How to Find an Unusual Baby Name

Looking for some unique name choices for your child? Thanks to the abundance of baby name books and websites, this may be an easier task than you might think. However, the trick is to find a name that hasn't become newly trendy.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Baby name books and/or websites.

1. Find a current and reliable list of the most popular baby names in your country. These lists often are available on the Internet, or contact a local government office and ask where you can get that information. If you live in the United States, the best source is the online Social Security Baby Name Index (See Resources below).

2. Look for names that are low on the list of top names. If you want a name that's very unpopular, choose one that's not in the top 500. If you want something only moderately uncommon, choose a name that's not in the top 100.

3. Avoid "up and coming" names that are becoming trendy. Look at the popularity statistics of that name for the last 10 years or so. If the name has risen in popularity quickly, it's probably becoming trendy, so avoid it.

4. Look through baby name books and websites for ideas. Verify that these names aren't too high on the popularity charts. A good source of baby names is BabyNamer.com (See Resources below).

5. Look at names that were popular in previous generations but no longer are used commonly. Although some of these names may sound outdated, others are just waiting for parents of today to snatch them up. Just be sure to check the popularity charts to make sure you're not one of many parents with this idea.

6. Look at baby name websites for other countries to get ideas. A name that's popular somewhere else might be quite unusual in your country.

7. Look for names from literature and popular culture. These can be sources of beautiful and unusual names.

Tips & Warnings

• Science fiction books, movies, and television shows can be great sources for unusual baby names.
• When looking for names from previous generations, take a look at your own family tree to see what you find.
• Avoid names that are not popular, but that reflect a very popular baby trend. For example, the name "Zayden" isn't a popular boy's name, but it still reflects the "aden" baby name fad (Aiden, Caden, Jayden, Braden, Hayden, etc.).

Resources

• BabyNamer.com
• Social Security Baby Name Index

[jgsmom]

on 6/5/2008 Great article. :) My name is Sadie. I named my girls Jenelle, Gracelynn, and Sapphire. Definitely not on the top 100. :)

[MrsHubbell]

on 2/7/2008 Nice Advice
My name is Chesney :)