Girls name - unusual but familiar

[MaryHadALittleLam]

Hi, we are looking for DD name. And we're looking for inspiration

We are looking for a name that is unusual enough that it's likely that DD will not meet another person or the same name (or at least not many). But yet familiar enough that spelling/pronouncing is not going to be a big barrier. We would also like it to be recognised as a name, ie it's been used as a name for several decades or ideally longer.

Our previous DC has a name which is at about 400-450ish in popularity and fits this description. It's also a little similar feel to a very trendy name which means it feels unusual but not dated.

We were considering Imogen, Ottilie, Naomi, Harriett as a potential names. But nothing has stood out to us yet. With our first DC, when we saw their name we both liked it immediately. It could be harder because it's second time around.

I wondered if there are any suggestions that might help us?

@MaryHadALittleLam You can shorten Meryl to Merry :)

Have you see the DarkGreener website? You can type in any name and see their popularity rankings since 1996 which will help you to avoid the top 100. Personally (for the criteria I mentioned below and which you seem to be after) I ignore anything with more than 50 uses per year.

There were 10 other Gilbert's in the year of my son's birth so we got a truly uncommon gem there!

Juliet
beatrix
pearl
clover
cleo
melody
etta
willa
emmeline
hazel
flora
stella
adeline
vienna
cora
lorelei
thalia
rosalie
ida
josephine
daphne
ellen
alyssa
alana
iona

Paula
Barbara
Alison
Carlene
Kirsty
Catriona
Helen
Niamh
Pauline
Anne
Mhairi (pronounced Varry)
Eilidh

Alora
Peyton
Harley / harper
Anastasia / anya
Celline/a
Antigone/ tiggy
Alyssa

Marybeth
Rosebeth
Rosanna
Cordelia
Frederica
Amoret
Valeria
Cecily
Juliet
Paola
Tabitha
Callista
Rebecca
Seraphina
Noemi
Noelia
Kerensa
Idony
Evangeline
Winifred
Laetitia or Letizia
Ondine
Nerissa

Valerie
Eliana
Elora
penelope
Livia
Ingrid
dorothy
Emmeline
Arabella
Elsie
Eira
Carys
Caroline
Cassiopeia
Merryn
Clara
Lia
Georgiana
Tanwen
Tansy
Tesni
Hollie

Rita
Nell
Vivienne
Viola
Nora

Monica
Esther
Josephine
Sally

Sigrid
Nadia
Martha
Miranda
Dinah
Jane

Yolanda
Saskia
Verity
Jemima

Naomi was the first that came to mind but you've already got that.

Imogen is really popular at the moment I think.

Harriet, Imogen and Ottilie are really popular. I know so many baby Harriet’s and a lot of 10 year old Imogen’s, all called Immy. Orla is also massively popular at the minute.

I love Naomi

How about...

Ruth
Talitha
Morgana
Jocelyn
Adelaide / Adaline
Emmeline
Laurel
Hazel
Paula
Rebecca - not unusual but seems really uncommon now
Rachel
Agatha
Opaline / Opal
Olive
Benjamina
Natasha
Calanthe
Keturah
Samantha
Evangeline
Angelica

We have a Lucy and an Alice. While they seem familiar as are quite classic, they are actually not very popular and we very rarely come across another! I’m actually quite proud of picking such classic names and always wonder when they’ll come back in and we’ll be overcrowded with Lucy’s and Alice’s again…I love them! It might be to do with where I live though 🤷‍♀️

When I say we rarely come across another, I mean in their age group (both under 5) I come across adult Alice’s and Lucy’s more frequently!

If you want a name that is easy to spell, don't choose an unusual spelling - 99.9% of people would assume Harriett is Harriet. I like Harriet and Naomi best from your suggestions.

I deliberately haven't read through all the previous suggestions so if any of mine have appeared before, you'll know they are liked by at least 2 people.

Annabel
Sasha
Lydia
Belinda
Madeleine
Tamar
Millicent
Gabrielle
Susannah
Penelope
Christina
Constance
Prudence
Deborah
Demelza
Carys
Nicolette
Georgette
Vanda
Venetia
Adelaide
Jennifer
Fiona

...or something that is very traditional and timeless but just doesn't happen to be common right now, like Elizabeth, Clare or Maria?

Izzie

Imogen is very popular in our area (2 in my daughter's class and another in her sports team!) but I do like it.

Otherwise how about...

Iris
Suki
Juno
Ida
Mabel
Jennifer
Claudia
Rachel
Maude
Ada
Meryn
Lillian
Margaret (Meg/Peggy/etc)
Meredith
Olive
Kendra

Estella
Athena
Marina
Nerissa
Selena
Sabrina
Faye
Vivian
Verity
Petra
Rosemary
Dinah
Crystal
Amber
Gemma
Corinna
Gillian
Alison
Saskia
Sadie
Fiona
Cecily
Artemis
Augusta
Virginia
Flora
Clover
Jasmine
Millicent
Mariah
Sylvia
Freida
Alanna

Avril
Simone
Diana
Nancy
Fleur

Tamsyn
Lauren
Bethany
Lucille
Penny

Natalie

Fenella
Ferelith
Marguerite
Honor

My DD is Cerys. There were only 9 others born the same year as her.

Carys is much more popular and we have met a couple.

Only issue is the pronunciation. I'm amazed how many people struggle with that bit. To me it's obvious.

Perdita
Miranda
Romilly
Gabrielle
Jemima

I love the name Cerys. It was ranked 755 in England and Wales last year (ONS figures) while Carys was 767 - both a lot more unusual than I'd have guessed! Presumably both are a lot more common in Wales.