149 unique baby names (2024)

None of these names appeared in the top 500 baby names in 2022, according to the Social Security Administration.

48 unique names

Adler means "eagle" in German.

Aislinn derives from Aisling, a Celtic Irish name that means "dream" or "vision."

Alina is an Arabic name meaning "delicate," as well as a possible Slavic variation of Helen, meaning "to shine."

Alma means "nourishing" and is rooted in Latin.

Amoret, from the French word amour, means "little love."

Angus is the English version of a Gaelic and Irish name meaning "one choice."

Arjun is a name with Sanskrit name that means "lustrous" or "silver."

Banks is an Old English surname meaning "lived on the river bank" or "earth bordering water."

Beck has a few meanings: Derived from Old Norse, it means "brook"; derived from Hebrew, it means "son of martyrs"; and it can be a variation of the German surname Becker, which means "baker."

Bonnie is a Scottish name that means "beautiful" or "cheerful."

Bowie is an Irish and Scottish surname that means "yellow" or "fair-haired," though there's also speculation that it derives from an Irish name meaning "victorious."

Calista is a beautiful Greek-rooted name that means "most beautiful."

Chelsea is a place name, a posh London neighborhood. The name means "chalk wharf" in Old English.

Cherish is a name with French roots: Cher means "dear." It means "to hold dear" and infers "preciousness."

Clarence is thought to come from Latin, meaning "bright and clear," though its origin could also be as an Irish name for someone who lived near the River Clare.

Clementine is the name of a fruit, a small orange. As a name, it derives from a Latin name meaning "merciful."

Clio is a muse in Greek mythology, the goddess of history. The name derives from a Greek word meaning "to make famous" or "to celebrate."

Cosette is a French name of uncertain origins, and could be derived from a word meaning "little one."

Creed is rooted in the Latin word credo, meaning "to believe." It means "a set of beliefs that guide one's actions."

Dane is an Old English word that means "from Denmark."

Danica is a fearless name of Slavic origin. It means "morning star."

Enya is the English version of the Irish name Eithne, which means "kernel" or "grain."

Dalia is the Arabic word for the dahlia flower.

Dewey means "beloved," and is the Welsh form of the name David.

Erasmus also means "beloved," though it derives from Greek.

Ephraim is a biblical name that means "fruitful."

Esperanza is a Spanish name meaning "hope."

Fern is an Old English plant name that represents magic and secrecy in Victorian flower language.

Granger is an English and French occupational surname that means "farm bailiff" – someone who oversaw the rent and taxes of a lord's lands.

Jada is a variant of Jade, a precious stone significant in many cultures.

Janna is an Arabic name that means "garden" or "paradise."

Jedediah is Hebrew and means "beloved of God" or "God's friend."

Jemma is a variant spelling of Gemma, an English name meaning "precious stone" or "gem."

Leona is the feminine form of Leo, the Latin word for "lion."

Mihir is a Hindi-rooted name meaning "the sun."

Milan, as in the Italian city, derives from Gaulish words meaning "middle plain."

Opal is a mineral, a gemstone, rooted in the Sanskrit word upala, meaning "precious stone."

Persephone is the Greek goddess of spring and the underworld. The name's etymology is uncertain, but may derive from Sanskrit root words meaning "corn thresher."

Phineas is a biblical name of disputed origin. It may derive from an Egyptian name meaning "the Nubian."

Ramon is the Spanish version of the English name Raymond, which derives from a Germanic name meaning "counseling protector."

Samira is an Arabic name that means "good friend." Literally translated, it means "night conversation companion" – someone you stay up all night chatting with.

Sanjit is a Sanskrit name meaning "complete victory."

Simeon is a variant of the name Simon. It derives from Hebrew root words meaning "listen" or "he has heard."

Sloan is a Scottish and Irish surname with the strong meaning "to raid."

Sutton is an English place name, meaning "from the southern homestead."

Tadeo or Taddeo is a variant of Thaddeus, a name with uncertain origin. It may be derived from an Aramaic word meaning "heart," or it may be an Aramaic version of the Greek name Theodore, meaning "gift of God."

Willis comes from William via the German name Wilhelm – meaning "protector."

Vikas means "progress" or "expansion" in Sanskrit.

