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Unique baby names are difficult to define. Expectant parents often say they are looking for a unique baby name. They express equal interest in unique baby girl names and unique baby boy names. But what do they mean? Do they really want a name that is totally unique? In the strictest sense, if you want such a name, then of course you want it to be the only one of its kind. But how realistic is that?
Well, it doesn't stop some people from trying to come up with a "one-of-a-kind" name -- some names, such as Mackenzie, have literally dozens of spelling variations. But taken to the extreme, the hunt for a
unique baby name can lead to some curious, clunky variants. Do you want your child to be named "Mukkenzy," after all other possible variations have been taken, simply so your boy or girl can have that unique name? Probably not. You probably don't want to go with a name like Pilot
Inspektor, Moxie Crimefighter, or Version 2.0 either.
So what are parents looking for when it comes to unique baby names? That was the question we tried to answer when we decided to create our own list of "unique" names for boys and girls. Using common sense, we figured that parents-in-waiting who are looking for a unique baby name are probably looking
for a baby name that is, well -- unusual, individual, a little bit different, that sort of
thing. A name that will stand out from the crowd, but one that still has some basis in the English language, some sort of background or history.
Those are the kinds of names we went looking for. All the names on our unique baby names list are found in authoritative sources, but none of them
has been in the top 1000 names in the last hundred years, according to U.S. Social Security data. Maybe they're not one hundred percent unique. But they're unusual, out-of-the-ordinary, and very individual. If that's the kind of name you're looking for, then this list is definitely for you.
If you'd like to see some names that are unusual, but not quite as unique as the names on this page, check out our unusual baby names page and our rare baby names page.
Unique Baby Names
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