What are some unusual and obscure masculine names that could work for a girl? I know it’s not a popular topic but I need some creativity Berries! Anything from history, folklore, literature would be great.
[name]Jett[/name] or [name]Jet[/name] is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. There are others but they’re not really unusual such as:
[name]Noah[/name]
[name]Austin[/name]
[name]Leo[/name]
[name]Tarquin[/name]
[name]River[/name] (not very obscure, but I can see it on a girl or a boy)
Would you consider unisex names, or do you want strictly boy’s names?
[name]Ira[/name] (sort of cheating here- it’s a Hebrew boy’s name, but a girl’s name in Sanskrit - name of an ancient river)
[name]Milan[/name] ([name]Indian[/name] boy’s name for “coming together” or a positive meeting up, also the #5 Serbian boy’s name…and place name)
[name]Caspian[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Quentin[/name]
[name]Stafford[/name]
[name]Pascal[/name]
[name]Arlo[/name]
I really like Finlay and Ellis and Arran with Rowan
I always liked [name]Roan[/name] for a girl but you have [name]Rowan[/name] so that’s not helpful…
Maybe:
Miro (mih-row)
[name]Milo[/name]
[name]Piet[/name]
[name]Florian[/name]
[name]Meade[/name]
[name]Beau[/name]
[name]Brodie[/name]
[name]Dov[/name]
Or girls/ unisex names that are on the masculine side:
[name]Kahlo[/name] (sounds like a boys name, [name]Carlo[/name], but is a surname ([name]Freda[/name] [name]Kahlo[/name])
[name]Matisse[/name]
[name]Peta[/name]
[name]Petra[/name]
[name]Yarrow[/name]
[name]Scout[/name]
Ok, dudette, here we go. This was too much fun, so it’s rather long…
[name]Adrian[/name] (Emperor [name]Hadrian[/name])
Alder (the tree, I think this is really cute with [name]Rowan[/name])
Alexas (from [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s [name]Antony[/name] & [name]Cleopatra[/name])
[name]Altair[/name] (the star)
Arion (Greek mythology; cithara player and poet)
[name]Arun[/name] (Hindi name, it derives from [name]Aruna[/name] who was the charioteer of the sun)
Arundel (a surname, I just think it’s cute. means “little swallow”)
[name]Aspen[/name] (the tree, maybe you don’t want another tree name, I just couldn’t resist. Aspens are so beautiful.)
Atys (a name of kings, also a young man who loved [name]Cybele[/name] and was turned into a pine tree.)
Aylwin (from [name]Barbara[/name] Pynn’s No Fond Return of [name]Love[/name])
Bellerophon (Greek mythology; he killed the chimera)
Beltane ([name]Pagan[/name] festival, not sure how you feel about that. I think it’s beautiful and lush.)
[name]Briar[/name] ([name]Briar[/name] [name]Rose[/name] and all that.)
Calidore (from The Faerie Queene; The [name]Knight[/name] of Courtesy)
[name]Cambell[/name] (from The Faerie Queene; The Knights of Friendship)
[name]Celestine[/name] (historical, used by some popes.)
[name]Cyprian[/name] (a saint)
[name]Daron[/name] (a Welsh river, connected to places in Arthurian legends. Might also be a God or [name]Goddess[/name].)
Deronda (from [name]George[/name] [name]Eliot[/name]'s [name]Daniel[/name] Deronda)
[name]Diarmaid[/name] (old Irish name, several kings and saints have born it)
Elfed (Welsh name for an old Brythonic kingdom in Yorkshire (also [name]Alban[/name] Elfed, the Autumnal Equinox)
[name]Elon[/name] (Biblical, a judge. Means “oak”.)
[name]Ember[/name] (I simply think this would look cute with [name]Rowan[/name]. But maybe too wordy? And unisex, of course.)
Enlil (Chief God in the Sumerian Pantheon)
Eomer (from Tolkien’s The [name]Lord[/name] of the Rings)
[name]Eyre[/name] (surname, and [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Bronte[/name]'s [name]Jane[/name] [name]Eyre[/name])
Finvarra (Irish folklore; High [name]King[/name] of Daoine Sidhe)
[name]Florian[/name] (used by saints, and an emperor)
Florizel (from [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s The [name]Winter[/name]'s Tale)
Ganymede (Greek mythology; beautiful young man loved by [name]Zeus[/name])
[name]Garnet[/name] (gem stone, cute with [name]Rowan[/name])
Gwion (Welsh mythology; long story, but essentially he swallowed by [name]Ceridwen[/name] and nine months later out came [name]Taliesin[/name].)
Herla (Germanic mythology; leader of the [name]Wild[/name] [name]Hunt[/name])
Iamos/Iamus (Greek mythology; [name]Evadne[/name]'s son, abandoned and found on a bed of violets by snakes who fed him honey. “Boy of the violets”.)
[name]Ilan[/name] (Hebrew, means “tree”)
Isten (Hungarian pagan Chief God)
[name]Ivo[/name] (Old Germanic, means “yew”)
Jarilo (Slavic God of spring, fertility, moon, vegetation)
[name]Julian[/name] (I like this for you; I know it’s not obscure, but it was unisex back in the middle ages. Character in [name]Iris[/name] Murdoch’s The [name]Black[/name] [name]Prince[/name] (a girl!))
