This article was originally published on Kueez
There are millions of names that people can choose for their little girls. Yet, for some reason, many of people choose to name their kids fairly popular names. However, when we hear of celeb baby names like Alaia and Marlowe, we can't help but wonder where these unique sounding names originated from. Keep reading to find out the origins and meaning of these beautiful, yet still unique, names.
Birdie
Jessica Simpson and her husband, Eric Johnson, had a baby girl in 2019, and soon after she was born they revealed her name to be Birdie. Birdie has English, German and American origins, and means either "famous" or "bright" or "little bird." The name Birdie is also closely related to perhaps some names that are more commonly heard, like Bird, Bertha, and Birdena. This is certainly a cute name for a little girl.
They're not the only celebs who named their daughter Birdie, though, as Busy Philips and Maura West both named their daughters Birdie around 10 years ago.
North
Although we had not heard of "North" being a name before Kim Kardashian iconically chose this name for her eldest daughter with Kanye West, we feel like the meaning behind this name is pretty interesting. Generally, "North" means a geographical direction and it is a gender neutral name. This name is not listed amongst popular names, but as Kim Kardashian's friends reportedly told the reality star - "it's such a cool name."
Well, we do love that Kimye chose such a unique name for their first child, but we have not heard of anyone that has followed suit and copied this name yet.
Ariel or Arielle
This name can be used for either boys or girls, and has versions for both. Many people got the idea to name their daughter Arielle after Victoria's Secret model, Candice Swanepoel, announced that she and her husband had named their son Ariel. There is no denying that we are totally obsessed with this cute and unique name, so we had to look into the meaning behind it. Apparently, Ariel is a Biblical Hebrew name that has the literal meaning of "lion of God."
This name can also be found in the feminine form of "Ariella" or "Arielle." Ariel was primarily used as a name for males, however, after Disney chose to use this name for the main character in The Little Mermaid, this name became super popular amongst females.
Ivey
Jamie Lynn Spears chose the name Ivey Joan for their baby to honor Jamie's aunt. In addition to being a beautiful sentiment of naming a child after a family member, the name Ivey also means an ornamental, evergreen climbing plant. While Ivey is perhaps a modern and unique name, it has been on the rise in more recent years with a lot of new parents choosing this name for their babies.
Joan is a more traditional name and is of Hebrew origin. Joan means "God is gracious," and is often chosen by parents who want their kids to follow a life of faith.
Penelope
When reality stars Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick announced that they had named their second child Penelope, fans were eager to hear the meaning behind this unexpected name. Pamela Satran from Nameberry.com explains that Penelope originates from the Greek name which has the meaning of "weaver." Additionally, the name Penelope is found in Homer's Odyssey as the faithful wife of Odysseus. Penelope's middle name is Scotland, as a way of creatively honoring Scott.
In the celeb world, the name Penelope has been on the rise. Both actress Tina Fey and celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson have named their daughters Penelope as well.
Leyah
The influencer Trinity Sierra named her daughter Leyah, which is a Biblical name that is of Hebrew origin. Even though this is a Biblical name, the name Leyah is quite unique. The name Leyah in the Old Testament was the name of the first of Jacob's four wives, who was also the eldest daughter of Laban. This pretty girls name has a number of meanings, including "gazelle" and "beauty and grace."
The name Leyah can also mean "worthy cow" as during biblical times, cows were considered to be extremely valuable and were treasured. Oh, how times have drastically changed since then.
Frankie
Actress Drew Barrymore and the art consultant, Will Kopelman, welcomed their daughter Frankie Barrymore Kopelman back in 2014. Even though we commonly hear the name Frankie in reference to boys, this is actually a gender-neutral name of American origin. We have to say, we love this name for a little girl. The name Frankie means "truthful" or "free," both of which are quite nice sentiments for parents to want to be associated with their child.
There are other variations of the name Frankie, which include names like Francesca, Frank, Francis, or Frances. It is pretty interesting that Drew's last name is their daughter, Frankie's, middle name.
