You're a Star, pt. 3

I've already done a post on named stars, as well as one on names that mean 'star'. However, that overlooks one very narrow category of stellar names: those referring to one specific star--in this case, the morning and evening star (both are actually Venus, but let's not get too semantic). ;)

Danica and Lucifer are probably the only ones familiar in the US, but there are a quite a few others....
(surprisingly, most of the names I found are commonly used on people; the few that are mainly mythological/literary are marked with an *. Also, almost all the names refer to the morning star--or Venus in general--the ones referring to only the evening star are noted as such)

Feminine:

• Arusiak (ah-ROOS-yak, Armenian)--also transliterated as Arusyak. 
• Aušrinė (oh-SHREEN-ay [trilled/rolled R], Lithuanian)
• Ayelet (ah-YEH-let, Hebrew)--lit. "gazelle". 'Ayelet hashachar ("gazelle of dawn") is the Hebrew name for the morning star.
• Berlewen (behr-LEOO-en ['EOO' roughly sounds like the short 'e' of English "let" and the short 'oo' of "took" smashed together], Cornish)--a modern revival Cornish name. Another form is Borlowen* (bor-LOO-en). 
• Danica (DAN-ik-ah, English; DAH-neets-ah, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovenian)
• Jitřenka (yih-TRZHENK-ah [no close English equivalent for the ř, sort of a buzzy rolled R], Czech)
• Lucero (loo-SEH-roh, Spanish)--lit. "light-giver, brilliance". Lucero del alba ("light-giver of dawn") is the Spanish name for the morning star. 
• Quetzalli (ket-SAHL-lee, Nahuatl)--lit. "feather". Quetzalcoatl is the god of the morning star in Aztec mythology. Modern Spanish spelling is Quetzali.
• Sagal (sah-GAL, Somali)
• Vakarinė* (vah-kah-REE-nay [trilled/rolled R], Lithuanian) [evening]
• Zornitsa (zor-NEET-sah, Bulgarian)
• Zorya* (ZOHR-yah, Russian, Ukrainian)--lit. "dawn". Zorya Vechernyaya and Zorya Utrennyaya are the goddesses of the evening star and morning star, respectively, in Slavic mythology.
  [related names Zora/Zoran/Zorana are common in the Slavic languages]

Masculine:

• Ēarendel* (AYR-en-del, Old English)--Old Norse form is Aurvandil* (AWR-vahn-dil). Orentil*, Orendel*, and Erentil* are related names found in medieval German literature.
  [Tolkien fans might notice the similarity between Ēarendel and Eärendil--well, Tolkien was an Old English scholar. ;) ]
• Lucifer* (LOO-sif-er, [anglicized] Latin)--lit. "bringer of light"
• Tariq (TAH-rik, Arabic)--lit. "knocker, striker"
• Tāwera (TAH-weh-rah, Maori)
• Vesper* (VES-per, [anglicized] Latin)--Original Greek form is Hesperos*. [evening]

Unisex:

• Khwezi (KWEH-zee, Zulu)
• Tsolmon (TSAHL-mun, Mongolian)

F-abulous Names

Considering how many F-names seem to be trending (Finn and variants, Flynn, Ford, Fisher, Fletcher, Felicity, Fiona, Freya), I'm surprised there aren't any except Faith in the SSA Top 100--and it's down at #91! After that, it's Finn for boys at #204 and Finley for girls at #209.
F-names were all the rage at the turn of the century (Frank, Florence, Frances/Francis, Fred, Ferdinand, Floyd, Faye, etc), and I think it's time for a comeback. ;)

(this turned into a much longer list than I had expected. How is it that there are so many F-names world-wide, but so few in use in the US?)

Boys:

• Faolán (FWEE-lawn, FWAY-lawn, Irish)--prob. "little wolf"
• Faiz (FAH-eez, Arabic)--"victorious"
• Fanuel (FAHN-oo-el, Scandinavian)--from Hebrew, "face of God"
• Faramund (FAHR-ah-mund, Germanic)--"journey protection". Old Swedish form is Farmund.
• Faris (FEHR-is, Arabic; FAH-rees, Bosnian)--from Arabic, "knight"
• Farman (FAHR-man, Scandinavian)--"traveller". Also spelled Farmann. 
• Faustin (foh-STAHN, French; FOW ['ow' like "now"] -steen, Russian)--from Latin, "lucky". Other forms include Faustyn (FOW-stin, Polish) and Faustino (fow-STEEN-oh, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish). 
• Fen (FEN, Frisian)--nickname for Germanic frid names, "peace" [coincides with an English word for a type of wetland]
• Ferapont (fyehr-ah-PAHNT, Russian)--from ancient Greek, "servant, caregiver"
• Ferris (FEHR-ris, English [surname], Irish [surname])--from French, "ironworker", or a form of Fergus
• Fife (FIFE, Scottish)--from the Scottish region, origin unknown. Also spelled Fyfe.
• Finlo (FIN-loh, Manx)--"fair Lugh" [Irish god]
• Finnegas (FIN-eh-gas, Irish [mythology])--poss. "Finn the Seer". Also written as Finegas or Finneces.
• Finnvid (FIN-vid, [somewhat archaic] Swedish)--"Finn-tree" or "magician-tree"). Other forms include Finnevid (also somewhat archaic Swedish), Finnved (archaic Norwegian), and Finwith (old Danish, old Swedish)
• Fishel (FISH-el, Yiddish)--"little fish" [also sometimes used as a nickname for Ephraim]
• Fivos (FEE-vos, Greek)--modern masculine form of Phoebe, "light"
• Flemming (FLEM-ming, Scandinavian [esp. Danish!])--"from Flanders" [probably ultimately from Old Frisian "of the flowing water"]. Also spelled Fleming. 
• Flint (FLINT, English [surname])
• Fordel (FOR-del, Norwegian)--from Germanic, "advantage"
• Fosco (FOHS-koh, Italian)--prob. from Latin, "dark"
• Fraser (FRAY-zher, FRAY-zer, Scottish, English)--also spelled Frazier
• Fredmund (FRED-moond, Norwegian)--"peace protection"
• Frey (FRAY, Danish, Swedish)--masculine of Freya "lord". Also spelled Frej.
• Fulton (FUL-ton, English [surname])

Girls:

• Fabia (FAH-bee-ah, Latin, Italian)--other forms include Fabiana (fah-bee-AH-nah, Latin, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), Fabienne (fah-bee-EN, French), and Fabiola (fah-bee-OH-lah, Spanish, Italian).
• Fadime (fah-dee-MAY, Turkish)--form of Fatima
• Faina (fah-EE-nah, Russian)--poss. from ancient Greek Phaenna, "shining"
• Faiza (FYE-zah, Arabic)--"victorious"
• Fanchon (FAN-shawn, French)--nickname for Françoise/Frances
• Fanélie (fah-nay-LEE, French)--form of Françoise/Frances or Stéphanie
• Fara (FAH-rah, Italian, Scandinavian)--nickname for Germanic fara names, "journey"
• Fausta (FOW ['ow' like "now"] -stah, Latin, Italian)--from Latin, "lucky". Other forms include Faustine (foh-STEEN, French), Faustina (fow-STEEN-ah, Latin, Italian), and Faustyna (fow-STIN-ah, Polish). 
• Favonia (fah-VOH-nee-ah, Latin)--"favored"
• Fedea (fed-eh-ah, Basque)--"faith"
• Femke (FEM-keh, Dutch, Frisian)--nickname for Germanic frid names, "peace". [coincides with the Frisian word for "girl"]
• Fenareti (fen-ah-REH-tee, Greek)--"shining virtue". Also transliterated as Fainareti. 
• Fenna (FEN-nah, Dutch, Frisian)--another nickname for Germanic frid names, "peace". Also spelled Fenne. 
• Feray (feh-RYE, Turkish)--poss, "radiance of the moon"
• Ffion (FEE-on, Welsh)--"foxglove"
• Fia (FEE-ah, Scandinavian)--short form of Sofia
• Fiadh (FEE-ah, Irish)--"wild" or "deer"
• Fiadhnait (FYAH-nat, Irish)--"fawn"
• Fiamma (fee-AHM-mah, Italian)--"flame"
• Fiammetta (fee-ahm-MET-tah, Italian)--"little flame"
• Fiorenza (fee-oh-REN-tsah, Italian)--form of Florence. Other forms include Florentia (floh-REN-tee-ah, Latin; floh-REN-shah, English) and Florencia (floh-REN-see-ah, Spanish). 
• Fira (feer-AH, Russian)--nickname for Esfir/Esther
• Flavia (FLAH-vee-ah, Latin, Spanish, Italian)--from Latin, "golden, yellow". Other forms include Flavie (flah-VEE, French), Flavienne (flah-vee-EN, French), and Flaviana (flah-vee-AH-nah, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese).
• Freydis (FRAY-dis, Norwegian)--"lady goddess". Another form is Frøydis (FROOY [somewhere between English "ay" and "oy"] -dis). 