13 rare, unique names

These names are even rarer than the others on this list – they don't appear in the top 1,000 most popular baby names of 2022.

Abilene is a biblical name and a location name with Syrian roots. It's thought to come from a Hebrew word meaning "meadow" or "grassy area."

Ariadne is a princess from Greek myth. Her name means "most holy."

Arrow is a word name of possible Old Norse origin. It refers to the feathered projectile that is shot from a bow.

Eulalia means "well-spoken" in Greek.

Galene is a Greek goddess of calm seas. This name means "tranquility" or "calm weather" in Greek.

Katya is a short name for Yekaterina, the Russian version of Katherine. It means "pure."

Kiva is the American version of the Irish name Caoimhe, which is pronounced the same way. It means "beautiful."

Laith is an Arabic name meaning "lion" or "brave."

Naira is an Arabic name meaning "radiant" and "full of light."

Niall is an ancient Irish name with uncertain meaning, but modern scholars have connected it to an Old Irish word meaning "champion."

Obadiah means "servant of God" in Hebrew.

Osiris is an Egyptian god of fertility and resurrection. The meaning is uncertain.

Talita is an Aramaic name meaning "little girl."

22 unique unisex names

Addy is a diminutive of the Old English surname and place name Addison, which means "son of Adam."

Ahoo is Persian and means "deer" or "gazelle."

Briar means "thorny shrub" and comes from Old English.

Chana is a variant of the Hebrew name Hannah and means "grace" or "favor."

Dana has many meanings in many languages: It means "perfect pearl" in Arabic; "wise" in Persian; and in Hebrew, as a feminine version of Daniel, it means "God is my judge."

Farakh is a Persian name meaning "relief" or "comfort after anxiety."

Farley is English and Irish, and either means "man of valor" or "fern clearing."

Fennel comes from an Old French word meaning "hay."

Haven means "harbor" in Old Norse and Old English and connotes "refuge."

Iman is a name of Arabic and Swahili heritage. It means "belief" or "faith."

Kylo is an invented name often linked to the Star Wars film franchise.

Lee is English and means "meadow" or "clearing."

Leith is a place name, a port in Edinburgh, with Scottish Gaelic roots and an unknown meaning.

Monet is a French surname that comes from the Hebrew name Simon, which means "listen."

Psalm means "sacred poem or song." It derives from a Greek word that originally meant "to play on a stringed instrument."

Raven is a species of crow common in Europe and Asia; the word comes from Old English.

Simran is a Sanskrit name meaning "remembrance."

Sufian is an Arabic name meaning "nimble."

Sonnet is a form of poetry that stems back to the 13th century. It derives from a word that means "little song" in Italian.

Talon is a word name meaning "claw on a bird of prey."

Uriah is a Hebrew-rooted biblical name that means "God is my light" or "flame of God."

Valoris a virtue name rooted in the Latin word valere, meaning "to be strong."

26 cool, unique names

Adina is a Persian name that means "weekend," though it also derives from a Hebrew word meaning "gentle."

Aygul is a Turkish name that means "flower of the moon."

Aisha has Arabic roots and means "alive" or "happily living."

Bali is a Turkish-Persian name meaning "made of honey." It's also the name of an island in Indonesia.

Bruin is a Dutch word for the color brown, as well as being a colloquialism for "brown bear."

Circe is the goddess of sorcery in Greek mythology and comes from a Greek word meaning "hawk."

Coral comes from Latin and Greek words for the marine invertebrates, though it may be originally rooted in Hebrew and Arabic words for "pebble" or "small stone."

Ender is a Turkish given name that means "rare."

Fable comes from the Old French word meaning "a story with a lesson."

Fallon grew out of an Irish last name meaning "leader."

Grady, derived from a Gaelic clan name, means "noble" or "illustrious."

Gunnar is a Nordic name whose meaning fits it sound – it means "warrior" or "fighter."

Harriet is an English version of the French name Henrietta – the feminine version of Henry. It means "ruler of the home."

Heron is "a long-necked wading bird," and its name derives from Old French.

Hollis is a surname name with English roots and an uncertain meaning, but some guess it means "holly," or "lived by the holly tree."