Luna
The actress Uma Thurman and her beau, Arpad Busson, named their daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence, although friends and family will be calling her "Luna." The name Luna means "the moon" and is of Italian origin. We can imagine that it got this meaning from Luna being the name of the Roman moon goddess. In Spain, Luna is a last name for families that come from the area of Luna.
There are a number of famous fictional Lunas, like Princess Luna in The Adventures of Peter Pan, Luna from Sailor Moon, as well as Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series.
Colette
Robbie Williams and his wife, Ayda Field Williams, named their third child, a daughter, Colette 'Coco' Josephine Williams. The name Colette is of French origin and is primarily a female name which means "victory of the people." We think that this sounds like quite a powerful name. Josephine, just like the baby's first name Colette, is also rooted in a French origin, but it has a more traditional meaning of "God will increase."
Josephine is the very pretty feminine form of the name Joseph. Robbie and Ayda have nicknamed their daughter Coco, and there are several famous Cocos around like Coco Chanel, the fashion designer.
Marlowe
When we heard that Sienna Miller and her boyfriend at the time, Tom Sturridge, had named their daughter Marlowe, we are sure that we are not the only ones who were curious as to how the couple had come up with this rare name. Well, rumor has it that Marlowe is actually named after the well-known Elizabethan playwright, Christopher Marlowe. Now that is a unique source of inspiration for a name.
Marlowe also means "lake remains" and is of English origin. Although Sienna and Tom have chosen this name for their little girl, the name Marlowe is actually a gender-neutral name.
Sunny
Adam Sandler and his wife, Jacqueline Samantha Titone, have named their younger daughter Sunny. While this name is not so common, we would hope that this little girl is as sunny as her name suggests. Well, this name does actually mean "happy" or "sunshine" or "cheerful temperament" and is of English origin, so choosing this name certainly suggests what sort of demeanor these parents are hoping for their child to have.
Sunny is certainly not a super popular name, although we do not see why it shouldn't be. In fact, we would love to see more kids with this jolly name running around.
Seraphina
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner named their middle child the pretty unique name of Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. When we broke this name down, we discovered that each of these names bears a really beautiful meaning. Seraphina is the feminine form of Seraphinus, which is a Latin name that comes from the Hebrew "seraphim," meaning either "burning" or "fiery." The Seraphim were a type of angel or celestial being in the Old Testament.
This name is not only super pretty, but it is also quite a powerful name. Perhaps that is why Bennifer decided to give their daughter softer sounding names like Rose and Elizabeth.
Delilah
Rod Stewart's daughter, Kimberley, named her daughter with Oscar winning actor Benicio del Toro, Delilah. This rock 'n roll sounding name actually comes from the Old Testament in the Bible. The story of Delilah in the Bible is that she was Samson's lover. The source of Samson's notorious strength lay in his hair, but Delilah betrayed him one night and cut it all off, making Samson vulnerable and weakening him.
Delilah is of Hebrew origin and is primarily a female name. The name can either mean "weakened" or "delicate," and has grown quite a lot in popularity in the past few years.
Shiloh
The name Shiloh has been gaining popularity in the past few years, especially after fans of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt discovered that this power couple had chosen this name for their eldest daughter. Shiloh is a Biblical place mentioned in Genesis, as well as has the beautiful meaning of "Peace" in ancient Hebrew. The name Shiloh is used more commonly for girls, but it can also be used as a boy's name.
We think that it is also interesting that in addition to being a Biblical location, Shiloh is also the place that a decisive battle of the American Civil War occurred.
Haven
Haven is only missing one letter from the word Heaven, but for some reason, it sounds so much more accessible. Perhaps this is because Haven also means "a safe place," and we feel like there isn't a parent out there who wouldn't want their child to have this comforting connotation. Well, at least it looks like Jessica Alba felt that way when she named her daughter Haven Garner back in 2011.
The name Garner happens to be even more unique than the name Haven. However, this name is apparently the middle name of Jessica's husband, Cash Warren, and it is a contraction of Gardener.
Faith
Faith is not necessarily a Biblical name, although it is one of the main philosophies discussed in the Bible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this name is of English origin and simply means "faith." The name Faith is primarily used for females. When Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban named their daughter Faith Margaret, Nicole explained her choice of this first name by saying that having her daughter through a surrogate required "a lot of faith."
