2011 Rarities: Part Six, the girls

golden raspberries by laliseuse, via Flickr

Here's one half of the last installment of 2011 Rarities. There were too many great finds to fit in one post, so the boys section will be up soon. Enjoy!

Aberdeen — this Scottish place name comes from a Gaelic element meaning "confluence of rivers" paired with deen, which refers to the rivers Don and Dee. I think the sounds here are really interesting for a girls' name, and the potential nicknames Abby and Berdy are pretty sweet

Afifah — love the happy sounds in this one. From Arabic male name Afif, meaning "chaste"

Amaranta — the striking Italian and Spanish variant form of Amarantha, which is a flower name referring to the amaranth genus of herbs. The word itself comes from Greek elements meaning "unfading flower"

Aviance — I'm thinking this is a Beyonce-esque "French-ish" name used for its similarity to popular Ava. It's also the name of a beauty brand sold in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East

Bhoomi — another fun one. Bhoomi means "earth" in Prakrit and is also the name of a Bengali "urban folk" band. Urban folk? Must look into that immediately

Bryony — it was a surprise to see Bryony was used only 5 times in the US last year. It's more popular in the UK (used 67 times in England & Wales in 2010) and is the name of a flowering vine used in herbal medicine, from the Greek bryo, meaning "to swell"

Devery — saw this one in Part Three of this series, used 8 times for boys 

Evienne — one of the names given by writers to the "Lady of the Lake" of Arthurian legend. Her other names include Nimue, Viviane, Niniane, Nivian and Nyneve — all so pretty!

Future — not for everyone, right? I, however, dig it

Jeremia — a form of Jeremiah, a traditionally male Hebrew name meaning "Yahweh has uplifted"

Kerala — the name of an Indian state on the Malabar coast. The word means "hill country"

Lianet — also found as Liannet or Lianette, this seems to be a smushing of elements Lia and the suffix "-net/-nette," used in Spanish-speaking countries (model Liannet Borrego is from Cuba). I like its fresh, light sound

Malone — a surname meaning "descendant of St. John," this, weirdly, ranks highly in France (as a boy name), probably for its similarity to Malo, a Breton name meaning "shining hostage." Its use for girls seems odd to me, but it's along the lines of other long-O surnames like Monroe, Harlow and Marlow, so I guess it could jump on the trendwagon

Minelly — along the lines of Lianet, a name smush using sounds popular in Spanish-speaking places. I wonder if the similarity to Minelli is intentional or unintentional

Navieen — probably a variant of Navin or Naveen, a masculine Indian name meaning "new." I think the sounds work nicely on a girl

Nebula — yes, please. Call her Nebby?

Omolara, Omolola, Omotola — the "Omo-" prefix (meaning "child") is typical of names of the Yoruba people of West Africa. I love the look and sound and the idea that a prefix can be paired with so many potential endings — wouldn't it be interesting if English names were like that? Omolola is my favorite of these 3 

Oneida — the (mispronounced, English) name of a Native American tribe, meaning "people of the standing stone." Whether or not you think its gauche to use it as a modern girls' name (especially if you aren't of Oneida descent) I think the name itself is lovely

Poetry — we've seen Poet and Story used, why not Poetry?

Rand — 5 really dedicated Objectivist parents? 

Selby — an English surname from Old Norse elements meaning "willow farm"

Theda — a short form of Theodora, meaning "gift of god." Actress Theda Bara is the most popular namesake — her birth name, Theodosia Burr Goodman, is pretty great too

Vennela — a Telugu (a language spoken in primarily in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh) word meaning "moonlight"

Wells — super preppy-rific choice. Though it rings masculine, I prefer it on a girl