Unisex:

• Farah (FAH-rah, Arabic)--"joy". Also spelled Farrah. 
• Firdaus (FEER-dohs, Arabic; fur-DOHS, Persian)--"paradise". Also transliterated as Firdos. [definitely unisex, although more common for boys, in Arabic; might be exclusively masculine in Persian]

Iamb What I Am (boys)

I've been wondering--why do we have so many iambic names for girls, but not for boys? (if you need a reminder, an "iamb" is a word/name with a 'weak' syllable followed by a stressed syllable. e.g. Denise, Renee, Marie)
Iambic names are often the go-to names for girls' middles, but boys don't seem to have that many options. I think we should try to remedy that. :)
(before we even start, yes, this list leans heavily French)

• Achille (ah-SHEEL, French)--form of Achilles
• Adair (ah-DEHR, English [surname])--form of Edgar
• Adán (ah-DAHN, Spanish)--form of Adam
• Aimé (eh-MAY, French)--masculine of Amy/Aimée
• Alain (ah-LEN, French)--form of Alan
• Aleix (ah-LEHSH, Catalan)--form of Alexis
• Amir (ah-MEER, Arabic, Hebrew) [separate derivations]
• Armand (ar-MAWN, French)--from Germanic, "army man"
• Armel (ar-MEL, French)--from Old Breton, "bear-prince"
• Arnaud (ar-NOH, French)--form of Arnold
• Aviv (ah-VEEV, Hebrew)--"spring" [the season]
• Benoit (ben-WAH, French)--form of Benedict/Bennett
• Bohdan (boh-DAHN, Czech, Ukrainian)--from Slavic, "given by God"
• Canute (kah-NOOT, English)--from Old Norse, "knot"
• Charlot (shar-LOH, French)--masculine of Charlotte
• Cornell (kor-NEL, English [surname])--form of Cornelius
• Darnell (dar-NEL, English [surname])
• Denzel (den-ZEL, English [surname])--also spelled Denzell
• Eloy (eh-LOY, Spanish)--from Latin, "chosen". Also spelled Eloi (Catalan) and Elói (Portuguese). 
• Emil (eh-MEEL, English)--masculine of Emily. French form is Émile (ay-MEEL).
• Eugene (yoo-JEEN, English)--from Greek, "born good". French form is Eugene (oo-ZHEN). 
• Fernand (fehr-NAWN, French)--from Germanic, "brave journey". Other forms include Ferran (fehr-RAHN [rolled Rs], Catalan) and Hernan (ehr-NAHN, Spanish). 
• Gaspar (gahs-PAHR, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan)--form of Jasper/Casper
• Gawain (gah-WAYN, English)--older form of Gavin
• Gerard (jer-ARD, English)--from Germanic, "brave spear". French form is Gérard (zhay-RAHR). 
• Ivan (ee-VAHN, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Czech, Polish, Slovak, Portuguese)--form of John. Spanish spelling is Iván.  
• Javier (hahv-YEHR, Spanish)--form of Xavier
• Jermaine (jur-MAYN, English)--from Latin, "brother". French form is Germain (zhehr-MAHN). 
• Jerome (jeh-ROHM, English)
• Jourdain (zhor-DAHN, French)--form of Jordan. Other forms include Jordán (hor-DAHN, Spanish), Jordão (zhor-DOW, Portuguese), and Yarden (yar-DEN, Hebrew).
• Lamar (lah-MAHR, English [surname])--from French, "the pond"
• Lazare (lah-ZAHR, French)--form of Lazarus, "God has helped"
• Louis (loo-EE, French)--from Germanic, "famous battle". Other forms include Luis (loo-EES, Spanish), Luís (loo-EESH, Portuguese) and Loïc (loh-EEK, Breton).
• Manuel (man-WEL, English; mahn-WEL, Spanish, Catalan, Italian)--form of Emmanuel
• Marcel (mar-SEL, English, French, Catalan)--from Latin, poss. "of Mars"
• Martell (mar-TEL, English [surname])--form of Martin, or from French "hammer"
• Maurice (mor-EES, French, English)
• Pascal (pas-KAL, French, pahs-KAHL, Dutch, German)--from Latin "Easter". Other forms include Pascual (pahs-KWAHL, Spanish), Pasqual (pahs-KWAHL, Catalan), and Paskal (pas-KAHL, Bulgarian).
• Ramón (rah-MOHN, Spanish)--form of Raymond. 
• Renard (reh-NAHR, French)--from Germanic, "brave advisor" [also means "fox" in modern French]
• Rennell (ren-NEL, English [surname])--form of Reynold/Reginald
• Ruslan (roos-LAHN, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian)--poss. from Turkish, "lion". 
• Salim (sah-LEEM, Arabic)--"safe"
• Sinclair (sin-CLEHR, English [surname])--"Saint Clair"
• Stephane (stay-FAHN, French)--form of Stephen. Other forms include Stepan (stee-PAHN, Russian). 
• Tyrone (tye-ROHN, English)--from Irish place-name, "Owen's land"
• Yefim (yeh-FEEM, Russian)--masculine of Euphemia

Girls's Names

Recently I did a breakdown on which letters were "feminine" vs. "masculine", and there were a couple surprises. Specifically, I expected -s names to sway overwhelmingly male, thanks to all the Latin & Greek us/os names, and the impact Latin has had on naming in general. But in fact, -s names only lean masculine by a 6:1 ratio ("only" being relative--it was #15 on my "most masculine endings" analysis, the others being -ch, k, b, o, p, c, f, sh, d, m, x, v, j, & g).
It turns out that while the boys do have -as, es, os, and us names, girls get -ss and ys, and split about even with boys on the -is.

A good number of -is/ys names for girls turn out to be Welsh and ancient Greek, and far be it from me to turn down an opportunity for those!

