Uncommon and Rare Baby Names

What is the difference between "uncommon" and "rare?" Is there a difference? And are rare names still acceptable/nice? Yes. Uncommon names are those we are familiar with, but don't hear often. However, uncommon names, unlike rare names, can be popular enough to sometimes rank, or may not be common where you live. Examples include names from the bottom of the Social Security Administration's annual top 1000. In 2011, some of those names were Nova, Willa, Stacy, Esme, Gwyneth, Blair, Jewel, and Dorothy for girls, and Miller, Reuben, Flynn, Maksim, Hendrix, Corban and Pierre for boys. Rare names, on the other hand, are generally unheard of (but not all the time, as familiar names like Rosalind are considered rare because they are not being used, most times because parents favor names that sound and look like what is currently popular). Some rare names given to less than 20 babies in 2011 include Alva, Astoria, Merrick, Quorra, Palmira, Rowena, Temple, Tanith, Xanthe and Zephyra for girls, and Aragon, Gable, Breccan, Matlock, Oberon, Lorcan and Davey for boys. Both uncommon names and rare names can come from any ethnic background, decade, or spelling. A name can be both uncommon and rare. Unusual spellings can only make the spelling itself rare, not the name. And rare names can definitely be cool or beautiful. Take for example Palmer, which was given to 93 boys and 63 girls in 2011. Rare, familiar, and in style.