BABY NAMES: Our Kids Names and Why We Picked Them

*Updated as of 6/1/2021

While cleaning out and looking at old posts that could be rewritten I stumbled upon this old post that was originally titled, "Whats in a name?" I had written almost 8 years ago when I was pregnant with my second son. I decided to edit it and revamp it a little. I hope it finds any expecting parents looking for a unique name for their children. 

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Picking a name for a child is hard. It is not easy. Trevor and I have two different tastes and styles when it comes to names. 

It took us twenty weeks to decide on our second child's name. We actually decided on a name the day we found out that we were having another boy. We waited tell our family and friends his name, because we wanted to keep it a surprise until the day he was born. It adds a nice element of surprise since we already knew his gender.

For those who know me, I am the type of the person who shy’s away from names on the top 100 list. I don't like classic first names. I prefer unique names that are not out there but are different and have meaning. 

I'm also rather picky about the first letter of a name. For some reason, I have always been drawn to names that start with the letter A. To me, A names just sound so much prettier to me. We also were opposed to naming both of our son's as a junior. 

With our son Talan, whom we referred to as Little Bean when he was in my belly; Trevor said no to all the boy names that start with a letter A on my list and there were a lot of them! It was pretty hilarious deciding on the first name. I spent hours on various baby name sites reading name after name out loud to Trevor (that I liked) until we finally came across the perfect name that we both agreed on. I personally feel that every baby deserves to have their own special name and coming from a family where Daniel is passed down to the first born son on my mother's side was a huge no for me.

I don't know why, but I feel that picking our first born son's name was so much easier than our second son. For those of you who do not know, our oldest son is named Amari. Amari is an African name, Swahili to be exact and it mean's strength. I came across the name numerous times during my studies when I was an undergraduate student and it just stuck with me. I always loved the name and its meaning. It's a beautiful name, popular among many black communities today; however, it’s the meaning that is the most important to me. My son Amari is a strong individual and from day one he has fit the meaning of his name. 


Our second son's name is Talan. Like I mentioned above, it took 20 weeks to pick a name that we both liked. We went through numerous spellings, for example, Talon which literally means a birds claw. We eventually decided on Talan which is Welsh and means opportunistic. He fits his name and he fits well. The funny thing about our son Talan was that we didn't have any other names picked out for him. 

For our daughter, let me tell you...picking a girl name was a struggle! I never knew how difficult naming a girl would be until we found out we were having one. It took us almost my entire pregnancy to decide on her name. Our top three names at the time were Hazel, Arianna, and Aurora. We eventually nixed the name Arianna because we started hearing a lot of little girls in our area with the name whenever we would go to the park. Trev and I finally decided on our daughter's name after we watched the Disney live action of Maleficent. Hearing the name Aurora said out loud sounded so pretty. A week after we saw it, my husband and I both looked at each other and at the same time said, "Aurora. I like that name a lot." Her first name was decided but we had to go back to the drawing board for her middle name because Marie didn't flow right. 

I spent a lot of time on this post and scowered every baby name website that I could think of as well as reached out to my followers on social media for unique names that they may have had on their lists or even names that they are thinking about if they're currently expecting. I put a little * next to the sames that we used and still love for both a girl and a boy. 