• Aleidis (ah-LYE-dis, Germanic)--older form of Adelaide/Alice. Other forms include Adelais (AH-del-ah-is, Germanic), Alis (AL-is, Welsh), Alys (AL-is, English, Welsh), and Azalais (ah-zah-LAH-ees, Occitan).
• Alkestis (AHL-kays-tis, [ancient] Greek)--"courageous". Latinized form is Alcestis (al-SES-tis). 
• Amaryllis (am-ah-RIL-lis, English)--from ancient Greek, "sparkling". Spanish and Portuguese form is Amarilis (ah-mah-REE-lees). 
• Anaïs (ah-nah-EES, Occitan, Catalan, French)--form of Anna
• Anaitis (ah-nah-EE-tis, an-EYE-tis, AH-nye-tis, [ancient] Greek)--form of Anahita
• Annis (AN-nis, [medieval] English)--form of Agnes
• Ardis (AR-dis, English, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "eagle goddess"
• Artemis (AR-teh-mis, [ancient] Greek)--origin unknown, poss. "bear", "thrower", "great", or "safe".
• Astris (AS-tris, [ancient] Greek)--"starry"
• Athenais (ath-AY-nah-ees, ah-thay-ah-EES, [ancient] Greek)--"of Athena". French form is Athénaïs/Aténaïs (ah-tay-nah-EES). 
• Avis (AY-vis, English)--prob. from Latin "bird"; or from Germanic Aveza, poss. "desired", or Hadewidis (HAH-deh-vee-dis), "wide battle"
• Belkis (BEL-kees, Spanish)--from Bilqis (BIL-kees), the traditional Arabic name for the legendary Queen of Sheba, origin unknown. Turkish form is Belkıs (BEL-kis). 
• Betrys (BET-ris, Welsh)--form of Beatrice. 
• Briseis (bris-AY-is, bree-say-EES, [ancient] Greek)
• Britomartis (brit-oh-MAR-tis, bree-TOH-mar-tees, [ancient] Greek)--"blessed maiden"
• Bryndis (BRIN-dis, Scandinavian)--from Germanic, "armored goddess"
• Carys (KAH-ris, Welsh)--"love". Another form is Cerys (KEHR-is). 
• Charis (KEHR-is, KAHR-is, [ancient] Greek)--"grace". Modern Greek form is Haris (KHAH-rees). 
• Chloris (KLOR-is, KLOR-ees, [ancient] Greek)--"green bud"
• Chryseis (kree-SAY-is,  [ancient] Greek)--"golden"
• Clematis (klem-AT-is, KLEM-ah-tis, English)
• Damaris (DAM-ah-ris, dah-MEHR-is, English; DAH-mah-rees, Greek)--from ancient Greek, poss. "wife" or "girl"
• Danais (dah-nah-EES, DAN-ah-ees, [ancient] Greek)
• Daphnis (DAHF-nees, DAF-nis, [ancient] Greek)--form of Daphne [unisex]
• Doris (DOHR-is, English, German, Italian, Scandinavian)--from ancient Greek, poss. "spear", "gift", or "forest"
• Dysis (DYE-sis, [ancient] Greek)--"sunset"
• Eirlys (AYR-lis, IRE-lis, Welsh)--"snowdrop" [the flower]
• Elewys (EL-eh-wis, [medieval] English)--form of Eloise
• Endeis (en-DAY-is, en-day-EES, [ancient] Greek)--"at home, native" 
• Gerdis (YEHR-dis, Swedish)--from Germanic, "spear goddess"
• Glenys (GLEN-is, Welsh)--"pure"
• Glynis (GLIN-is, Welsh)--prob. "pure" or "valley"
• Hawys (HOW-is, Welsh)--from Germanic, "wide battle"
• Hesperis (HES-per-is, [ancient] Greek)--"evening"
• Hjördis (YOR-dis, Swedish, Finnish)--from Old Norse, "sword goddess". Also spelled Hjørdis (Danish, Norwegian) or Jördis (German).
• Iraís (ee-rah-EES, Spanish)--prob. from ancient Greek Herais (HEHR-ah-ees), "of Hera"
• Iris (EYE-ris, English; EE-ris, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Scandinavian, Italian, Slovenian, Turkish)--from Greek, "rainbow". Other forms include Íris (EE-rees, Portuguese) and Eirys (AY-ris, EYE-ris, Welsh). 
• Iseldis (ee-SEL-dis, [medieval] English)--form of Isolde
• Isis (EYE-sis, English, EE-zeez, Italian, EE-sees, Spanish)--from Hellenized Egyptian, prob. "throne". Portuguese form is Ísis (EE-zis). 
• Karis (KEHR-is, English)--anglicized form of Carys/Cerys or Charis.
• Laís (lah-EES, Portuguese)--from ancient Greek Lais (LAH-ees), prob. "left-handed", "thrush" [bird], or "of the people"
• Lamis (lam-EES, Arabic)
• Lindis (LIN-dis, Scandinavian)--from Germanic, "gentle"
• Lois (LOH-is, English, Dutch)--from Biblical Greek, poss. "better" [masculine in other languages]
• Maëlys (mah-eh-LEES, French)--from Breton, "chief"
• Maïlys (mye-LEES, French)--form of Maëlys or Maylis.
• Maris (MEHR-is, MAHR-is, English)--from Latin, "of the sea"
• Marlis (MAHR-lis, German)--combination of Maria & Liese. Another combination is Majlis/Mailis (MYE-lis, Scandinavian).
• Marlys (MAHR-lis, English, MAHR-lees, Spanish)--poss. a form of Marlene. 
• Maylis (may-LEES, French)--from the French town, poss from Germanic, "strength", or from Occitan mair, "mother", + French lys, "lily".  
• Melis (meh-LEES, Turkish)--form of Melissa
• Memphis (MEM-fis, [Hellenized] Egyptian)--prob. "enduring beauty" [unisex in modern English]
• Myrtis (MUR-tis, English, [ancient] Greek)--"myrtle"
• Nais (nah-EES, French, NAH-ees, [ancient] Greek)--"water nymph"
• Nephthys (NEF-this, [Hellenized] Egyptian)--prob. "lady of the temple/sky"
• Nerys (NEHR-is, Welsh)--"lordly"
• Odalis (oh-DAH-lees, Spanish)--form of Odette/Ottilie. Also spelled Odalys. 
• Orseis (or-SAY-is, or-say-EES, [ancient] Greek)--prob. "stirred up, excited"
• Persis (PUR-sis, [Biblical] Greek)
• Phyllis (FIL-lis, English)--from ancient Greek, "leafy"
• Ptolemais (tol-EM-ah-ees, ptol-em-ah-EES, [ancient] Greek)--prob. "warlike"
• Rhanis (RAH-nees, RAN-is, [ancient] Greek)--"rain drop"
• Roslindis (roz-LIN-dis, Germanic)--older form of Rosalind. 
• Tanis (TAH-nis, Cree)--"daughter". Another form is Danis (DAH-nis). 
• Tethys (TEE-this, TETH-is, [ancient] Greek)
• Thaïs (THAH-is, [ancient] Greek; tah-ees, French)--from ancient Greek, poss. "bandage". Other forms include Thaís (tah-EES, Portuguese, Spanish) and Taís (tah-EES, Portuguese, Spanish).
• Themis (THEM-is, THEE-mis, [ancient] Greek)--"divine law". 
• Valdis (VAHL-dis, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, prob. "foreign goddess" or "goddess of the slain" [masculine in other languages]
• Viridis (VEER-id-is, [medieval] Italian)--from Latin "verdant, lively"
• Zenais (ZAY-nah-ees, zay-nah-EES, [ancient] Greek)--"of Zeus"

"Girlish" Boy Names

I did "boyish" girl names, so now I have to do the reverse, of course! Boys have much more diversity when it comes to name endings, but girls do have a higher proportion of names ending in -a, ah, ne, le, th, i, and y. Boys also have the minority of names starting with A, E, P, S, & V, so I'll be looking especially for those. :)
(I do not have room to list all the Biblical -iah names for boys, so just look here if those strike your fancy)

• Achille (ah-SHEEL, French; ah-KEEL-leh, Italian)--form of Achilles
• Adlai (AD-lay, AD-lye, [Biblical] Hebrew)
• Alexei (ah-leks-AY, al-leks-EE, Russian, Ukrainian)--form of Alexis. Other forms include Aleksi (AH-lek-see, Finnish) and Aleksy (AH-lek-see, Polish).
• Alvah (AL-vah, [Biblical] Hebrew)--poss. "ascending". Also spelled Alva.
• Alwi (AL-wee, Old English)--prob. "elf battle". Also spelled Alwy. 
• Amaury (ah-moh-REE, French)--form of Emmerich/Emery
• Arkady (ar-KAH-dee, Russian)--also spelled Arkadi or Arkadiy
• Arne (AHR-neh, Scandinavian, German)--from Germanic, "eagle"
• Artemiy (ar-TEM-ee, Russian)--from ancient Greek, "of Artemis"
• Asa (AY-sah, English; ah-sah, Hebrew)--from Biblical Hebrew, prob. "healer"
• Aulay (AW-lee, Scottish)--form of Olaf
• Augustine (AW-gus-teen, aw-GUS-tin, English)--from Latin, "great"
• Braith (BRAYTH, English)--prob. from Old Norse, "broad"
• Columba (koh-LUM-bah, Latin)--"dove"
• Conleth (KAHN-leth, Irish)
• Dara (DAH-rah, Irish)--"oak tree" or "fruitful". Also spelled Darragh. [feminine in other languages]
• Davi (DAH-vee, Portuguese)--form of David. Another form is Daveth (DAV-eth, Cornish).
• Éanna (AY-nah, Irish)--also spelled Énna. Anglicized form is Enda. 
• Elisha (ee-LYE-shah, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"God is my salvation"
• Emrys (EM-ris, Welsh)--form of Ambrose
• Fiachra (FEE-ahk-rah, Irish)--"raven". French form is Fiacre (fee-AH-creh). 
• Harith (HAH-rith, Arabic)--prob. "cultivator"
• Heath (HEETH, English)
• Hirah (HYE-rah, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"splendor"
• Iorwerth (YOR-werth, Welsh)--"handsome lord". Anglicized as Yorath.
• Kuisma (KOO-ees-mah, Finnish)--form of Cosmo. Other forms include Cosme (KAHZ-mee, Portuguese; COHM, French) and Kuzma (kooz-MAH, Russian).
• Lorne (LORN, English)--from Scottish place name
• Malachy (MAL-ah-kee, Irish)
• Perry (PEHR-ree, English)--from English "pear tree" or Welsh "son of Harry". Also spelled Parry. 
• Pryderi (prid-EHR-ee, Welsh)--prob. "cared for"
• Rishi (rish-EE, Hindi)--"poet"
• Savely (sah-VEL-ee, Russian)--form of Sabine. Also spelled Saveliy or Saveli. 
• Selby (SEL-bee, English)--from Old Norse, "willow farm"
• Sindre (SIN-dreh, Scandinavian)--another form is Sindri (SIN-dree)
• Visti (VEES-tee, Danish)--from Old Norse, "west". Other forms include Vesti (VES-tee, Danish) and Vestri (VES-tree, Old Norse).

