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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