30 Rare, Exotic, Gorgeous Girls’ Names

Very feminine girls’ names that were unusual and exotic a generation or two ago have risen to the top of the US popularity lists: I’m looking at you, Isabella, Sophia, Olivia.

So what’s the parent to do who loves this kind of elaborate girls’ name but wants something a lot more rare?

Some of the best choices in this style don’t even make it onto the extended list of American baby names: All the names starred below were given to fewer than five baby girls in the US in the last year counted.  And the others were used for only a handful of babies.

Is Cassiopeia or Petronilla too much name for a baby girl (or even a grown-up woman, for that matter)? Maybe, but you can always call her Cassie or Nilla and trust she’ll grow into her august appellation, at least by the time she’s 40.

And if you like super-feminine names for girls, why stick with the safe Gabriellas and Valentinas when there are all these exotic beauties out there?

Thirty rare, feminine names you might consider for your little girl are:

Acantha*

Amedea*

Anahita

Arianwen*

Artemisia

Cassiopeia

Cendrillon*

Clemencia*

Constantina

Crisanta*

Dariela

Doveva*

Elisabetta

Fenella*

Galatea*

Jerusha

Kassiani*

Leocadia*

Lucrezia

Marciana

Margolette*

Nastassia

Nerilla*

Parthenia

Petronilla*

Pomeline*

Socorro

Talitha

Viridiana

Zephyrine*