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name: Ray/Rae

Is it just me, or is everybody using the middle name Ray/Rae right now, for both boys and girls? Although the "cute" factor is probably a big part of it (esp. for girls!), I imagine many have to be honor names as well.
Rachel and Raymond are the usual full forms (and Ray is of course used quite often on its own), but there are a few other ways to get Ray/Rae. :)

Boys:

• Rafe (RAYF, English)--form of Ralph
• Rayburn (RAY-burn, English [surname])--from Old English, "deer stream". Also spelled Raeburn.
• Rayner (RAY-ner, English)--from Germanic, "army advisor"
• Rayson (RAY-son, English [surname])--"reason"
• Réamann (RAY-man, Irish)--form of Raymond
• Reidar (RAY-dar, Swedish)--from Old Norse, "home warrior". Another form is Reier (RAY-er, Swedish).
• Reijo (RAY-yoh, Finnish)--form of Gregory
• Reino (RAY-noh, Finnish)--form of Reynold. Other forms include Reynaldo/Reinaldo (ray-NAHL-doh, Spanish, Portuguese) and Reynaud (ray-NOH, French)
• Rémi (ray-MEE, French)--also spelled Rémy
• Reynir (RAY-neer, Icelandic)--"rowan tree"

Girls:

• Areia (ah-RAY-ah, [ancient] Greek)--poss. "prayer", or from the god Ares
• Dareia (dah-RAY-ah, [ancient] Greek)--feminine of Darius
• Mireille (mee-RAY, French)--from Occitan "admire". Other forms include Mirèio (mee-REH-oh, Occitan), Mireia (mee-RAY-ah, Catalan, Spanish), and Mireya (mee-RAY-ah, Spanish).
• Nereida (neh-RAY-dah, Spanish)--from Ancient Greek, "of Nereus"
• Rayhana (ray-HAH-nah, Arabic)--"basil". Turkish form is Reyhan (ray-HAHN). 
• Raymonde (ray-MAWND, French)--feminine of Raymond
• Rayna (RAY-nah, English)--Anglicized from Spanish Reina, "queen", or Yiddish Reina, "pure"
• Régine (ray-ZHEEN, French)--form of Regina
• Reida (RAY-dah, Swedish)--from Old Norse, "home"
• Reija (RAY-yah, Finnish)--feminine of Reijo/Gregory
• Reynalda (ray-NAHL-dah, Spanish)--feminine of Reynaldo
• Reynilda (ray-NIL-dah, [medieval] English)--from Old Norse, "battle advisor"
• Rheia (RAY-ah, [ancient] Greek)--prob. "flow"

Unisex:

• Rayan (ray-AN, Arabic)--also spelled Rayyan
• Raven (RAY-ven, English)
• Reagan (RAY-gen, English)--Anglicized from Irish surname Ó Riagáin, poss. "king" or "impulsive"
• Wray (RAY, English [surname])--from Old Norse, "nook"

Triple Goddesses!

No, that's not an anime (that I know of, anyway).
Goddess-trios are a common theme in mythology, and while the Greeks are most famous for them, they do exist in many ancient pantheons. And many of them have fun names! (perhaps better for cats than human babies, but still fun!)

The Charites (Greek) [sing.: Charis, "grace"]; goddesses of beauty and creativity:

• Aglaea (ah-GLYE-ah, ah-GLEE-ah) "glory"
• Euphrosyne (yoo-FROS-in-ee) "mirth"
• Thalia (THAHL-yah) "festivity"

The daughters of Maderakka (Sami); goddesses of childbirth and children:

• Sarakka (SAH-rahk-kah) "separating woman"
• Juksakka (YOOK-sahk-kah) "bow [archery] woman"
• Uksakka (OOK-sahk-kah) "door woman"

The Erinyes (Greek) [sing.: Erinys, poss. "angered" or "dark"]; goddesses of vengeance:

• Alecto (ah-LEK-toh) "unceasing"
• Tisiphone (tis-IF-oh-nee) "avenging murder"
• Megaera (meh-JEER-ah) "grudge"

The goddesses of Mecca (pre-Islamic Arabian):

• Allat (al-LAT) poss. "the goddess"
• Al-‘Uzzá (al-OOZ-ah) poss. "the mightiest"
• Manat (man-AT) poss. "fate"

The Gorgons (Greek) ["terrible"]; personifications of the dangers of the sea:

• Medusa (meh-DOO-sah) "queen"
• Euryale (yoo-RYE-ah-lee) prob. "wide step" or "wide sea"
• Stheno (STHEN-oh) "strength"

The Graeae (Greek) [sing.: Graea, "gray woman, old woman"]; personifications of sea foam:

• Pemphredo (pem-FREE-doh), poss "alarm" or "guide"
• Enyo (EN-yoh) "warlike"
• Deino (DEE-noh) "dread"

The Hesperides (Greek) [sing.: Hesperis, "of the evening"]; personifications of the evening:

• Aegle (EG-lee) "shining"
• Erytheia / Erytheis (eh-REETH-ay-ah / eh-REE-thays) "red"
• Hesperethousa (hes-pehr-eh-THOO-sah) "swift evening"; sometimes replaced with Hespere (HES-peh-ree) or Hesperia (hes-PEHR-ee-ah)

The Horae (Greek) [sing.: Hora, "hour" or "season"]; goddesses of nature, or of law and order:

• Thallo (THAH-loh) "blossom"
• Carpo (KAR-poh) "fruit"
• Auxo (OWKS-oh) "growth"
  
  

• Dike (DYE-kee) "justice"
• Eunomia (yoo-NOH-mee-ah) "good order"
• Eirene (eye-REE-nee) "peace"

The Hyperboreiai (Greek) [sing: Hyperboreia, "beyond the North Wind']; Artemis' archery attendants:

• Oupis (OO-pis) "sighting"
• Hecaerge (heh-SEER-jee) "distancing"
• Loxo (LOKS-oh) "angling"

The Moirai (Greek) [sing.: Moira, "portion"]; controllers of each person's fate:

• Clotho (KLOH-thoh) "spinner"
• Lachesis (LAK-eh-sis) "allotter"
• Atropos (AT-rop-ohs) "inevitable"

The Morrigna (Irish) [sing.: Morrigan, prob. "phantom queen"]; war & sovereignty goddesses:

• Badhbh (BIVE) "crow" 
• Macha (MAH-khah), prob. "field"
• Neamhain (NYAV-an), prob. "poison" or "seizer"; sometimes replaced with Anand or Morrigan

The (three original) Muses (Greek); goddesses of the arts:

• Aoide (ah-EE-dee, ay-EE-dee) "voice"
• Melete (MEL-eh-tee, mel-ET-ee) "practice"
• Mneme (NEE-mee) "memory"

The Norn (Norse) [prob. "whisper" or "twine"]; goddesses of destiny:

• Urd/Urth (OORD / OORTH [hard 'th', like "the"]) "fate"
• Verdandi/Verthandi (VEHR-dahn-dee / VEHR-thahn-dee [hard 'th']) "becoming"
• Skuld (skoold ['oo' like in "foot"]) "future" or "blame"

The Parcae (Roman) [sing.: Parca, prob. "frugal" or "slight"]; equivalent to the Greek Moirai:

• Nona (NOH-nah) "ninth"
• Decima (DES-ee-mah) "tenth"
• Morta (MOR-tah) "death"

The patron goddesses of Ireland:

• Éire (EHR-eh) poss. "abundant"
• Banbha (BAHN-uh-vah) poss. "unplowed land" or "sow"
• Fodhla (FOH-lah) poss. "sod"

The Praxidicae (Greek) ["exacting justice"]; goddesses of justice:

• Praxidike (prak-SID-ik-ee) "exacting justice"
• Arete (EHR-eh-tee) "virtue"
• Homonoea (hoh-MOH-nee-ah) "unanimity"

Mind Your Qs

I've already done name lists of the least common vowels (U, O, & I), so now it's time for the least common consonants. No surprise--it's Q (second only to U overall).
Quinn is the sole Q-name in the girls' Top 1000, and it also ranks for boys, along with Quentin, Quinten, Quintin, & Quincy.

