Baby Names Unheard Of, Uncommon, Unique, Unusual

Well, heard of, maybe, just not used....

Valley
Thistle
Ravine
Tinsel
Seawillow
Imperia
Beria
Lupin
Hart
Destry
Bardot
Homily
Cherry
Arjuna
Argent
Calendula
Cordula
Aviana
Ariska
Eliska
Annanova
Novavie
Aruna
Thessaly
Helios
Clelia
Yvaine
Theria
Lilikoi
Lilika
Cantara
Melusine
Aquilina
Acantha
Aeronwen
Orlena
Burgundy
Susilva
Anchoret
Astoria

The right first name for your baby's last name

I've wanted to write some more advice posts, and lately I've been thinking about how first and last names are paired together. I know that sometimes absolutely no thought whatsoever is put into choosing the right first name for your baby that pairs well with your surname, (and these names tend to be comical, whether intended or not), but I dare say most parents, even if subconsciously, choose a given name that doesn't seem insanely out of place with their surname. There will always be John Wu, Angel Black, Kimantha Stanislav, and the like, where the two really don't seem to fit, but there are ever more names that just seem right together, such as Bill Clinton, Colin Firth, January Jones or Jennifer Anniston, as far as celebrity examples go.

My advice is to take your surname into heavy consideration before choosing a given name. Think about what it means, what the name conveys, what culture it honors, what kind of image it brings to mind.

However, my question, as I've seen asked dozens of times, is can you pair a given name that is obviously from a particular culture or country, with a surname that is obviously from a very different culture or country? I imagine something like Siobhan Smith or James Takeuchi. It might be easier to say "Of course you can" when the names sound excellent together, as Siobhan Smith does, or if you have a connection to both cultures/countries (for example, your surname is French, you come from France, but your significant other is from Japan, and you'd like to honor both). And of course, just because a name originated in Greece or Italy or wherever, doesn't mean it's destined to only be thought of as Greek, Italian or whatever. A lot of those names are now simply thought of as "American." Jessica comes to mind.

In my personal opinion, I think it is a lovely idea, and no one ever said you can't do it, as long as you consider everything seriously. No matter what your surname, no matter what given name you're thinking about using, it's always a good idea to ask yourself (and others) whether the names sound good together, what impression the child's name might make, if the meanings or assumed cultures conflict, etc. It might just be a little bit weird to be named Parvati Jameson or Guadalupe Chan, but a little Fionnuala Fischer or Anastasia Sanderson might be cute.

Belina

Saint Belina, whose feast day is February 19, was a peasant girl from France who died protecting her virginity. I don't think she was a Patron Saint. Other than this, not much is known about her, but her name is beautiful enough to feature a post on. She is not to be confused with Bellona, the Roman goddess of battle. Belina and Bellina, primarily used in Spanish and Italian, mean "beautiful." The male variant, Bellino, also means "beautiful," and honors St. Bellino, whose feast day is November 26.

In 2010 there were 13 baby girls named Belina and 9 Bellina. Both Belina and Bellina have desirable nicknames, including Bel, Bell, Belle, Bella, and Lina. In 2011 there were 8 girls named Belina and 12 Bellina.

Amethyst

Well, I lost my list of planned February posts, so I'm a little behind and frustrated. Believe it or not, a little effort goes into lining up the names I post, as I want each pair to fit well together. In my opinion, anyway. But, until I've covered each month's birth stone, you can at least expect me to have a post on a birth stone every month until August, since the first one I covered was this past September, sapphire.

Amethyst is February's birth stone, a beautiful purple gem, as you can see. I have long loved Amethyst as a baby name since, although it is a little quirky, it offers options for those of us who love names like Amber, Angelina, Amy, Violet, or any other names we are drawn to but would not use.

Like Violet, which is ever popular, Amethyst immediately conjures up the image of a distinct purple color, and like Ruby, also ever popular, it gives us thoughts of pretty gemstones. However, Amethyst has never graced the top 1000. In 2010 there were only 62 baby girls born named Amethyst.

