Nearly Unique Baby Names
The secret vault of truly unique baby names is real, but only the US government holds the key.
To protect privacy, the Social Security Administration doesn’t release names given to only one child, drawing the line at five or more. So the names given to five babies are the most unique we’re able to learn about. Most of those on that rarefied level are tortured spellings of more familiar names: Mikeila and Scarlotte, Masun and Stanlee. And there are truly terrible names at the depths of the extended list too, as detailed in our recent blog.
But then there are those nearly unique baby names that are eminently usable, ripe for the picking for the parent who truly wants a distinctive choice. These are not for everybody, but we found over 50 excellent choices that were used for just five children each in 2012. Among them are names that are among our all-time favorites, such as Petal and Tiernan for girls, O’Brien and Poe for boys.
Our favorite nearly-unique (given to just five children) baby names:
Abbott
Adelisa
Anthea
Atlanta
Axelle
Bette
Calloway
Cassiopeia
Clancy
Concetta
Daryn
Eilidh and Eilonwy
Elke
Frederica
Garland
Gertie
Jet
Kismet
Morrissey
Onora
Pascale
Petal
Sam
Season
Tiernan
Trinidad
Tully
Valentia
Booth
Bridges
Churchill
Clemens
Corrado
Costello
Draper
Fitzpatrick
Frazier
Garvey
Gregor
Ilario
Isidore
Mats
Mercury
Montague
Munro
O’Brien
Optimus
Osric
Pacer and Tracker
Poe
Taddeo
Williamson
Wyn