Q is also the least common ending letter, so let's do those, too. :)

Boys:

• Faruq (fah-ROOK, Arabic)--"one who can tell right from wrong". Also transliterated as Farooq.
• Khaliq (KHAH-leek, Arabic)--"creator". One of the names of Allah.
• Qadir (KAH-deer, Arabic)--"able". Another of the names of Allah.
• Qais (kah-ees, Arabic)
• Qasim (KAH-sim, Arabic)--"one who shares"
• Quanah (KWAH-nah, Comanche)--"fragrant"
• Quidel (kee-DEL, Spanish)--from Mapuche "torch"
• Quillan (KWIL-lan, English)--from Irish patronymic, "holly"
• Quim (KEEM, Catalan, Portuguese)--short form of Joaquim
• Quintillus (KWIN-til-lus, Latin)--"little Quintus"
• Quintus (KWIN-tus, Latin)--"fifth"
• Qusay (koo-SYE, Arabic)--also transliterated as Qusai.
• Rafiq (rah-FEEK, Arabic)--"friend"
• Shafiq (shah-FEEK, Arabic)--"compassionate"
• Tariq (TAH-rik, Arabic)--"one who knocks"
• Tawfiq (taw-FEEK, Arabic)--"good luck"

Girls:

• Qadira (kah-DEER-ah, Arabic)--feminine of Qadir
• Qiana (kee-AH-nah, [American] English)--from the synthetic fabric
• Quena (KWAY-nah, [archaic] English)--from Old English, "woman, queen"
• Quenilda (kwen-IL-dah, [archaic] English)--from Old English, "queen-battle". Other forms include Quenell & Quenilla.
• Queniva (KWAY-niv-ah, kwen-EE-vah, [archaic] English)--from Old English, "queen-gift"
• Queralt (keh-RAHL, Catalan)--Marian name, from a Spanish mountain sanctuary
• Quetzali (ket-SAH-lee, Spanish)--from Nahuatl, "feather". Also spelled Quetzalli.
• Quezia (keh-ZEE-ah, Portuguese)--form of Keziah
• Quintina (kwin-TEE-nah, Latin)--feminine of Quintin.
• Quinturay (keen-too-RYE, Spanish)--from Mapuche, "seeking flowers"
• Rahiq (rah-HEEK, Arabic)--"nectar"

Unisex:

• Qamar (kah-MAHR, Arabic)--"moon"
• Quinlan (KWIN-lan, English)--from Irish patronymic, "beautiful shape"

A great number of Inuit language names (Greenlandic, Inuktitut, etc) also seem to begin/end/contain Q, but verifying the accuracy of such names online, as well as pronunciation, has proven difficult. :(

Big A, little a

What begins with A?
Lots of smallish girls' names, and they also end that way:

• Abha (ahb-hah, Hindi)--"light, luster"
• Achsa (AHK-sah, [Biblical] Hebrew)
• Ada (AY-dah, English; AH-dah, German, Polish, Scandinavian, Turkish) [multiple derivations]
• Adla (AHD-lah, Swedish)--form of Adela/Adelaide
• Adva (ahd-vah, Hebrew)--"little wave"
• Aella (EYE-lah, [ancient] Greek)--"whirlwind"
• Agda (AG-dah, Swedish)--form of Agatha
• Aida (ah-EE-dah, English, Italian)--from Arabic, "returning"
• Aika (ah-ee-kah, Japanese)
• Ailsa (AYL-sah, Scottish)
• Aina (EYE-nah, Finnish, Spanish; ah-ee-nah, Japanese) [separate derivations]
• Aira (EYE-rah, Finnish)
• Aisha (ah-EE-shah, Arabic)--"life, alive". Other forms include Asha (Swahili).
• Alba (AHL-bah, Italian, Latin, Spanish)
• Alda (AHL-dah, Italian, Portuguese)
• Alka (AHL-kah, Croatian)
• Alma (AL-mah, English; AHL-mah, Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish)
• Alta (AL-tah, English)
• Alva (AHL-vah, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "elf"
• Ambra (AHM-brah, Italian)--form of Amber
• Anca (AHN-kah, Romanian)
• Anna (AN-nah, English; AH-nah, everywhere else)--Also spelled Ana. Other forms include Ania, Anka, & Anya.
• Ansa (AHN-sah, Finnish)
• Arja (AHR-yah, Finnish)
• Arla (AHR-lah, Swedish)
• Arna (AHR-nah, Germanic, Scandinavian)--"eagle"
• Arwa (UR-wah, Arabic)
• Åsa (OH-sah, Norwegian, Swedish)
• Asha (AH-shah, Hindi)--"hope"
• Asta (AHS-stah, Scandinavian)--form of Astrid and other Ast-names. 
• Auda (OW-dah, Germanic)--form of Otto/Odette
• Audra (OH-drah, Lithuanian; AW-drah, English) [separate derivations]
• Aura (OW-rah, Finnish)
• Aušra (OH-shrah, Lithuanian)--"dawn"
• Ava (AY-vah, English; AH-vah, German, Persian, Scandinavian) [multiple derivations]
• Avra (AH-vrah, Greek)--"aura, breeze"
• Aya (ah-yah, Japanese, Scandinavian) [separate derivations]
• Ayça (eye-jah, Turkish)--"crescent moon"
• Ayla (AY-lah, English; eye-LAH, Turkish) [separate derivations]
• Azra (AZ-rah, Arabic, Bosnian, Turkish)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Sam

I was surprised to find that Samuel & Samantha are currently ranked #25 & 29 in the US (for boys & girls, respectively, of course). Admittedly, they peaked 20-30 years ago, and have been dropping since, but still--30 years is decent staying power for a girls' name! Most don't stick around that long.
Of course, all this means that you probably know a Sam or two of either gender (or both), so finding new ways to get to spunky, solid Sam is understandable.
(note: I did start to delve into boy-Sam possibilities on a previous post, so if you feel a bit of déjà vu, you're not crazy)

Boys:

• Bassam (bah-SAHM, Arabic)--"smiling"
• Isamu (ee-sah-moo, Japanese)--"courage"
• Salman (SAL-mahn, Arabic)--"safe"
• Samad (sam-AHD, Arabic)--"eternal"
• Samang (sahm-ANG, Khmer)--"lucky"
• Samay (sam-EYE, Khmer)--"daydream"
• Sambor (SAM-bor, Polish)
• Samir (sah-MEER, Arabic, Hindi)
• Samson (SAM-son, English)--from Hebrew "sun". Another form is Sampson.
• Samuli (SAH-moo-lee, Finnish)--form of Samuel
• Stamatis (stah-MAH-tis, Greek)--another form is Stamatios.

Girls:

• Belisama (bel-ee-SAH-mah, Gaulish mythology)--poss. "brightest one"
• Gethsemane (geth-SEM-ah-nee, [Biblical] Greek)
• Ibtisam (ib-tee-SAM, Arabic)--"smile"
• Psamathe (SAM-ah-thee, [Ancient] Greek)--"sand goddess". Another form is Psamathea. 
• Salima (sah-LEE-mah, Arabic)--"safe"
• Samar (SAM-ar, Arabic)
• Samara (sah-MAHR-ah, sam-EHR-ah, English)
• Samaria (sah-MAHR-ee-rah, sah-MEHR-ee-ah, [Biblical] Hebrew)
• Samika (SAM-ik-ah, Hindi)
• Samina (sah-MEEN-ah, Arabic)--"healthy"
• Samira (sah-MEER-ah, Arabic)
• Samiya (sah-MEE-yah, Arabic)--"sublime, supreme". Also transliterated as Samia.
• Samuela (sam-WEL-ah, Italian)--feminine of Samuel
• Samuline (sah-moo-LEE-neh, Norwegian)--feminine of Samuel
• Stamatia (stah-MAH-tee-ah, Greek)

Unisex:

• Masami (mah-sah-mee, Japanese)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Molly

Poor Molly. Is she a nickname, or a full given name? I guess the answer is 'both': Molly was originally a regional pronunciation of Mary (that pesky R-to-L shift), but became widespread as a nickname during medieval times.
So, nowadays, she's rather in limbo--too "nickname-y" for a full name, but Mary to Molly isn't really intuitive in Modern English.

• Amalia (ah-MAH-lee-ah, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish)--form of Amelia
• Amalthea (ah-mahl-THEE-ah, ah-mahl-THEH-ah, [ancient] Greek)--"soothing"
• Magali (mah-gah-LEE, Provençal)--form of Magdalene. Also spelled Magalie. 
• Mahalah (mah-hah-lah, mah-khah-lah [Biblical] Hebrew)--also written as Mahlah (mah-lah, mah-khlah) or Maala (mah-ah-lah).
• Mahalath (mah-hah-lahth, mah-khah-laht, [Biblical] Hebrew)--"lyre"
• Mahalia (mah-HAY-lee-ah, English)--form of Mahalah or Mahalath. 
• Mahulena (mah-hoo-LEH-nah, Czech). Slovak form is Mahuliena (mah-hoo-LYEH-nah).
• Malaika (mah-LYE-kah, Arabic, Swahili)--from Arabic "angels"
• Malati (MAHL-uh-tee, Hindi)--"jasmine"
• Malena (mah-LEH-nah, Czech, Scandinavian, Spanish)--form of Magdalena or Mahulena.
• Malie (mah-lee-eh, Hawaiian)--"calm"
• Malika (mah-LEE-kah, Arabic)--"queen"
• Malina (MAH-lin-ah, mah-LEE-nah, Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Polish, Serbian, Slovak)--"raspberry"
• Malini (MAH-lin-ee, Hindi)--"sweet-smelling"
• Marilena (mah-ree-LEH-nah, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian)--contraction of Maria Elena
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)--also spelled Marsali
• Maryla (mah-RIL-ah, Polish)--form of Maria

D-Dun-Dun-Dun-Duuuuunn

Did you know there're no D-names for girls in the Top 100? Destiny is the highest-ranked, at #113, followed by Delilah, Daniela, Daisy, & Delaney also in the Top 250.
In the past, a few different D-names have been common for girls (several currently are for boys!), but I guess most must be 'unstylish' right now.