Lanval (from awesome medieval [name]CHICK[/name] poet [name]Marie[/name] de [name]France[/name]'s poem “Lanval”. [name]Knight[/name] of [name]King[/name] [name]Arthur[/name] and lover of a fairy.)
[name]Leander[/name] ([name]Hero[/name] & [name]Leander[/name])
[name]Leslie[/name] (it’s not obscure, but it’s cute. “garden”+“holly”)
Lorien ([name]Lord[/name] of the Rings! The master of dreams and visions. Also the elven forest!)
Loxias (Greek mythology; epithet of [name]Apollo[/name])
Lupin (a plant with gorgeous flowers, and it symbolises admiration!)
Mabon (Celtic mythology; one of the most important Gods, it means “[name]Divine[/name] son”)
[name]Marin[/name] (“of the sea”. You wanted to honour someone sea related, right?)
[name]Marinell[/name] (The Faerie Queene; The [name]Knight[/name] of the Sea)
Meirion (“of the sea”; born by Welsh kings)
Melion (a knight in a piece of medieval English romance ([name]Breton[/name] Lai))
[name]Mitra[/name]/Mithra (Indo Iranian God, also Mithras; [name]Greco[/name]-[name]Roman[/name] God)
[name]Ninian[/name] (Celtic saint, probably an early obscure God turned into a saint)
Orchil (This is a girl name, so I’m sorry for throwing it in here. She’s a [name]Saxon[/name] [name]Earth[/name] [name]Goddess[/name].)
[name]Orlando[/name] (Frankish military leader, and [name]Virginia[/name] [name]Woolf[/name]'s [name]Orlando[/name])
Perun (Slavic God of Thunder)
Polydore (Greek mythology; [name]King[/name] [name]Priam[/name] of [name]Troy[/name]'s youngest son. Also a character in [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s [name]Cymbeline[/name])
Reasmay (unisex, but it’s pretty and means “ray of liht”!)
Rosslyn (the Rosslyn Chapel in [name]Roslin[/name], [name]Scotland[/name])
Salerio (from [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s The Merchant of [name]Venice[/name])
[name]Salix[/name] (Latin for willow)
[name]Seaborn[/name] (surname… but it’s so pretty!)
Seamay (another girl name, I apologise, but it’s gorgeous so I couldn’t help myself)
[name]Seraphim[/name] (the name of the highest level of celestial beings. Burning serpents or many winged creatures.)
Somerled (old Norse name)
[name]Valerian[/name] (a [name]Roman[/name] emperor, some saints, and the herb!)
[name]Vasant[/name] (an attendant of the Hindu God of [name]Love[/name])
Vervain (herb of healing, it’s magical and sacred)
Viorel (means “violet”)
[name]Vivian[/name] (saints and used since medieval times)
[name]Yarrow[/name] (fantastic herb with mythological ties)
[name]Bennett[/name]
[name]Christian[/name]
[name]Julian[/name]
[name]Gunner[/name]
[name]Jem[/name]
[name]Kit[/name]
[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Aubray[/name]
[name]Seeley[/name]
[name]Ellis[/name]
[name]Clem[/name]
[name]Oriol[/name]
[name]Seaborn[/name]
[name]Alix[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Emery[/name]
…all of which were used for girls in the middle ages.
Many occupational surnames often referred to women workers — [name]Webster[/name], [name]Baxter[/name], Kempster.
[name]Maxence[/name], [name]Remi[/name], [name]Claude[/name], [name]Cassandre[/name], [name]Noah[/name], [name]Kai[/name], [name]Maxime[/name], are also legitimate unisex names.
Not sure this fits your criteria. But what about [name]Tiernan[/name]? I second [name]Ottilie[/name]'s suggestion of [name]Garnet[/name]. I also like [name]Sawyer[/name] and [name]Morgan[/name] from your current contenders. All the best in adding to your name list!
Some I think would work:
[name]Dorian[/name]
[name]Florian[/name]
[name]Eustace[/name]
[name]Percy[/name]
[name]Perry[/name]
[name]Cyril[/name]
[name]Thayer[/name]
[name]Willoughby[/name]
[name]Cosmo[/name] (such a pretty meaning!)
[name]Pepper[/name]
I will try and do some ideas that don’t sound trendy “boy name on girl” but are boy/unisex names indeed and will be cute for a girl, I am sure they all have some culture connections as well.
I am third [name]Garnet[/name], I have such a crush on it. Also(sorry, not in ABC order):
[name]Marion[/name](used to be boy’s name;also an ancient city, [name]Cyprus[/name])
[name]Valentine[/name](St [name]Valentine[/name] and so on)
[name]Foma[/name](how cool it will be to use Russian [name]Thomas[/name]? Used to be Russian classic writers’ favorite.)
[name]Asher[/name] (do you remember [name]Edgar[/name] [name]Poe[/name]'s story? [name]Love[/name] it.)