Margaret, on the other hand, is derived from Ancient Greek and means "pearl." Before it became a popular English name, Margaret was a French name in the form of Marguerite.
Cleo
Cleo is a gender-neutral name, however, it is more popularly used for girls. There are quite a few suggestions as to what the origins of the name Cleo may be, like whether it is short of names like Cleophus or Cleopatra, or whether it is an alternate spelling of the name Clio. Either way, we would like to believe that people choose this name for the Greek meaning of "fame" or "glory."
The name Cleo was chosen by David Schwimmer and Zoe Buckman for their eldest daughter back in 2011. If Ross from Friends thinks this is a great name, then so do we.
Willow
The name Willow is a gender-neutral name that mainly refers to a shrub or tree of the Salix family. However, when Pink named her daughter Willow Sage, she explained this name beautifully, saying that she grew up near a willow tree. The singer elaborated that the willow tree is super flexible and cannot be broken by elements, and is able to withstand anything. Pink said that she wanted this sentiment for her daughter.
Sage can mean either "prophet" or "herb," but Pink says that she chose this name because it is both sacred and cleansing, as well as it sounding "great with Willow."
Mae
Mae has a number of meanings, which include "drop of the sea," "sea of bitterness," "star of the sea," "exalted one," "rebelliousness" or "beloved." It is a variation of the name May, which originates from the Roman goddess, Maia, who has quite a significant role in Roman mythology as the mother of the Olympian, Hermes. This is the beautiful name chosen by Hilary Duff for her daughter with husband Matthew Coma.
Mae is also a shortened form of the names Margaret or Mary, and can also mean "mother," "goddess of warmth, springtime, and increase," "greater," and "midwife." This name just means so much.
Daisy
When appearing in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Katy Perry revealed that her and Orlando Bloom's choice of name for their baby girl was very intentional. Katy explained that to her, Daisy means purity, while Dove means peace and Bloom sounds like it means joy. The three names, Daisy Dove Bloom, come together to mean pure, peace, and joy. Katy alluded to her daughter's name a few months before she gave birth.
Earlier in the year, she shared a photo of herself wearing a dress covered in daisies, as well as released a single called "Daisies," which was later included in her album, Smile.
Aviana
We had never heard of the name Aviana Olea before Amy Adams gave this name to her daughter, but Amy apparently chose this name after being inspired the very pretty sounding name of her birthplace, Aviano, Italy. Aviana means "bearer of good news" and "like a bird" and is of Latin origin. Aviana can also be translated into Hebrew to mean "my father answered." With this translation, "father" refers to God.
Although Amy herself does not give any explanation as to why they chose the name Olea for their daughter's middle name, apparently Olea means 'olive' and is a rather uncommon name.
Elliot
Elliot is a derivative of the Hebrew name Elijah, who was a prophet found in the Bible that was chosen by God to encourage the Israelites to reject the pagan cults and worship the one God. For more than 100 years, the name Elliot has been quite popular as a boy's name, but it never was as famous as the name Elijah. However, more recently, Elliot has evolved into becoming a gender-neutral name.
In fact, there are a number of celebrities who have chosen to name their daughters Elliot, including the Suits star Patrick J. Adams and his wife, Pretty Little Liars alum, Troian Bellisario.
Brooklyn
While it may seem like a pretty cool and trendy girl's name these days, Brooklyn is actually derived from the English last name which means "beautiful brook," and was used to refer to people who lived by a brook. Joe and Kendra Duggar from 19 Kids and Counting named their daughter Brooklyn, and we feel like it is safe to assume that they were inspired by the New York City borough.
Brooklyn also originates from the Dutch word "breukelen," which means "broken land." In the last 20 or so years, this name has risen quite fast to become one of the more popular names around.
Jupiter
Ashley Tisdale and Christopher French officially became parents when Ashley gave birth to the couple's daughter, who they named Jupiter Iris. Although neither Ashley or Christopher explained the meaning behind this very unique name, according to Behind the Name, Jupiter means "supreme god" or "Father Zeus" and has a Latin origin. In addition, Jupiter is also the fifth planet from the sun, which gives this name an out-of-this-world meaning as well.