• Daciana (dah-chee-AH-nah, Romanian)
• Dagny (DAHG-nee, Norwegian; DAHNG-nee, Swedish; DAG-nee, English)--from Old Norse, "new day". Latvian form is Dagnija (DAHG-nee-yah).
• Dahlia (DAH-lee-ah or DAY-lee-ah, English)--Spanish form is Dalia (DAHL-yah)
• Daina (DAY-nah, Lithuanian; DYE-nah, Latvian)--"song"
• Dáiríne (DAH-rin-yeh, Irish)--Anglicized as Darina. 
• Damaris (DAM-ah-ris, English; DAH-mah-ris, German; dah-MAH-rees, Spanish)
• Damhnait (DAV-nat, DOW-nat, Irish)--"fawn". Anglicized as Devnet or Dymphna (DIMF-nah)
• Damiana (dah-mee-AH-nah, Italian)--feminine of Damian. 
• Danaë (dah-NAH-ee, Greek)
• Danica (DAN-ik-ah, English; DAH-nee-kah, Slavic)--"morning star"
• Daniyah (DAN-ee-ah, Arabic)
• Daphne (DAF-nee, English; DAHF-neh, Dutch & German)--from Greek, "laurel". Other forms include Dafna (Hebrew), Dafne (Italian), & Dafina (Albanian & Macedonian)
• Dara (DAH-rah, Slavic)--"gift". Other forms include Darinka, Darina & Daryna.  [masculine in other languages/origins]
• Darcy (DAR-see, English)
• Daria (DAH-ree-ah, Italian, Polish)--feminine of Darius. Other forms include Dareia (Greek), Darija (Croatian, Serbian), Darja (Czech), and Darya (Russian)
• Darya (dahr-YAH, Persian)--"sea"
• Davina (dah-VEE-nah, English)--feminine of David
• Deirdre (DEER-dreh, English; DEHR-dreh, Irish)
• Delphine (del-FEEN, French)--other forms include Delphina (Latin), Delfina (Italian, Spanish), & Delphia (English)
• Delwen (DEL-wen, Welsh)--"pretty & blessed"
• Delyth (DEL-ith, Welsh)--"pretty"
• Demeter (deh-MEE-ter, English; deh-MEH-tehr, Greek)--"earth mother"
• Demetria (deh-MEE-tree-ah, English; deh-MEH-tree-ah, Greek, Italian)
• Denica (deh-NEETZ-ah, Macedonian, Bulgarian)--"day, morning"
• Despina (DES-pee-nah, Greek, Russian, Macedonian)
• Desta (DEH-stah, Amharic)--"joy"
• Devi (DEV-ee, Hindi)--"goddess"
• Devika (DEV-ee-kah, Hindi)--"little goddess"
• Diantha (dee-AHN-thah, Dutch, English)--from Greek, "heavenly flower"
• Dilan (dee-LAHN, Turkish)--"love"
• Dinah (DYE-nah, English; dee-NAH, Hebrew)
• Dionisia (dee-oh-NEE-see-ah, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian)--form of Denise. 
• Doina (DOH-ee-nah, Romanian)--"folk song"
• Domenica (doh-MEH-nee-kah, Italian)--feminine of Dominic. Other forms include Dominga (Spanish), Dominica (Latin), Dominika (Czech, Russian, Polish, Slovak), and Domnika (Macedonian)
• Donata (doh-NAH-tah, Italian)
• Dorothea (doh-roh-THEE-ah, English; doh-roh-TE-ah, German)--other forms include Dorete (doh-REH-teh, Danish, Swedish), Dorotea (doh-roh-TEH-ah, Italian, Spanish, Croatian) & Dorit (DOHR-it, Scandinavian). 
• Drusa (DROO-sah, Latin)--another (Latin) form is Druscilla.
• Dua (DOO-ah, Arabic)--"prayer"
• Dulcinea (dool-sin-EH-ah, Spanish, English)
• Dunja (DOON-yah, Slavic)
• Dušana (doo-SHAH-nah, Slavic)--"soul"

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Millie/Mila

I haven't done this one yet? Really?? *hangs head in shame*
Originally short for Millicent, Mildred, and other musty Germanic names, Millie is more likely today to be a nickname for the comeback favorites Amelia & Camilla.
And speaking of rising favorites, Mila has quite a bit of potential overlap with Millie. Although it's pretty established as a given name overseas, it was originally a nickname for many Slavic -mil- names.

• Amelina (ah-meh-LEE-nah, Germanic)--original form of Emmeline
• Bohumila (baw-hoo-MEE-lah, Czech)--from Slavic, "dear to God"
• Camellia (kah-MEE-lee-ah, kah-MEL-ee-ah, English)
• Jamila (jah-MEE-lah, Arabic)--"beautiful". Spanish form is Yamila.
• Magnhild (MANG-nhild, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "mighty in battle"
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)--form of Marcella
• Matilda (mah-TIL-dah, English)
• Maximiliane (maks-ee-mil-YAH-neh, German)--other forms include Maximilienne (French) & Maximiliana (Latin)
• Mélisande (may-lee-SAHND, French)--form of Millicent
• Melitta (meh-LIT-tah, German, Scandinavian)--form of Melissa
• Micheline (mee-sheh-LEEN, French)--form of Michele/Michaela
• Mielikki (MEE-eh-lik-kee, Finnish)
• Mihaela (mee-HYE-lah, Croatian, Romanian)--another form of Michaela/Michele
• Milada (mee-LAH-dah, Croatian)
• Milagros (mee-LAH-grohs, Spanish)--"miracles"
• Milda (MEEL-dah, Lithuanian)--Lithuanian goddess of love
• Milena (mee-LEH-nah, Slavic)--another form is Milana.
• Milica (MEE-lee-tsah, Slavic)--also spelled Militsa
• Milou (mee-LOO, Swedish, French)--from French, form of Émilie/Emilia
• Milva (MEEL-vah, Italian)
• Romilda (roh-MEEL-dah, Italian)--from Germanic, "famous battle'
• Sharmila (shar-MEE-lah, Hindi)
• Theomilla (theh-oh-MEE-lah, German)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Grab Bag I (boys)

There are quite a few popular nicknames that are seriously lacking a variety of sources! Of course, I have to try anyway. This will definitely be the first of several of these 'grab bag' posts.
Thanks to Ashlie for several nickname suggestions. :)

"Dom" without Dominic:

• Adomas (ah-DOM-as, Lithuanian)--form of Adam
• Damasus (dah-MAH-soos, Latin)
• Damir (DAHM-eer, Slavic)--"giving peace"
• Dómald (DOH-mald, Icelandic)
• Domar (doh-MAHR, Swedish)
• Domen (DOM-en, Slovene)--form of Dominic
• Domitian (dom-EE-tee-an, dom-ISH-an, English)
• Edom (EE-dom, English)

"Huck/Hux" without Huxley (had to go really surname-y for this one!):

• Habakkuk (huh-BAK-uk, HAB-ah-kuk, English)--from Hebrew, "embrace"
• Huckett (HUK-ett, English)--surname form of Hugh
• Huckin/Hukin, Huckins/Hukins (HUK-in, HUK-ins)--another surname form of Hugh
• Hucknall  (HUK-nal, English)--surname, "Hucca [tribe] valley"
• Huxham (HUKS-am, English)--surname, "Hoc's home"

"Sam" without Samuel:

• Bassam (bah-SAM, Arabic)--"smiling"
• Samad (sam-AHD, Arabic)--"eternal"
• Samang (sahm-ANG, Khmer)--"lucky"
• Samay (sam-EYE, Khmer)--"daydream"
• Samir (sam-EER, Arabic)
• Sampo (SAHM-poh, Finnish)
• Samson (SAM-son, English)--from Hebrew, "sun"
• Samuli (SAH-moo-lee, Finnish)--form of Samuel

Elementary

I've done quite a few nature-name posts, but I realized I'd left out a lot of names! Captain Planet would be ashamed.

