Unique Baby Names + Things to Consider

Naming a baby is SO hard! There are so many things to think about and then on top of that, you have to make sure you and your partner agree. So, I wanted to go over some of the most important factors to consider and give some ideas of unique names I love, as a crunchy mom.

Factors to consider

Uniqueness

People definitely have different opinions on this, but for me, with the name Shayla, growing up I was always like “mom no one else that I know is named Shayla” and she was kind of like “uh yeah that's kind of the point” and I really grew to love the fact that it was unique but not too out there. So finding something a little different was something I wanted for my kids names.

Spelling

When there's multiple ways of spelling a name, which one feels right to you? And, are you okay with the fact that other people will sometimes spell it wrong/differently?

My kids names are Aliya, Esme, and Colford. When we were naming our first, there was like 100 different ways to spell Aliya. There was Aaliyah, Aleah, Alea, Eliya, etc. So first, we had to accept that because there was so many different ways of spelling the name, most people wouldn't know how to spell our child's name. Nobody really spells her name right, even friends of ours, and it really doesn't bother me. But, it bugs some people.

Go to the hospital with a LIST

It's totally okay (and probably even a good thing) to go into the birth with a “top name”, but I highly recommend you still have a list of a couple other top contenders.

When we were naming our second, the entire pregnancy, she was “Romy”. We all called her that. I absolutely loved it and thought nothing could change my mind. Then, once I had her, the nurses kept coming in and being like “how's baby Romy” and I was like nope, it doesn't fit her, it's not right. I was so disappointed at the time, but she's Esme, which it's a much better fit.

Because of this, we had 3 contenders when naming our third and decided what felt right once he was here and I highly recommend this approach.

Initials

Consider the initials, That's it. That's the advice. Seems obvious, but when you finally settle on a name (or preferably a few) that you and your partner agree on, you can get lost in the excitement and forget to make sure the initials don't spell something weird.

Syllables

Apparently the first, middle, and last name are supposed to have a different number of syllables so the full name flows better. If you don't care about the “flow”, great! But if you do, it's something to think about.

Baby name through life events

Consider the name through different phases of life. There were so many names that were cute for a baby, but not so cute for a 20 year old being called back for their first job interview.

My husband and I tested names for different scenarios like talk to baby Aliya, scold toddler Aliya, congratulate Aliya on graduating high school, at a job interview, Grandma Aliya, etc. Kind of a fun little thing to do and also very helpful.

And once you have multiple kids, you need to make sure it fits with their names. If you yell all of their names, see them on a Christmas card, etc., do you like it? That's another thing to ask yourself.

Tips for looking up baby names in 2025

My main tip for searching for baby names is trying a bunch of different variations of your searches. Like “popular baby names in 1900s”, “unique baby names in 1900s”, “baby names in Ireland”, “street names in Ireland”, “one syllable girl names”, etc. I looked up all of those things and thought they were helpful.

