avalon: Island from the Arthurian legend, famous for its apples

Betony: This is a common name for a plant that yields gorgeous purple flowers.

Daelyn: Small valley

Diantha: Modern blend of Diana, which means divine huntress and Anthea, which is a flower

Fallon: Descended from a ruler

Jennyver: White wave

Kiba: Protected

Oriana: Blonde

Pascale: Born at Easter

Perrin: Feminine form of Peter, which in turn means rock

Reveka: Captivating

Solaine: Dignified

Umbra: Darkest point of a shadow

Xyris: Beautiful yellow-flowering plant

Zenith: The point in the heavens directly above you



Get more unique baby girl names here.

Unique baby boy names

Axiom: Self-evident truth

Berrin: Bear

Chroma: Intensity or purity of a color

Daxton: This is a reference to the French town Dax

Fain: Joyful

Granger: Farmer

Madrigal: A type of Italian musical composition dating from the Renaissance, featuring voices unaccompanied by instruments

Marston: From the farm by the pool, or the town by the marsh

Morrow: A shortened form of "tomorrow"

Motega: New arrow

Nealon: Champion

Rexton: Variant of Rex, which means lord, king or chieftan

Rowan: This name can be used for a boy or a girl and means little red head

Seldon: From the willow valley

Severin: Stern

Tabbart: Brilliant

Taro: Big boy

Varden: From the green hill

Welkin: The sky

BabyCenter's list of most-popular baby names of the decade and 2009


Each year, BabyCenter gets the inside scoop on the most popular baby names from hundreds and thousands of new parents. Here's what's hot and what's not in 2009. We also went a step further this year to bring you the 50 most popular names of the decade.

Note: To capture true popularity, our exclusive baby names list combines names that sound the same but have multiple spellings (like Aden, Aiden, and Ayden).

Top girls' names of the decade
1. Emma
2. Emily
3. Madison
4. Isabella
5. Ava



Top boys' names of the decade
1. Aiden
2. Jacob
3. Ethan
4. Matthew
5. Nicholas



Top girls' names of 2009
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava


Top boys' names of 2009
1. Aiden
2. Ethan
3. Jackson
4. Jayden
5. Jacob


This year, parents found baby-naming inspiration in everything from vampires to vote-getters. Fans of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire series, have sunk their fangs into the list, boosting such names as Bella, Alice, and Edward. On the presidential front, the commander-in-chief's daughters Sasha and Malia are moving up our list.