Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Massimo

Today's name: Massimo (male) Pronunciation: MAH-see-moh Potential nicknames: Masi, Simo, Max Origin: Along with Massimiliano, Massimo is the Italian variant of the Latin name Maximilian (which was the name of three Roman emperors and a few saints), meaning "greatest." Popularity: Massimo did not rank on the top 1000 baby names in 2010, but there were 148 baby boys born named Massimo and 5 named Massimiliano. In 2011 there were 107 named Massimo. Fun fact: (1) The name Maksim is also a variant of Maximilian. (2) Massimo has been the surname of many powerful Roman families. (3) Saint Massimo, a 5th century bishop. (4) Massimo D'Alema, Italian Prime Minister. (5) Massimo Capra, Canadian celebrity chef. .
Post a Comment
Read more

Galician Baby Names

I grew up on a street that was named an Italian variant of Roger. When I got married and we bought our first house, it turned out to be on Roger Street. Once noting that coincidence, I started searching for other variants of the name. However, female variants turned out to be pretty nonexistent. Save for Roxeria, which I later discovered was the Galician female form, possibly pronounced rohz-AIR-ee-uh. That led me to a few lists of female Galician names, ranging from common to rare. Here is a sampling of names not often heard here in the states... Albina Alda Alma Alodia Aloia Amada Amadora Amalia Amparo Anisia Antia Araceli Aranzazu Artemisa Avelina Azucena Baia Balbina Baltasara Beatriz Benvida Berenice Bieita Branca Braulia Caetana Carola Casilda Casimira Ceferina Celsa Cipriana Cira Clorinda Coralia Cornelia Cosima Davinia Delfina Desideria Dionisia Dominga Dorinda Dorotea Dositea Edelmira Edenia Elba Elvira Emiliana Etelvina ...
2 comments
Read more

Elowen

Elowen is a recent Cornish baby name meaning "elm." It may not take off in America like the last Cornish hit, Jennifer, but it's certainly pretty. She's part of a "linguistic revival," as Appellation Mountain puts it  here . Her nickname could be Ellie, Elle or Ella, or a more unusual choice, Wendy. The pronunciation of Elowen is "ell-LOH-en," though most Americans will probably stick with "ELL-oh-wen." Please note that it is not spelled Elowyn. There is a similar name, Eowyn, but if you spell it Elowyn it will no longer be the Cornish name meaning elm tree, just some creative name. Other great Cornish names include Penrose, Chesten (the Cornish form of Christine), Demelza, Denzel, Hammitt, Kerensa/Kerenza, Meraud (very similar to French gem name Emeraude, both meaning emerald, but Meraud is pronounced "meh-row"), Merryn, Morwenna, Tremain, Emblyn, Jory, Massen, Treeve and Cotton. Here's 's a link to a post on Cornish n...
2 comments
Read more