Amethyst, a semi-precious form of quartz, is Greek, meaning "not intoxicated." The Greeks took this literally and wore amethyst as a form of protection against the effects of wine, sometimes even placing the amethyst in the wine itself. Tibetan Buddhists believe the stone is sacred to Buddha. Today people still believe in amethyst's calming properties, its ability to promote serenity, provide peace, and help with addictions.

With amethyst being such a common jewelry store find, and with accessable nicknames like Amy or Ama, it certainly won't be your fault if people have difficulty with this name. It should be just as easy for people to understand and pronounce as Amber, yet your child will probably never meet another in her lifetime.

Keep in mind...

Here's something I never thought of before. We're all aware of the possibility of kids being called by their first name and last initial (Isabella M., for example) when there are more than one in a class, or anywhere else for that matter. However, there is another possibility I didn't think of before - they could turn into "the ugly Isabella," or "the weird Isabella," etc. Granted, they could be known as "the pretty Isabella," or "the Isabella that saved fish from being eaten by the science teacher's octopus that climbed out of its tank," but I'm just letting everyone know that it could happen. Just one more reason to advocate rare names. This happens most often in school, where there are a bunch of kids from the same generation packed together, but I did mention that it happens other places as well. In school I was Cristina S., while as an adult people have to find other ways to refer to me, given that I am competing with other Christina's and Krystyna's from my generation. This might not bug most people, and I don't mind too much myself, but I don't want it for my child. I'd like them to have a rare name, not having to compete with kids with names in the top 10, 100, or even 1000.

Also, just found this book - The Everything Baby Names Book (2nd edition) by June Rifkin, 2006. I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

Valentine Names

Cute Valentine's Day name ideas...

There are plenty of lists out there, so I'll keep mine short but sweet.

Amora
Primrose
Valentine
Valentina
Lacey
Caramia
Carina
Cherie
Carys
Caradoc
Kerensa
Kalila
Graziana
Romeo
Juliet
Suki
Aphrodite
Astrid
Scarlett

As well as any variation on Rose - Rosaria, Rosabelle, Rosalie, Rosie, etc. Unless you typically get your favorite flower on Valentine's Day, be it Calla Lillies, Tulips, whatever. I myself got red roses, and I know that's traditional.

My Favorite Rare Baby Name Finds (Girls)

I thought it might be nice to share a list of some of my favorite rare names. They're not names I'm planning on using for any future kids, although I thought about it, so feel free to take them. I will also do individual posts on these at some point if I haven't already.

Seraphina
Ekaterina
Lionella
Bellina
Persephone
Doveva
Verbena
Calandra
Andromeda
Flora
Calypso
Zenobia
Camellia
Deirdre
Millicent
Fiamma
Xanthe
Fable
Wisteria
Yelena
Pomeline
Acantha
Freesia
Zarina
Celestina
Viridiana
Galina
Indigo
Arcadia
Aquinnah
Nikita
Ceridwen
Rowena
Ostara
Lura
Chantal
Avelina
Cosima
Aviva
Indira
Jemima
Nimue
Octavia
Elva
Alyona
Maple
Coral
Clover
Oceana
Emmanuelle
Opal
Bryony
Andra
Charm
Melora
Pandora
Sequoia
Odessa
Oksana
Diantha
Sirena
Lilac
Jessamine
Saskia
Lilika
Phaedra
Thora
Alvina
Cordelia
Genoveva
Avalon
Guadalupe
Galatea
Ambretta
Elowen
Timea
Amarantha
Azura
Runa
Plumeria
Siobhan
Tira
Graciella
Halina
Penina
Twila
Havana
Sephora
Lamia
Hermione
Portia
Quintessa
Wilhelima
Winifred
Sakura
Ursula
Ravenna
Ginevra