Rare baby names are, almost by definition, somewhat unpopular. Unlike the popular names, such as Jacob, Michael, Emily, Emma, and so forth, which grab all the attention and the headlines, rare baby names are virtually ignored, sitting quietly at the very bottom of the rankings, undoubtedly feeling alone and unloved.

Well, no longer! We set out to highlight the rarest of the rare -- baby names that are so rare they barely make it into the annual Popular Baby Names list from the United States Social Security Administration. These uncommon baby names may be unusual, weird, odd, strange, or a combination of all the above. One thing is for sure -- these days they are extremely rare.

We compiled our list of these unusual baby names from the very bottom of the popularity rankings from the Social Security Administration for the year 2006, the latest year for which data is available. The annual rankings feature one thousand names each for boys and girls. Our list of rare baby names pulls the very bottom 20 names for boys and girls -- the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. But lest you think we are criticizing these uncommon baby names -- think again! Some of them are really cool and interesting. Well, ok, maybe some of them are a little odd as well -- the girl's name Flor is a bit weird, and the name Neveah is strange, because it's not 'Heaven' spelled backwards. It seems to be a reverse typo. But like a mistake on a rare coin, it's flubs like these that make the names so unusual!

A few of the names on the list, far from being odd baby names, are simply out of fashion. You don't see Dahlia or Thaddeus much any more. And it's absolutely fascinating to see the name Hillary appear here. It's quite possible that if Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman president of the United States, the name Hillary may enjoy a huge surge in popularity. Of course, it's equally possible that if she loses, she may take her name down with her.

Other names show up on the rare list by virtue of being a unisex name. The name Shannon is very unusual as a boy's name, but quite common as a girl's name. And odd name spellings also feature on the list -- such as the name Ericka rather than Erica.

Enjoy them while you can -- these names are so rare, they may be gone by next year, clear off the charts. And as for those that do fall off -- well, then they'll be really rare baby names.

Rare Baby Names