[name]Nikita[/name](101% boy in [name]Russia[/name] and Ukraine, you will never meet a girl [name]Nikita[/name] there. [name]Nikita[/name] is a folk character.
[name]Apollo[/name] (he was such a sex symbol, ha ha…But I see it on a girl very well, [name]Polly[/name] can be a nickname)
[name]Basil[/name](a lot of references but my favorite is a “Picture Of [name]Dorian[/name] [name]Gray[/name]” character)
Taras(not [name]Tara[/name] with -s but an Ukrainian classic, highly popular there. [name]Nikolai[/name] [name]Gogol[/name]'s Taras Bulba comes to mind)
[name]Joachim[/name](saint; also a character in Norwegian “The [name]Christmas[/name] [name]Mystery[/name]”)
[name]Jude[/name](The Beatles! Can be cute for a girl)
[name]Byron[/name](besides poetic reference, it’s such a cool unisex name)
Agam(Israeli unisex name, means “lake”)
This was fun:)
I really like [name]Percy[/name] and [name]Julian[/name] for a girl! Here are a few more I don’t think I saw listed yet:
[name]Laurence[/name]
[name]Alexi[/name]
[name]Leif[/name]
[name]Clarence[/name]
[name]Maurice[/name]
[name]Clive[/name]
[name]Brice[/name]
[name]Cyril[/name]
[name]Terrance[/name]
[name]Farris[/name]
[name]Niles[/name]
[name]Abner[/name]
[name]Dabney[/name]
only got through the A’s on BTN!
Abele (Italian form of [name]Abel[/name] but I could see it being pronounced uh-belle)
[name]Adair[/name] (I know this is gaining popularity, but I still like it and BTN says it’s masculine)
Adalwin (means noble friend)
[name]Adina[/name]/[name]Adinah[/name] (again BTN labels it as masculine)
[name]Adisa[/name]
[name]Amery[/name] (like in This Side of Paradise used as a male name)
[name]Aquila[/name] (Biblical male name)
[name]Aramis[/name] (male name in 3 musketeers)
Arawn (no idea of pronunciation but it looks cool)
Aridai (obscure Biblical name for a male)
Athanas (form of Athanasius, who was a 4th century bishop)
[name]August[/name] (I actually first heard this as a female name on 3rd [name]Rock[/name] from the [name]Sun[/name], but I know it’s used primarily for boys, personally I think it’s more naturally female with the other month names)
[name]Azariah[/name] (Biblical name, love the option of [name]Zara[/name])
You’re basically just trolling at this point, right? Please god tell me you’re trolling.
[name]Finley[/name] could work. People love changing spellings also so perhaps [name]Finlea[/name] or [name]Finleigh[/name]?
I like the [name]Ira[/name] suggestion. It’s also the Russian nickname for [name]Irena[/name] so it seems feminine enough to me. [name]Asa[/name] might work as well.
[name]Perrin[/name] / Perinne, [name]Valentine[/name], Massine (old French variant of [name]Maxine[/name]). Have you checked your family history for usable surnames?
[name]Azariah[/name]
[name]Amariah[/name]
[name]Amari[/name] (This is all girl to me. I first read it as the name of the female MC in a book years ago, and I can’t see it on a girl)
[name]Asa[/name] (Also a Japanese girls’ name)
[name]Yael[/name]
[name]Augustine[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Baylor[/name]
[name]Camden[/name]
[name]Avi[/name]
[name]Ari[/name]
[name]Adair[/name]
[name]Alair[/name]
[name]Jet[/name]
[name]Perry[/name]/[name]Peri[/name]
[name]Alistair[/name]
[name]Gray[/name]/[name]Grey[/name]
[name]Emil[/name]
[name]Myron[/name]
[name]Marshall[/name]
[name]Rooney[/name]
[name]Rio[/name]
[name]Alaric[/name]
[name]Azriel[/name]
[name]Murphy[/name]
[name]Wendell[/name]
[name]Shiva[/name]
[name]Akiva[/name]
[name]Marius[/name]
Ashwin
[name]Antony[/name]
[name]Stellan[/name]
[name]Soren[/name]
Anian
[name]Arianwyn[/name]
[name]Toby[/name]
[name]Emrys[/name]
Loxley
Idrissa
[name]Idris[/name]
[name]Amis[/name]
[name]Kellen[/name]
[name]Ellis[/name]
[name]Etienne[/name] (i used to think this was a girl name)
[name]How[/name] obscure are we talking? I’m a huge fan of gender-swapped names, but I’m not sure if mine make the unusual/obscure cut. Anyhow, some maybes:
[name]Bay[/name]
[name]Beckett[/name]
[name]Claude[/name]
[name]Davis[/name]
[name]Dean[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Grady[/name]
[name]Jensen[/name]
[name]Kenneth[/name]
[name]Lennon[/name]
[name]Marlon[/name]
[name]Nico[/name]
[name]Quincy[/name]
[name]Reeve[/name]
[name]Rooney[/name]
Best of luck!
Thank you so much everyone! I will be back to give a more personalized response after the little monster goes to bed for the night. Looks like a lot of amazing names on these lists, yay!