And now for no particular reason, a list unpopular names that need to be more popular as well as words I think would make great names but aren’t, or at least haven’t been used as names enough for anyone who has them to not get questions about how dorky or pretentious they and their parents are. Bolding the latter to make them easier to spot for anyone looking to add their two cents on whether these deserve to be names or not, or whether you disagree on which genders they would work best with.
Feel free to expand upon this list.
Adalira
Adelaide
Adeline (“LINE” not “LYN”)
Aisha
Alaska (gender neutral, Aly as a female nickname)
Alchemy (female, Aly as a nickname)
Alpha (gender neutral)
Alyeska (female, Aly as a nickname)
Amari
Amarilla
Amery
Amory
Andromeda
Anemone
Anette
Anice
Anitra
Anona
Aphrodite
Apollo
Aponi
Aqua
Aquamarine
Aquila (female)
Araceli
Arctic (female)
Argent (gender neutral)
Aria
Ariadne
Arizona (gender neutral)
Arlette
Arstelle
Artemis
Artisan (gender neutral, Zan as a nickname)
Asahi
Ash/Ashes (male or female, on their own or as nicknames for Ashley or similar names)
Ashanti
Ashi
Ashia
Ashni
Aster (gender neutral)
Astra
Astraea
Astrid
Astronomy (female)
Athena
Aubrey (gender neutral)
Auburn (gender neutral)
Aura
Aurelia
Aurora
Autumn
Avani
Axis (gender neutral)
Azalea
Azure
Bluebell (female)
Bluejay (gender neutral)
Canary
Caster (gender neutral)
Chell(e)/Chelley (pronounced “CH” not “SH” on it’s own or as a nickname for names like Chelsea, Rachel, or Michelle)
Chemistry (female)
Cherry (female)
Cherry-Blossom (female)
Chickadee (female)
Chloe
Cho (gender neutral)
Chrysalis (female)
Cleopatra
Clover
Copper (gender neutral)
Cora
Cosmic (gender neutral)
Cosmos (male)
Cyan (gender neutral first name or as a surname)
Cyrene (pronounced like “serene”)
Daphne
Deyanira (Nira for short)
Dragon (as a male first name, female nickname, or a surname)
Dragonfly (female first name, Dragon for short)
Eagle (male)
Ebony
Electric (male, Rick as a nickname)
Electricity (female, Tris as a nickname)
Elvi
Ember
Emelyn
Emerald
Emery
Eris
Esther
Estrella
Evening (female, Eve for short)
Falcon (male)
Felicia
Fiery (female)
Fire (gender neutral)
Firebird (female)
Firefly (female)
Forest (gender neutral)
Fox (gender neutral)
Fuchsia
Galaxy (female)
Gemini (gender neutral)
Genevra
Ginger
Hawaii (female)
Hawk (male)
Honey (female)
Hoshi (gender neutral)
Idalia
Imogen
Inanna
Indigo (female)
Indira
Indy/Indie/Indiana (gender neutral)
Iria
Iris
Irony (female)
Isis (thanks for ruining it terrorists!)
Ivory
Ivy
Jade
Jasmine
Jinora
Jupiter (female, Mila Kunis and Makoto Kino wore it way better than the king of the gods)
Kalani (female)
Kira
Kitsune (as a female first name or surname)
Kokiri/Kiri/Koki (female first name)
Kori
Korra
Laser (gender neutral on its own or as a nickname for Lazarus)
Lava (female)
Lavender
Laz (as a nickname for Lazarus)
Liberty (female, Libby for short)
Libra (female, Libby for short)
Lightning (gender neutral)
Lilac
Livia
Lynx (gender neutral)
Lyra
Mace (male)
Madeline (“LINE” not “LYN”)
Magic (female)
Magenta (female)
Mahogany (female)
Margo(t)
Marigold
Marisol
Meadow
Melancholy (female)
Midna
Midnight (female)
Mina
Minerva
Ming
Mint/Minty (female)
Mira
Mouse (female)
Muse (female)
Music (female)
Mystery (female)
Naava
Naiad (female)
Nasa (female)
Nature (female)
Nebula
Neko (gender neutral)
Nella
Neon (gender neutral)
Nessie (female)
Nexus (female, Nex as a nickname)
Night (gender neutral)
Nimbus (gender neutral)
Nina
Nisha
Noira (female, pronounced “nor”)
Noiranne (female, pronounced “nor”)
Noireen (female, pronounced as either “nwar” or “nor”)
Noirella (female, pronounced “nwar”)
Noirelle(female, pronounced “nwar”)
Noirette(female, pronounced as either “nwar” or “nor”)
Noiria (female, pronounced as either “nwar” or “nor”)
Noirianne (female, pronounced as either “nwar”)
Noirina (female, pronounced as either “nwar”)
Nora
Nova (female)
Nubia
Nymph (female)
Ocean (female)
Ocelot (gender neutral)
Octave (male)
Octavia
Pegasus (gender neutral)
Pepper (female)
Peppermint (female)
Persephone
Phoenix (gender neutral, with Nick, Nikki, and Nix as nicknames)
Pixie (female)
Pizazz (female, Zaz/Zazz/Zazzy as nicknames)
Polaris (female)
Poppy
Raav (male)
Raava (female)
Rabbit (gender neutral)
Rav (gender neutral)
Ravee
Ravi (gender neutral)
Ravindira (female, combination of “Rav/Ravi” which means “sun” and “Indira” which means “beauty” to create “Beautiful Sun”
Ravindra (gender neutral)
Rayette
Red (gender neutral)
Redwood (male)
Ree/Ri/Rie (female)
Rock (male)
Rocket (gender neutral)
Rockette
Rouge
Saber (as a male first name or as a nickname for Sabrina)
Saria
Science (gender neutral)
Scorpion (male)
Scorpius (male)
Seabreeze (female)
Seashell (female)
Secret (female)
Selkie (female)
Seven (female)
Shanti
Shayera
Shiri
Shiva (female)
Siren (female, Ren as a nickname)
Sitara
Snake (male)
Snapdragon (as a female first name or surname)
Snow (female)
Solina
Space (gender neutral)
Spacey (female)
Starla
Starlight (female)
Starshine (female first name or surname)
Sterling (male)
Stone (male)
Storm (male)
Stormy (female)
Sugar (female)
Sun (gender neutral)
Sunbeam (female)
Sunflower (female)
Sunshine (female)
Swan (female)
Teal (gender neutral)
Thunder (male)
Tigerlily
Tippi
Topaz (gender neutral first name or surname)
Turquoise (female)
Twilight (female)
V (gender neutral)
Valentine (as a gender neutral first name, it’s already loved as a surname)
Vanilla (female, Nilla as a nickname)
Vee (female)
Vina
Violin (female)
Vix (gender neutral)
Vixen
Vixi (female)
Volcano (male)
Vortex (gender neutral)
Wolf (male)
Xan (gender neutral, on its own or as a nickname for Xander or Alexander/Alexandria)
Xander
Xenia
Zaira
Zan (on its own or as a nickname)
Zarzuela (female)
Zee (gender neutral)
Zelda
Zero (gender neutral)
Zeta (female)
Zeus
Zo-Anne/ZoAnne/Zoanne
Zuko
Apparently I really like names that start with “A”.