Unique Boy Names 

Ace - "One or Expert" of English Origin 

Adley - "Judicious" of 

Adonis - "Lord" of Greek Origin 

Aero - "Of the Sky" of Greek Origin 

Alaric - "Noble Ruler" of German Origin 

Alton - "Old Town" of English Origin 

Amadi - "Rejoice" of African Origin 

* Amari (Amare) - "Strength or Strong Builder" of African origin 

* Apollo - "Destroyer/The Sun God" of Greek Origin 

Ari - "Lion" of Hebrew Origin 

Archer - "Bowman" of English Origin 

Ash - "From the Ash Tree" of English Origin 

Benji - "Son of my right hand" of Hebrew Origin 

Birch - "Birch Tree" of English Origin 

Bishop - "Overseer or Gaurdian" of English Origin 

Blade - "Knife/Sword" of English Origin 

Blaze - "Flame" of English Origin 

Buck - "Deer" of American Origin 

Cage - "Confining Structure with Bars" of English Origin 

Callum - "Dove" of Scottish Origin

Cairo - "Victorious One" in Arabic

Cane - "Stalk of Sugar" in English

Cash - "Make of Chests" in English 

Ceron - "Beloved" in Welsh

Cyprus - "The Cyprus Tree" in English

Cyrus  - "Of the sun" in Persian

Dash - "From the Ash" of English Origin 

Dryden - "Dry Town, Valley" of English Origin 

Dwight - "Devotee of Dionysis" of Greek Origin 

Emrys - "Immortal" of Welsh Origin

Easton - "From the East Town" of English Origin  

* Embry - "Work/Rule" of English Origin 

Ezell (Ezail)  - "Noble" of English Origin 

Ferren - "Color of Iron-Gray" of English Origin 

Fitzwilliam - "Son of Willaim" of English Origin 

* Gray - "Color" of English Origin

Hakeem - "Wise" of Arabic Origin 

Hero - "Brave One of the People" of Greek Origin 

Illias - "The Lord is My God" of Greek Origin 

Idris - "Righteious" of Arabic Origin 

Ira - "Watchful" of Hebrew Origin 

Isaias - "God is My Salvation" of Spanish Origin 

Jazz - "Style of Music" of American Origin 

Jett - "Jet Black/Type of Plane" of English Origin 

Kade -  "Stout or sturdy" of American Origin 

* Kai - "Ocean" of Native Hawaiian Origin

King - "Ruler" of English Origin 

Kota - "Happiness or Good Fortune" of Japanese Origin 

Kofi - "Born on Friday" of African Origin 

* Kyo - "Copperation, Village, Capital, Apricot" of Japanese Origin 

Lennox - "From Levenach, Scotland" of Scottish Origin 

Loki - "Trickster God" of Scandinavian Origin 

Lyre - "Harp or Lyre" of English Origin 

Major - "Better" of Latin Origin 

Matteo - "Gift of God" of Italian Origin

Micah - "Who is Like God" of Hebrew Origin 

Nasir - "Protector" of Arabic Origin

Nobel - "Good Character" of English Origin

Ollie - "Elf Army" of English Origin 

Orion - "Dweller on the Mountian" of Greek Origin 

Owen - "Desire Born" of Welsh Origin 

Penn - "Lives by the Hill" of English Origin 

Phoenix - "Blood Red. The bird born from the ashes" of Greek Origin

Preston - "From the Priests Town" of English Origin 

Quintin - "Fifth" of Latin Origin 

Ranger - "Forest Protector" of English Origin 

Rainer - "Army Counsel" of English Origin 
Also the name of a mountain in Washington state 

Ramsey - "Island of Garlic" of Scottish Origin 

Ren -  "Lotus Flower" of Japanese Origin 

Rhodes - "Roses" of Greek Origin 

Rhys - "Running" of Welsh Origin 

River (Ryver) - "Stream of Water that Flows to the Sea" of English Origin

Roscoe - "From the Deer Forest" of English Origin 

Rowyn (Rowan) - "From the Rowan Tree" of English Origin

Ryder - "Knight/Mounter Warrior" of English Origin 

Ryo - "Exceed, Excel. Succeed" of Japanese Origin  

Royce - "Of Famous Kin" of English Origin

* Saber - "Sword" of French Origin 

Saint - "Holy Person" of American Origin 

* Silas -  "Man of the Forest" of Latin Origin 

Shia - "Followers, sect" of Arabic Origin 

Soren - "Severe" of Scandinavian Origin 

Tabor - "Pennicle, height" of Hebrew Origin
Also the name of a mountain in Oregon state