Earth:

• Avani (ah-vah-NEE)--Hindi, feminine
• Bhumi (bhoo-mee)--Hindi, feminine
• Daichi (dah-ee-chee)--Japanese, masculine; "great earth/land" [other meanings possible dep. on characters]
• Demeter (deh-MEE-ter, deh-MEH-tehr)--Ancient Greek, feminine; "earth mother" 
• Gaia (GAH-yah)--Greek, feminine
• Ila (EE-lah)--Hindi, feminine
• Kun (KOON)--Chinese, usually masculine
• Terra (TEHR-rah)--English [from Latin], feminine

Wind:

• Anemone (ah-NEM-ah-nee)--English [from Greek], feminine
• Anil (an-NEEL), masculine; Anila (ah-NEE-lah), feminine--Hindi
• Era (EH-rah)--Albanian, feminine
• Ghobad (ghoh-BAHD)--Persian, masculine
• Haizea (eye-seh-ah)--Basque, feminine
• Ilma (EEL-mah)--Finnish, feminine; "air"
• Meltem (mel-TEM)--Turkish, feminine; "breeze"
• Nasim (nah-SEEM)--Arabic, feminine; "breeze"
• Tuula (TOO-lah)--Finnish, feminine. Other forms include Tuuli, Tuulia, & Tuulikki (TOO-lik-kee).
• Vayu (VAH-yoo)--Hindi, masculine
• Zephyr (ZEF-er)--Greek, masculine; "west wind". French feminine form is Zéphyrine.

Fire:

• Agni (AHG-nee)--Hindi, masculine
• Aodhán (AY-ahn, AY-dahn), masculine; Aodnait (AY-nat), feminine--Irish, "little fire". Anglicized as Aidan & Enat, respectively.
• Azar (ah-ZAR)--Persian, feminine
• Cináed (KIN-ee, KIN-ay, KIN-ahd)--Scottish, masculine; "born of fire". Anglicized as Kenneth.
• Fiammetta (fee-ah-MEH-tah)--Italian, feminine; "little fire"
• Jehoash (jeh-HOH-ash)--English [from Hebrew], masculine; "fire of God". Another form is Joash (JOH-ash).
• Nina (NEE-nah)--Quechua, feminine
• Plamen (PLAH-men)--Slavic, masculine
• Shula (SHOO-lah)--Arabic, feminine
• Şule (shoo-LEH)--Turkish, feminine
• Ugnė (OOG-nee)--Lithuanian, feminine

Water:

• Aysu (eye-SOO)--Turkish, feminine; "moon & water"
• Damla (dahm-LAH)--Turkish, feminine; "water droplet"
• Douglas (DUG-las)--Scottish, masculine; "dark water"
• Kelda (KEL-dah)--English [from Old Norse], feminine, "spring, fountain"
• Maayan (mah-ah-yahn)--Hebrew, feminine; "spring, fountain"
• Mayim (mah-yeem)--Hebrew, feminine. Another form is Maya.
• Mortimer (MOR-tim-er)--English [from Old French], masculine; "still water"
• Neith (NEETH, NAYTH)--English [from ancient Egyptian], feminine
• Nerio (NEHR-yoh)--Italian [from Greek], masculine
• Shui (shoo-ee)--Chinese, usually masculine
• Su (SOO)--Turkish, feminine
• Tirto (TEER-toh)--Javanese, masculine; "holy water"

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Cam

Cam is one of the few nicknames I can easily see on either gender. Whether sort for Cameron and Camden for boys, or Cameron and Camilla (or more recently, Cambria) for girls, it's quite versatile.

(there is a surprisingly high number of coincident names in this post--names of different origins that are spelled/pronounced alike. Apparently 'kam' is a common construction in many languages!)

Boys:

• Camillo (kah-MEEL-loh, Italian)
• Kamal (kah-MAHL, Arabic, Hindi)--"perfection" [Arabic]; "lotus" [Hindi]
• Kambiz (kahm-BEEZ, Persian)
• Kamen (KAH-men, Bulgarian)--"stone"
• Kamik (kah-meek, Greenlandic, Bengali)
• Kamil (KAH-meel, Arabic, Polish)--"perfect" [Arabic] or form of Camillo [Polish]

Girls:

• Camellia (kah-MEL-yah, kah-MEE-lee-ah, English)
• Kamala (KAM-ah-lah, Hindi)--feminine of Kamal, "lotus"
• Kamaria (kah-mah-REE-ah, Swahili)--from Arabic, "moon"
• Kamarina (kah-mah-REE-nah, [Ancient] Greek)--nymph of the Sicilian city Kamarina. Also spelled Camarina.
• Kamini (kah-MEE-nee, Hindi)
• Kamma (KAHM-mah, Danish)

Unisex:

• Camlin (KAM-lin, English)--from English, "camel-cloth seller", or Irish, "crooked line"
• Kamea (kah-meh-ah, Hawaiian)
• Kamon (kah-MOHN, Thai)--"heart" or "lily"

Ideals & Imagery

While doing my virtue-names post a while back, I came across many names with meanings that weren't quite virtues. While naming your daughter Beauty would probably be seen as presumptuous (not to mention a bit too Disney), there are plenty of names that mean 'beauty', as well as many other poetic inspirations.

Boys:

• Argi (ahr-gee, Basque)--"light"
• Argider (ahr-gee-dehr, Basque)--"beautiful light"
• Arman (ahr-MAHN, Kazakh)--"dream"
• Asher (ASH-er, English)--from Hebrew, "blessed"
• Ayman (AY-man, Arabic)--"blessed, lucky"
• Barak (bah-RAHK, Arabic)--"blessing"
• Benedict (BEN-eh-dikt, English)--from Latin, "blessed"
• Bhaskar (BHAHS-kar, Hindi)--"shining"
• Cemal (jem-AHL, Turkish)--"beauty"
• Daiki (dah-ee-kee, Japanese)--"great radiance" or "great & noble"
• Enver (en-VEHR, Turkish, Albanian)--"radiance"
• Eyal (eh-YAHL, Hebrew)--"strength"
• Jamal (jah-MAHL, Arabic)--"beauty"
• Kallias (KAHL-lee-as, Greek)--"beauty"
• Kibwe (KEE-bweh, Swahili)--"blessed"
• Krešimir (KRESH-ih-meer, Croatian)--"bringer of peace"
• Macario (mah-KAHR-yoh, Spanish)--from Greek, "blessed"
• Prakash (prah-KAHSH, Hindi)--"light"
• Roshan (roh-SHAN, Persian)--"light"
• Sisu (SEE-soo, Finnish)--"strength, willpower"
• Taiki (tah-ee-kee, Japanese)--"great radiance"

Girls:

• Abha (ahb-hah, Hindi)--"splendor"
• Aditi (ah-DEE-tee, Hindi)--"freedom"
• Aiman (eye-MAHN, Kazakh)--"beauty of the moon"
• Áine (AW-nyeh, Irish)--"radiance"
• Aisling (AHSH-leeng, Irish)--"dream"
• Aoibhe (EE-vah, Irish)--"beauty"
• Argiñe (ahr-gee-nyeh, Basque)--"light"
• Audrey (AW-dree, English)--"noble strength"
• Beata (beh-AH-tah, Latin)--"blessed"
• Bracha (BRAH-khah, Hebrew)--"blessing"
• Caoimhe (KWEE-vah, Irish)--"beauty". Anglicized to Keeva.
• Carwen (KAHR-wen, Welsh)--"pure love"
• Daina (DAY-nah, Lithuanian; DYE-nah, Latvian)--"song"
• Dipika (dee-PEE-kah, Hindi)--"light"
• Duana (DOO-an-ah, Irish)--"poem, song"
• Feray (feh-RYE, Turkish)--"radiance of the moon"
• Fotini (foh-tee-NEE, Greek)--"light"
• Gita (GEE-tah, Hindi)--"song"
• Hikari (hee-kah-ree, Japanese)--"light"
• Indira (IN-dih-rah, Hindi)--"beauty"
• Jyoti (jyot-EE, Hindi)--"light"
• Kanti (KAHN-tee, Hindi)--"beauty"
• Kavita (KAH-vee-tah, Hindi)--"poem, poetry"
• Keren (keh-rehn, Hebrew)--"ray of light"
• Lesedi (leh-seh-DEE, Tswana)--"light"
• Lucy (LOO-see, English)--from Latin, "light". Other forms include Lucia, Luce, Lucille, Lucette, Lux, Luz, and Luzia.
• Luule (LOO-leh, Estonian)--"poetry"
• Masego (mah-seh-hoh, Tswana)--"blessing"
• Megumi (meh-goo-mee, Japanese)--"blessing"
• Mele (meh-leh, Hawaiian)--"song"
• Nadra (NAH-drah, Arabic)--"radiance"
• Nima (NEE-mah, Arabic)--"blessing"
• Noya (no-yah, Hebrew)--"beauty"
• Nur (NOOR, Arabic)--"light". Other forms include Nuru (NOO-roo, Swahili).
• Säde (SAD-eh, Finnish)--"ray of light"
• Sana (SAH-nah, Arabic)--"brilliance"
• Saoirse (SEER-shah, Irish)--"freedom"
• Sanja (SAHN-yah, Croatian, Serbian)--"dream"
• Shira (shee-rah, Hebrew)--"poetry"
• Solveig (SOHL-vay, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "strength of the sun"
• Svajonė (svah-YOH-nyeh, Lithuanian)--"dream"
• Svatava (svah-tah-VAH, Czech)--"light" or "world". Another form is Svetlana (Russian, Slavic)
• Thi (TEE, Vietnamese)--"poem"
• Treasa (TRAH-sah, Irish)--"strength"

Unisex:

• Amets (ah-mehts, Basque)--"dream"
• Li (LEE, Chinese)--"reason" or "strength" [several other meanings possible depending on the characters]
• Liron (lee-rohn, Hebrew)--"my song"
• Noa (noh-ah, Hawaiian)--"freedom"
• Ori (oh-ree, Hebrew)--"my light"
• Shir (SHEER, Hebrew)--"song"

Modern but Not (girls)

Girls' name-trends are more nickname-driven apparently, and shorten to Addy, Maddy, Emma, Bella, Ella, or Lily (mostly skipping these, as they're covered in other posts). Girls' names are also more likely to start with A, K, Z; contain H, K, X, Y, Z, ; and end in 'lee' [and to a lesser extent, 'ee' in general], 'aya', or 'ia'.