The name Iris, according to Nameberry, is considered to be a symbol of power and majesty. Iris means "rainbow" and is of Greek origin. Jupiter Iris sure sounds like a powerful name combo.
Josephine
Josephine is a very old school, traditional girl's name that is of French origin. Josephine means "God will increase," and is the female form of the Biblical name Joseph. This quaint name was chosen by Duff Goldman and his wife Johnna for their first child together. Lately, it appears as though it has become quite trendy to bring back vintage girl's names, and the name Josephine seems to be no exception.
Although it sounds like it would be a befitting name for an older woman, Josephine can easily be softened with a number of cutesy nicknames like Jojo, Josie, or Joey.
Athena
The name Athena comes from the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. It is pretty befitting, then, that fitness instructor Robin Arzon, came up with this name for her first child with husband Drew Butler. After all, Athena is often associated with images of a strong and powerful woman. According to Greek mythology, Athena was the favorite daughter of Zeus. So, we were not surprised to hear that Athena means "praise."
Well, not only are babies being named after the goddess, but the Greek city of Athens is also named after Athena. There are many temples dedicated to this powerful goddess.
Violet
The name Violet Skye, according to the name expert, Abby Sandel, follows the baby-naming trend that has been pretty popular amongst celebs recently of pairing a color with a noun. Rachel Platten, who gave her baby with Kevin Lazan this exact name, is no exception. Both of these names have beautiful meanings in their own rights, and when placed together, they play off one another in a very pretty way.
Violet evokes the grace, power, and beauty of nature. Violet originates from Latin and means "purple," as well as represents purple flowers. Skye is taken from old Norse and means "cloud."
India
Celebs like Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, as well as Binky Felstead and Josh Patterson, have all chosen the name "India" for their kids. India is taken from the Indus river which runs through India, and is also Sanskrit for "river." Recently, this name has become more popular for little girls. Binky Felstead's daughter's full name is India Elizabeth, blending the more unique name India with a traditional Biblical name, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is translated from the Hebrew origin in the Old Testament of the Bible to mean "God is my oath." In the New Testament, Elizabeth appears as the Greek Elisabet.
Alaia
Rochelle and Marvin Humes named their eldest daughter Alaia-Mai. Not only is this a very pretty name, but each of these names has fairly unique meanings. Alaia is of Arabic origin and means "sublime." The name also has Basque origin and can mean "joyous" or "happy." There are other variations of this name, like Aliyah, Alya, and Alaya. The name Mai, on the other hand, is of Japanese origin and means "coyote."
Like many other Japanese names, the combination of characters used to spell Mai gives this name a number of meanings. The name comes from the Sino-Vietnamese character which means "apricot" or "plum."
Rumi
The name Rumi has quite a number of beautiful meanings like "lapis lazuli" and "flow." In fact, Rumi also means "beautiful," which we feel is such a sweet way for a parent to refer to their child by naming them this name. The name Rumi is of Japanese origin and is primarily a female name. Rumi also is a Persian name, although there's not any meaning attributed to it in this origin.
We just love the way this name sounds, and it appears as though the Mommy Diary blogger Angela Kim does too, seeing as she chose this name for her daughter.
Rose Opal
Rose Opal is a beautiful combination of names, which Stacey Solomon chose for her daughter. The name Rose refers to the flower, but it can also be a diminutive of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis, which is a combination of two words that are translated to mean "fame" and "type." The Normans introduced this name to England in the Middle Ages, when it evolved into the Old English names of Rohese and Roese.
Opal comes from the gemstone of the same name and is the birthstone for the month of October. Opal is derived from the Sanskrit upala, which is translated to mean "jewel."
Margot
Margot comes from a French origin and means "pearl." It was originally a nickname for the name Marguerite, but the name ultimately comes from the Greek word for pearl, margarites. Margot can also be spelled as Margaux and Margo, however, the spelling of Margot is more popular, and it is how Jim Chapman and Sarah Tarleton spell their daughter's name. The name Margot appears to be on the rise lately.