* Talan  - "Opportunistic" of Welsh Origin 

* Talon - "Birds Claw" of English Origin 

Taurean - "Born Under the Sign of Taurus" of American Origin 

Thad - "Praise" of Greek Origin 

Thane - "Warrior/Land Owner" of English Origin

Thales - "Meaning Unknown" of Greek Origin 

Ty - "From the Land of Eoghan" of American Origin 

Uri - "My light, flame, and fire" of Hebrew Origin 

Uriah - "God is my Light" of Hebrew Origin

Vinson - "Son of Vincent" of English Origin 

Watson - "Son of Walter" of English Origin

Warrick - "From the Town by the River" of English Origin

Whistler - "Piper" of English Origin
Also the name of a mountain in Canada 

Winter - "The Season" of English Origin 

Xerxes - "Ruler over Heroes" of Greek Origin

Zane - "God is Gracious" of American Origin 

Zen - "Form of Buddism " of Japanese Origin 




Unique Girl Names

Arrow - "A Projectile fired from a Bow" of English Origin 

Althea - "Marsh Flower" of Greek Origin

Ambrosia - "Immortal" of Greek Origin 

Aracelie - "Alter of the Sky" of Spanish Origin 

* Aria - "Solo Melody" of Italian Origin 

Armani - "From the House of Armand" of Latin Origin 

Azure - "Bluish Color" of French Origin 

Beatrice - "Bringer of Joy" of French Origin 

Birdie (Byrdie) - "Short form of Bertha or Alberta" of English Origin 

Blessing - "Divine Gift" of English Origin 

Briar - "Shrub, Small Tree" of English Origin 

Bristol - "Sight of the Bridge" of English Origin 

* Calista - "Most Beautiful" of Greek Origin 

Cherry - "Cherry Fruit" of American Origin 

Dallas - "From the Meadow Dwelling" of Scottish Origin 

Delaney - "From the Alder Grove" of English Origin 

Demi - "Half, Small" of French Origin 

Ebony - "Dark Black Wood Tree" of English Origin 

Eden - "Paradise" of Hebrew Origin 

Eliora - "My God is My Light" of Hebrew Origin 

Ember - "Spark Burning Low" of English Origin 

Evelyn - "Beautiful Bird" of English Origin 

Everly - "From the Boar Meadow" of English Origin 

Faye - "Fairy or Elf" of English Origin 

Fern - "Fern Plant" of English Origin 

Georgia - "Farmer" of English Origin 

Gia - "God is Gracious" of Italian Origin 

Haddie - "Home Ruler" of American Origin 

Hadlee (Hadley) - "From Hadda's Field" of English Origin 

Harley - "From the Hares Woods" of English Origin 

Harlequin - "Mute Pantomime Clown" of French Origin 

Harlow - "From the Mound of the People" of English Origin 

Harper - "Harp Player" of English Origin 

Hattie - "Home Ruler" of American Origin 

* Hazel - "The Hazel Tree" of English Origin 

Iris - "Colorful or Rainbow" of Greek Origin 
Also a flower 

Isis - "Throne" of Egyptian Origin 

Ivory - "What as Elephants Tusks" of English Origin 

Ivy - "Climbing Vine" of English Origin 

Jada - "Jade Stone" of English Origin 

Jade - "Green Gemstone" of Englsih Origin 

Jonet - "God is Gracious" of Hebrew Origin 

Juliet - "Youthful, Dawny" of English Origin 

Jorie - "God will Uplift" of Hebrew Origin 

Journey - "A Trip from One Place to the Another" of American Origin 

Kaori - "Fragrent" of Japanese Origin 

Liliah - "Lilac Tree" of Persain Origin 

Laurel - "Laurel" of English Origin 

Lorelai - "Alluring Enchantress" of German Origin 

Luna - "The moon" of Italian Origin  

Mable - "Lovable" of English Origin 

Maeve - "Intoxicating" of Irish Origin 

Mahogany - "Dark, red, wood" of English Origin 

Meridian  - "Middle or Center" of American Origin 

Mona - "Desires, Wishes" of Arabic Origin 

Monet - "To be Heard" of French Origin 

Nathari - "Prose" of Swahili Origin 

Nora - "Honor" of English Origin 

Odette - "Wealth" of French Origin 

Odelia - "I Will Thank God" of Hebrew Origin 

Odessa - "Long Journey" of Greek Origin 

Olympia - "Mountain of the Gods" of Greek Origin 

Onyx - "Black Gemstone" of Aboriginal Origin 

Paloma - "A Dove" of Spanish Origin 

Pearl (Pearlie) - "Smooth Round Bead" of English Origin 

* Pemberley - "From the Barley Hill" of English Origin 
Also the name of Darcy's mansion in Pride and Prejudice 

Petra - "Rock" of Greek Origin 

Pippa - "Lover of Horses" of English Origin 

Prue - "Diminutive form of Prudence or Prunella" of English Origin 

Quest - "Long Search" of Latin Origin 

Rain - "Abundant Blessings from Above" of American Origin 

Romona - "Council Protection" of Spanish Origin 

Rosalie - "Rose" of French Origin 

Rosalia - "Rose" of Latin Origin 

Royal - "Of the King" of English Origin 

Ruby - "Red Gemstone" of English Origin

Sable - "Black" of English Origin 

Saffron - "Yellow Flower" of English Origin 

Saxon - "Germanic Tribe" of German Origin 

Sahara  - "Dawn" of  Arabic Origin 

* Sequoia - "Giant Redwood Tree" of Native American Origin 

Shea  - "Hawk" of Irish Origin 

Sicily - "From Sicily, Italy" of Italian Origin 

Solei - "Sun" of French Origin 

Storm (Stormi)  - "A Storm" of English Origin

* Stryder - "Walker" of English Origin 
Also the alias of J.R. Tolkien's fictional character Aragon 

Story - "Tale" of American Origin 

Sutton - "From the South Town" of English Origin

Tabitha - "A Gazelle" of Hebrew Orgin

Thea - "Gift of God" of Greek Origin

Tillie - "Battle Strength" of English Origin 

Tranquility - "Peace" 

True - "Real, Genuine" of English Origin 

Truly - "Honestly" of English Origin 

Uma - "Nation" of Indian Origin 

Vada - "Famous Ruler" of German Origin

Vea - "Seen" of Spanish Origin

Vesper - "Evening Star" of Latin Origin 

Venus - "Goddess of Love" of Greek Origin 

Whisper - "Soft Voice" of American Origin 

Whitley - "From the White Field" of English Origin 

Willamena - "Femine form of William" of American Origin 

Winona - "First Born" of Native American Origin 

Wisteria - "Flower that Symbolizes Devotion" 

Xara - "Princess" of American Origin

Xia - "Glow of the Sunrise" of Chinese Origin 

Xolani - "Please Forgive, Peace" of African Origin 

Zaire - "River, From Zaire" of African Origin

Zen - "Type of Buddism" of Japanese Origin 

Zeppelin - "Airship, Blimp" of German Origin

Zuri - "Beautiful" of African Origin 



Thanks for stopping by the blog today. I hope these unique names are helpful to those looking to name their baby something that is NOT on the top 100 List. Let me know your favorite names in the comments and if I missed a name, leave it in a comment and I will add it to the list of names here. 

Have a great day. 



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I Am Natasha