Please or to access all these features

Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Unsual names of people you've met

191 replies

Abigail47 · 08/08/2024 23:21

That you liked?

I was just thinking of girls and women that I've met over the years, that had unusual names, that I liked.

I've met these people
Johanna
Dina
Persephone
Saffron
Sherryanne
Bronwyn
Gaia -
sweet little girl I used to babysit

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
sashh · 09/08/2024 13:24

I've just remembered some from my school days.

Anthula and her sister Savula
Fina
Dympner

And yes in Greece, Italy and Ireland they are probably not rare.

twentysevendresses · 09/08/2024 13:01

Summertimer · 09/08/2024 11:12

In the 70s there was a BBC childrens serial about a gypsy girl who lived with her grandmother. Kizzy - her nickname, Kesia her given name

Forgot to quote who mentioned this one earlier

Edited

I loved this series...I'd already read the book it was based on (The Diddakoi) and me and my friends used to 'act it out' in the playground at school ☺️

LindorDoubleChoc · 09/08/2024 13:00

Mercedes. Absolute love it for a Spanish girl.

Ayo - a friend with Nigerian/Finnish descent. Love this name but might be biased because I just really like this man.

twentysevendresses · 09/08/2024 12:57

I once taught a little boy called Fox and his brother the year after called Saxon. They really suited these names too 😍

A girl in my granddaughter's class (Year 1) is called Astrid which is pretty cool 😎

JC03745 · 09/08/2024 12:49

Rock

I'm descended from him, but he was born in the 1800's, so I never met him 😆

Lurleene · 09/08/2024 12:48

I worked with a Lavender and thought that was lovely. We never shortened it though.

JamSandle · 09/08/2024 12:46

Shoshanna - a Jewish name. I'm not sure if its unusual in the community but I've only heard it once.

Sapphire

Aeris

KreedKafer · 09/08/2024 12:42

I'm surprised to see some of these names described as 'unusual'. I've met plenty of Johannas and Ambers, for example.

I recently met a Rosalita. I don't think that's a particularly unusual name in Spanish-speaking communities, but obviously less common here in the UK. I thought it was a lovely name, partly because it just sounds so pretty, but also because it's a Bruce Springsteen song.

JanglyBeads · 09/08/2024 12:36

Not criticising, but many of these names are not at all unusual in the appropriate language/culture/country/time period , it's just they're uncommon in our/your experience.

And then there's the weird made up ones of course.

Also some that are unusual now maybe v common in ten years' time if they become popular.

spiderdave · 09/08/2024 12:34

Helia, I met one years ago and still think it's a lovely name.

KreedKafer · 09/08/2024 12:31

WetBandits · 09/08/2024 11:28

I meet a lot of people through work with virtue names. My favourites so far have been Innocent, Honest, and Lucky!

My mum had a school friend called Winsome 😍

KreedKafer · 09/08/2024 12:28

Berlinlover · 08/08/2024 23:57

I worked with someone called Tudor back in the 90s.

Tudor's a Welsh name - I've met three or four! Mostly older men.

DeadsoulsAngel · 09/08/2024 12:24

I went to school with a Peggy-Sue, never met another one since

PringlesDippedInHoney · 09/08/2024 12:19

Abigail47 · 08/08/2024 23:21

That you liked?

I was just thinking of girls and women that I've met over the years, that had unusual names, that I liked.

I've met these people
Johanna
Dina
Persephone
Saffron
Sherryanne
Bronwyn
Gaia -
sweet little girl I used to babysit

I don't think of Johanna as an unusual name. Did you mean if the J is pronounced as Y?

BlueBobble · 09/08/2024 12:18

Girls:

Madonna
Reid
Paloma
Vashti (not Asian)
Priya (also not Asian)
Winter

Boys:

Atlas
Ocean
Whewell
Ajax

AddictedToBooks · 09/08/2024 12:08

Magenta (loved this and considered it for my own daughter)
Sassi

NonBinaryBlanket · 09/08/2024 12:02

Rags-Blue. She’d probably be in her forties now.

RosesAndHellebores · 09/08/2024 11:58

Girls:
Zippy(Zipporah)
Perdita
Panda (Penelope Amanda)
Candida Shock
Seraphina
Plum (Mirabel)
Linnet (like the bird)

LadyDanburysHat · 09/08/2024 11:49

Schiehallion · 09/08/2024 11:43

In Scotland a son was traditionally given his mother's maiden name, or his grandmother's. Some names have become quite popular like Cameron, Findlay or Fraser. But I also know men called Drummond, Wilson, Osborne, Mackie, Lessels, Grainger, Buchanan and Muir. All great names to grow up with.

I love some of these surname names in Scotland too. Completely derided on MN of course, despite it actually being very traditional.

I also know a Forbes, Muir and Gibb.

LimesOfBronze · 09/08/2024 11:49

Girls:
Fallon
Fauna
Nettle
Tziporah

CultOfRamen · 09/08/2024 11:47

Sanrhhyse (sunrise)
machiavelli
benz

comoatoupeira · 09/08/2024 11:44

LOVE Pegasus!

Schiehallion · 09/08/2024 11:43

In Scotland a son was traditionally given his mother's maiden name, or his grandmother's. Some names have become quite popular like Cameron, Findlay or Fraser. But I also know men called Drummond, Wilson, Osborne, Mackie, Lessels, Grainger, Buchanan and Muir. All great names to grow up with.

MonsteraMama · 09/08/2024 11:37

I met a Butterfly the other day, she was lovely and the name suited her extremely well.

I went to school with a Pegasus, which sounds ridiculous and I'd never suggest it to anyone, but it suited him really well so I ended up liking it.

There was a young lad in another department at my old job called Tawse, I always liked that. Never heard it before or since.

tetheredgoat · 09/08/2024 11:36

sashh · 09/08/2024 11:25

Brilliant.

He was a man but I'm sure it could be used for a girl.

I have a friend who's daughter is a Kezia. She dreamed the name and then went to the library to check it was a name (pre internet)

Dickon is an old Yorkshire name. It appears in the secret garden.

Keziah was one of Job’s beautiful daughters, a Hebrew name,
on the shortlist for my second child, before we knew he was a William