Girl baby names

Alright, girl names…

Margo/Margot – I think this one is soft and cute but also strong
Elliot – This name for a girl is SO cute! I also had a friend who did a variation of this for their daughter's middle name, with the spelling Elliotte and I thought the “tte” was adorable. It makes it feel feminine. And you could also do it with just one L.
Aoife – It's pronounced EE fa and is an Irish name. You could do Affie as the spelling too if you want to take the non-traditional route.
Cleo/Clea – Yes please! My grandpa had a brother Cleo and I just think it's the coolest name. I love it for a girl, but it really could be for either gender.
Theo/Thea – Very similar but the variations Theo and Thea are cute too and you totally have the option to do Theodora. But, I think it's cool to name the kid just the nickname.
Vera – I loved this one. Vara is another spelling, but I liked it with the E. You can call them V for short. Just a big fan of this one.
Miller – This was kind of popular when I was naming my first and I really do like the masculine names/boy names for girls. I just think they're cool. And I also like last names or surnames for first names, like Miller.
Malone or Monroe – I said Malone to my husband like 100 times. I think it's freaking adorable, especially for a girl. And Monroe for a girl is great too.
Reeve – I used to babysit a girl with this name and I just think it is the cutest. A lot of people do Reese, this is kind of like a fun twist on that.
Beck – Not Becky, not Becca, just Beck. There's a show called You with a character that has this name and I loved the name while watching.
Huxley/Hux – Huxley with Hux for short is one I'm BIG on. I'm obsessed with nicknames and I absolutely love this one. This would be a good boy one too.
Jude – I love it. So sweet for a girl name.
Maura – The mom on the show Schitt's Creek has this name (but spells it Moira) and I'm a fan.
Delta – This one is kind of tough because you immediately think of the airline but I also think it sounds like a very strong girl's name.
Demi – Cute. Feels a little softer than Delta but I like it.
Elodie – I think this is a strong one too. Reminds me of the word melody.
Eloise – This one is so pretty. Jess Hover, who I've had on my podcast (ep 002) named her daughter Eloise and I love it.
Maeva – It seems like Maeve is one a lot of people are doing but Maeva (Maeve-A) is also really good.
Odette – My shampoo was called Odele and for some reason, that made me think of Odette and I was like omg that's so cute. I think I know someone who named their daughter Odette and called her Odie, which sounds a little bit like a dog name, but the full name of Odette is beautiful.
Noretta – We have someone in our family with this name and you can call them Nora or Etta and I loveeee Etta as a name (could also do Eda). This is a very old name but I like it and there are a lot of variations and nicknames you could do.
Rio – My friends named their daughter Rio. So. Freaking. Cute.

Boy baby names

Again, I really like last names or surnames for names, especially for boys…

Lyndale – That's the name of a street here in MN so it feels a little weird for me to use but I think it's kind of a cool name. Maybe even a good middle name.
Roman/Romy – I was dead set on naming our second daughter Romy, until she was here and I didn't think it fit. But naming a boy Roman and calling him Romy is very cool to me and I like the strength of the name Roman.
Miller – Alright, this one makes both lists for me.
Malone – Again, makes both lists. Gender neutral and another surname.
Hayes – I feel like this one is pretty popular but I think it's very cute. Hard to do nicknames with this one though.
Cannon/Kanon – Unique and strong.
Von/Vaughn – I follow @theramblingredhead (if you don't, you should) who's amazing and her son's name is Von, which I think is so cute and simple and strong.
Duke – You have Delta and you have Duke. Two really strong D names. When I lived in Hawaii, there was a restaurant called Dukes and I thought it was a very cool name.
Clay/Clark – Clay and Clark feel kind similar to me. Clay is another example of a name that's both soft and strong. (Apparently that's the theme of these names). It's simple, straightforward, and feels kind of earthy.
Cal – Just Cal. I don't really like Callum or Callen or Callahan or any other name that this would be short for. I really just like Cal.
Max – One syllable names are fun. I'm a fan of this one.
Kiro/Kiros – Kind of weird but also cool. My husband has ‘Kiros” tattooed on him and I think I might get it too. A Kiros Moment is like when you're super, super present in the moment and everything else kind of fades away. So I think as a name this would be the coolest, but it just does not work with our last name.
Sebastian – My husband has a friend with this name so we couldn't do it, but they call him C-bass, Bass, Bastian. There's just so many fun nicknames with this one. This is a very underrated, strong name in my opinion.
Jay – Kind of like Max, just a quick, punchy, one syllable name.
Marco – At my nephew's kindergarten graduation, I heard them call this name and it caught my attention. I wasn't even pregnant at the time and decided it would be going on my baby names list.
Eli – I love it. Elijah is cute too and then you can do Eli for short.
Ashton/Asher – Both can do Ash for short and both are such cool names.
Solis – This was the last name of someone I went to college with and I think it would make a great boy's name. You can call him Soul, which is like sun in Spanish (sol)
Ellison – Ellison and call him Eli. Yep, sold, I like it! Ellis would also be cute and can still use the same nickname.
Mac – I like this one as it is. But, you could also name him Mackenzie and do Mac for short. A little bit more feminine with Mackenzie, but I think it's adorable.

These are just a few names on my list and I LOVE talking baby names so I hope this is helpful and even if your name isn't on this list, hopefully it gets your creative juices flowing and inspires some good ideas.