Idris has Arabic and Welsh roots. It means "studious" or "smart" in Arabic and "strong leader" in Welsh.

Keanu has Hawaiian roots and a soothing meaning: "cool breeze."

Mavis is the French-rooted name of a song thrush, a type of bird common in Europe.

Ozzy is a nickname-name that comes from Oswald, Oscar, and other names starting with "Os-."

Rowan in Irish refers to both a "red tree" and "red hair."

Sable is an animal name from Old French. Sable also means "black," in reference to the dark color of a sable's fur.

Soleil is the French word for "sun."

Tahirah is an Arabic name that means "pure" or "cleansed."

Thoreau is French-rooted, with uncertain meaning. It's a literary name in honor of American author Henry David Thoreau.

Trace refers to the Thrace, a province of the Roman Empire, and is an English word for "path" or "track."

Quill is the English version of an Irish surname meaning "forest." It's also linked to the feather writing tool.

20 unique names with unordinary meanings

Afra is the Persian word for the maple tree.

Alfie is a nickname for the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and carries the unexpected meaning "elf counsel."

Ayaan is a Persian name meaning "long night," as well as "impulse" or "intuition."

Brennan derives from a word that means "sorrow" in Gaelic.

Daniyah is an Arabic name that means "close" or "near."

Everlee is a variant spelling of the English name Everly, which means "boar meadow."

Faye is derived from the Middle English word for fairy.

Fennec is the name of a big-eared fox native to the Sahara Desert.

Ike is a nickname for the Hebrew name Isaac. It means "laughing one."

Kojo comes from an indigenous Ghanaian language and ethnic group. It means "born on a Monday."

Ledger has multiple origins: It's an English occupational surname for someone who lays mason or stone, and it's rooted in an ancient Germanic name that literally meant "people-spear."

Mallory is rooted in a French word that means "unfortunate."

Mayim literally means "water" in Hebrew.

Nuala is a diminutive of the Celtic name Fionnuala, meaning "white-shouldered."

Portia is thought to derive from an ancient Latin family name that meant "pig."

Ramsey is a geographical English surname meaning "wild garlic island."

Rivkah is the original Hebrew version of the English name Rebecca, and means "to tie" or "bind."

Sincere is a virtue name meaning "free from pretense or falsehood."

Soren is a Scandinavian name with Latin roots meaning "severe" or "serious."

Tilly may sound sweet and mild, but as a nickname for the German-rooted name Mathilde, it means "mighty in battle."

21 short, unique names

Ajax is a mythological Greek hero whose name has contested meaning: It could derive from a Greek word meaning "to lament," or it may derive from the Greek word for "eagle."

Alok is a Hindu boy name meaning "cry of victory."

Anam is an Arabic name and means "all living things" or "God's living creations."

Ares is a Greek god of war whose name means "bane" or "curse." It's also sometimes synonymous with "battle."

Avi on its own is a Hindu name meaning "the sun." As a nickname, it can be short for a number of Hindu names starting with "Avi-," like Avijit, meaning "invincible," and Avinash, meaning "indestructible."

Dani is a diminutive of Daniel, which is itself a Hebrew name that means "God is my judge."

Elio is an Italian name that means "sun."

Enzo is the Italian version of the German name Heinz, which itself is short for Heinrich, meaning "ruler of the home."

Esti is a nickname for the Hebrew name Esther, and means "star."

Ever comes from an Old English word and invokes thoughts of "eternal life."

Ford comes from Old English and means "shallow stream crossing."

Gyan is a Sanskrit name meaning "knowledge."

Mali is a country in west Africa. Its name means "the place where the king lives."

Mead

Niko is a nickname for the Greek name Nicolas, meaning "victory of the people."

Noor is an Arabic name and means "light" or "radiance."

Poe is a literary-inspired name, referring to author Edgar Allen Poe. It derives from the Middle English word for "peaco*ck."

Rex is a noble name that comes from the Latin word for "king."

Rio has several origins. In Spanish, it literally translates to "river." In Japanese, depending on what characters you use, it can mean "clever" or "awe-inspiring," among other meanings.

Trey is an English name thought to derive from the number "three."

Trip is a short name for "triple" – referring to third-generation namesakes.