We think that the popularity of this name is owed to being a pretty distinctive name, as well as being one of the only female names to have a distinctive o-ending sound.
Alani
Within the last century, Alani has rose to fame as a girls name. However, with it being a pretty modern coinage, it is not so clear why so many parents have chosen this name for their daughters. Perhaps the influencer Asia Leigh naming her daughter Alani has something to do with this name's rise in popularity. The actual word Alani means "orange" in Hawaiian - not the color, but the fruit itself.
It's also possible that Alani developed as the female form of the more common name, Alan. In Gaelic, the name Alan means "rock." There's certainly a number of ways to view this name.
Nelly
Nelly is a pretty unusual name and has a couple of origins. The Greek origin of the name Nelly gives it the meaning of "the bright one" or "shining light," while the Latin origin of the name gives it the meaning of "horn." We feel like Billie Shepherd from the reality TV series, The Mummy Diaries, chose this name for her daughter after hearing the Greek meaning, but then again, anything is possible.
In addition to these meanings, Nelly can also be the shortened version of the more traditional names of Eleanor and Helen. Either way, we think it's a pretty cute name.
Melody
For anyone who feels like singing for joy once their baby girl has arrived into this world, we have the perfect name for their little bundle of joy - Melody. And, have no fear, the name Melody will work even if she is completely tone deaf. This feel-good and joyful name became a favorite in the 1960s of the hippies, and is the name which LaurenzSide chose for her daughter with Bobizard.
The name Melody is of Greek origin, from the word "melodia," meaning "singing of songs." There is no denying that that this name has such a lovely and soft sound to it.
Posie
Posie is an old-fashioned name that joins fellow flower names like Poppy, Clover, and Marigold, that are becoming pretty trendy for little girl names. We also think that the social media couple, Savannah and Cole Labrant, naming their daughter Posie has something to do with the name coming back. Perhaps it is also Kylie Jenner who made this name popular, after calling one of her infamous lip kits Posie K.
Either way, we love the light sound of this name. Speaking of light, the name Posie could also be the shortened version of Mariposa, which is a type of butterfly.
Lilia
The name Lilia is primarily used as a girl's name, and is of Hawaiian, Latin and Russian origin. Lilia means "lily," and is part of a larger group of names that have that pretty sounding double L. However, of all of these sorts of names, Lilia is probably one of the more distinctive and unusual ones. Jessica Skube chose this name for her eldest daughter, who she had when she was just 17.
The lilting Lilia is a truly a cross-cultural name, seeing as it is heard in Spanish, Russian, Hawaiian, and Hebrew communities. We just love the way this name sounds when said aloud.
Rosabella and India
The YouTube personality, Lucy Jessica Carter, gave her twin daughters super unique names - Rosabella and India. The name Rosabella is of Latin origin, and is translated to mean "beautiful rose." It is a pretty undiscovered name, with Nameberry.com reporting that only 69 baby girls in America were given this name back in 2016. However, the name Rosabella kind of brings together two very popular names, Rose and Bella, into one name.
India, on the other hand, is of English origin and has become pretty popular in recent years. This stylish name comes from the country of India, although in Sanskrit is means "river."
Shay
The influencer Tara Henderson has three kids, and has given her youngest daughter the name Shay. This is a really uncommon name that we have to say, is pretty cute and fun for a little girl. Apparently, Shay is a variation of Shea and is of Irish Gaelic origin. It is derived from the commonly known name, Seamus and it means "admirable," which is a very beautiful meaning for a name.
In addition to having Irish Gaelic origins, the name Shay is also a Hebrew name and derives as a variation of the name Shai. From this origin, the name means "gift."
Greta
The YouTube influencer, Hailey Devine, and her husband, Brad, have two little girls. While their eldest daughter has a pretty traditional name, being called Lucy, their second daughter has a rather unique name and is called Greta. Although we do not see too many little girls with the name Greta these days, there was once a time that this name was extremely popular. Perhaps this vintage baby name is coming back.
Greta does have a super cute meaning, as it means "pearl" and is of German origin. We absolutely love the whole idea of naming a kid after a precious stone.