• Abigaia (ah-bee-GYE-ah, Greek [Biblical])--form of Abigail
• Acacia (ah-KAY-shah, English)
• Adannaya (ah-dah-NAH-yah, Igbo)--"her father's daughter"
• Alaia (ah-lah-yah, Basque)--"happy"
• Antheia (an-THAY-ah, Greek)--original form of Anthea
• Araceli (ah-rah-SEH-lee, Spanish)
• Arlie (AR-lee, English)
• Atalia (ah-TAHL-yah, Hebrew)
• Aviya (ah-vee-YAH, Hebrew)
• Aya (ah-yah, Japanese, Hebrew, Arabic)
• Caelia (SAY-lee-ah, English; CHAY-lee-ah or KYE-lee-ah, Latin)--"heaven"
• Clelia (CLEHL-yah, Italian)
• Deòiridh (JOR-ee, Scottish)
• Eilidh (AY-lee, Scottish)--form of Helen or Eleanor
• Evelia (eh-VEH-lee-ah, Spanish)
• Freya (FRAY-ah, English)--from Norse, "lady"
• Gioia (JOY-ah, Italian)
• Idriya (ee-dree-ah, Hebrew)
• Iole (ee-OH-lee, EYE-ah-lee, Greek)--"violet"
• Junia (JOO-nee-ah, Latin)
• Kamaria (kah-mah-REE-ah, Swahili)--from Arabic, "moon"
• Keziah (keh-ZYE-ah, English)--from Hebrew "cassia spice"
• Kyveli (kih-VEL-ee, Greek)
• Laelia (LAY-lee-ah, English; LYE-lee-ah, Latin)
• Lígia (LEE-zhee-ah, Portuguese)
• Magali (mah-gah-LEE, French)--form of Magdalene/Madeline. Also spelled Magalie.
• Mahalia (mah-HAY-lee-ah, English)--from Hebrew, "lyre"
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)
• Melia (MEL-ee-ah, Greek)--"honey"
• Micaiah (mee-kah-yah, Hebrew)
• Minali (MEE-nah-lee, Hindi)
• Mireia (mee-RAY-ah, Spanish)--also spelled Mireya.
• Nephele (NEF-el-ee, Greek)
• Noya (noh-yah, Hebrew)--"beauty"
• Priya (PREE-ah, Hindi)--"beloved"
• Rheia (RAY-ah, Greek)--original form of Rhea.
• Riya (REE-ah, Hindi)--"singer"
• Suraya (soo-RAH-yah, Arabic)
• Tacey (TAY-see, English)--from Latin, "quiet"
• Taisiya (tah-EE-see-ah, Russian)
• Thulile (too-lee-leh, Zulu)--"quiet"
• Velia (VEHL-yah, Italian)

Modern But Not (boys)

I've dedicated quite a few posts to names that stand out. But what if you want a name that's modern, but not too weird or derivative--that is, blends in?
Modern American names tend to follow certain phonetic trends--the biggest trend for boys is the Aidens (I'll be bypassing this one; pretty much any iteration is probably already in use!). In general, modern boys' names tend to start with 'Br', J, K, T, Z; contain A, J, K, Q, X, Z; and end in 'en', 'on', or 'er'.

• Aeson (EE-son, Greek)
• Ariston (AH-ris-ton, Greek)--"the best"
• Andon (AHN-don, Bulgarian)--form of Anthony
• Anson (AN-son, English)
• Azhar (AZ-har, Arabic)--"shining"
• Berker (BEHR-kehr, Turkish)
• Bhaskar (BHAS-kahr, Hindi)--"shining"
• Brynjar (BRIN-yar, Scandinavian)--"armoured warrior"
• Brynmor (BRIN-mohr, Welsh)
• Cebrian (seb-ree-AHN, Spanish)
• Dathan (DAY-tahn, DAH-than, English)--from Hebrew, "fountain"
• Davorin (DAH-vor-in, Croatian)
• Dražen (DRAH-zen, Croatian)--"precious"
• Demir (deh-MEER, Turkish)--"iron"
• Eifion (AYV-yon, EYE-vyon, Welsh)
• Elystan (eh-LIS-tan, Welsh)
• Evren (ev-REHN, Turkish)--"the universe"
• Fintan (FIN-tan, Irish)--"white fire"
• Imran (im-RAHN, Arabic)
• Karsten (KAR-sten, German)--form of Christian
• Kayetan (KYE-eh-tahn, German)
• Kenyon (KEN-yon, English)
• Kynaston (KIN-ah-ston, English)
• Macsen (MAK-sen, Welsh)--form of Maximus
• Nayden (NYE-den, Bulgarian)
• Nevan (NEV-an, Irish)--anglicized from Naomhán, "little saint"
• Rayner (RAY-ner, English)
• Saxon ( SAKS-on, English)
• Torsten (TOR-sten, German, Scandinavian)
• Tychon (TYE-kon, Greek)
• Zaman (zah-MAN, Arabic)--"time, era"
• Zorion (soh-ree-ohn, Basque)--"happiness"

U-La-La!

Well, I've done I-names and O-names, so now it time for me to continue the trend of underused letters, this time with U.
Only 4 names starting with U appear in the US top 1000--Urijah, Uriel, Uriah, & Ulises.
Ursula charted in the past, and Unique more recently, but currently there are zero U-names in the girls' Top 1000!


Boys:

• Ualan (ooAH-lan, WAH-lan, Scottish)--form of Valentine
• Uberto (oo-BEHR-toh, Italian)--form of Hubert
• Ùisdean (OOSH-jun, Scottish)
• Ulderico (ool-deh-REE-koh, Italian)
• Ulfilas (ool-FEE-las, Gothic/Germanic)--"little wolf"
• Uljas (OOL-yahs, Finnish)--"noble, valiant"
• Ulric (OOL-rik, English)--from Germanic, "rich heritage"
• Ultan (UL-tan, Irish)
• Ulvi (ool-VEE, Turkish)--"exalted"
• Umar (OO-mar, Arabic)
• Ümit (EU-meet, Turkish)--"hope"
• Unathi (oo-NAH-tee, Xhosa)--"God is with us"
• Untamo (oon-TAH-moh, Finnish)
• Uolevi (OO-oh-leh-vee, Finnish)--form of Olaf/Oliver
• Urard (UR-ard, Irish)--"tall"
• Urban (OOR-bahn, German, Scandinavian, Slovene)--from Latin, "city dweller"
• Usko (OOS-koh, Finnish)--"faith"
• Usman (OOS-mahn, Arabic)
• Uspaig (OOS-pek, Scottish)--from Old Norse, "wild"
• Uxío (oo-SHEE-ah, Galician)--form of Eugene
• Uzziel (oo-zee-EL, UZ-ee-el, English)--from Hebrew, "God is my power"

Girls:

• Uaine (oo-AHN-yeh, WAHN-yeh, Irish)--"greenish"
• Udane (oo-dah-neh, Basque)--"summer"
• Uliana (ool-YAH-nah, Russian)--form of Juliana
• Ülkü (eul-KEU, Turkish)--"ideal"
• Ulrika (ool-REE-kah, Scandinavian, German)--feminine of Ulric
• Ulviye (ool-VEE-yeh, Turkish)--feminine of Ulvi
• Umeko (oo-meh-koh, Japanese)
• Una (OON-ah, Irish)
• Undine (oon-DEE-neh, UN-deen, English & German)--from Latin, "wave"
• Unelma (OON-el-mah, Finnish)--"dream"
• Ursa (UR-sah, OOR-sah, Latin)--"bear"
• Usha (OO-shah, Hindi)--"dawn"
• Usoa (oo-soh-ah, Basque)--"dove". Another form is Uxue (oo-shoo-eh). 
• Ustinya (oos-TEEN-yah, Russian)--form of Justine
• Uxía (oo-SHEE-ah, Galician)--form of Eugenia