Rare Name Generator
Genuinely uncommon first names from real traditions
Generate rare first names that real people have actually carried: Cornish, Welsh and Gaelic names, Scandinavian and German revivals, French, Italian, Basque, Greek, Slavic, Persian, Hebrew and Yoruba picks, Victorian virtue names and a few nature words. Mixed girls', boys' and unisex names for babies, characters and pen names.
About rare names
A rare name is not an invented one. The names here are real given names, most of them far outside the top thousand in English-speaking countries, which is where the sense of rarity comes from: Cornish revivals like Demelza, Kerensa and Jowan; Welsh names such as Eluned, Heledd and Macsen; Irish and Scottish Gaelic spellings like Sadhbh, Fiachra and Sorley; Scandinavian and German names like Sunniva, Eivind and Wolfram; French, Italian and Basque picks like Apolline, Tancredi and Irati; Persian, Hebrew, Slavic and Igbo names like Golnar, Tirzah, Jaromir and Adaeze; and Victorian names that fell out of fashion a century ago, from Ottoline and Etheldreda to Isambard and Hereward. Further afield are Breton, Finnish, Baltic, Dutch, Hungarian, Armenian, Georgian, Hawaiian and Maori names like Aziliz, Ilmari, Femke and Aroha.
Rarity in one country is often ordinary in another, so the list tells you the origin by sound rather than forcing everything into an Anglo shape. That matters for usability: Sadhbh, Siofra and Aoibheann are beautiful but will need spelling out at every school and clinic in the US, while Merryn, Anselm or Leonie are equally uncommon and self-explanatory.
The list is deliberately mixed, with girls', boys' and a few unisex names shuffled together, so scanning it works like flipping through an old register rather than reading a themed list.
How to choose rare names
- Check how rare it really is: look the name up in your country's official baby-name statistics. Many 'rare' lists online include names that are actually top-200 in the UK or Australia.
- Decide how much spelling friction you will accept. Gaelic and Welsh spellings (Sadhbh, Gruffudd) are authentically rare but need explaining for life; Merryn, Anselm or Tamsin are equally uncommon and phonetic.
- Say the full name aloud with the surname. Long rare names pair best with short surnames, and a rare first name plus a rare middle name can tip into fussy.
- Check the obvious nicknames and initials, since a rare name will be shortened by friends regardless: Ottoline becomes Ottie, Peregrine becomes Perry.
- For fiction, match the name's origin to the character's background or deliberately explain the mismatch; a Basque name on an English farm boy is a detail readers will notice.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a rare name?
A useful rule is a name given to fewer than about 1 in 10,000 babies in your country, which in the US means roughly fewer than 200 births a year. The list holds real given names and aims well outside the top thousand in the US and UK, though several are common in their home countries. Popularity shifts every year, so look a name up in the statistics of your own country.
Are these rare girl names or rare boy names?
Both, mixed together, plus a few unisex nature and virtue names. Roughly half lean feminine (Ottoline, Kerensa, Apolline, Zlata) and half masculine (Isambard, Tadhg, Wolfram, Kaveh); names like Merryn, Emrys, Quill and Sorrel work either way.
Will a rare name cause problems for a child?
Mostly only spelling and pronunciation friction, which you can limit by choosing names that are spelled the way they sound. Rare names from living traditions (Welsh, Basque, Yoruba, Persian) also carry a culture behind them, which many families see as a strength rather than a burden.
Can I use these for characters and usernames?
Yes. Rare but real names are ideal for fiction because they feel plausible without colliding with a famous namesake, and they make distinctive usernames, though none was checked on any platform. Pair a rare first name with an ordinary surname so the character reads as a person rather than a fantasy creation.
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All 1,000 rare names
A: 97 names
- Aarush
- Abebe
- Abelard
- Abelone
- Abital
- Abner
- Achilleas
- Achsah
- Adaeze
- Adebayo
- Adelheid
- Adelina
- Adina
- Afonso
- Agapios
- Aglaia
- Agnese
- Ailbhe
- Ailsa
- Aine
- Aisling
- Aitor
- Akosua
- Alasdair
- Albane
- Alberic
- Albinia
- Aldhelm
- Aldith
- Aldous
- Algernon
- Algot
- Aliette
- Allegra
- Amabel
- Amadeus
- Amaia
- Amancio
- Amaranta
- Ambrogio
- Ambrosine
- Amedee
- Amerigo
- Amets
- Amittai
- Amity
- Amparo
- Anahita
A, continued
- Anatole
- Anatolios
- Andris
- Aneurin
- Angharad
- Anjali
- Annegret
- Anneke
- Anselm
- Anselma
- Ansgar
- Anwen
- Aodhan
- Aoibheann
- Apolline
- Aram
- Arash
- Arcangelo
- Ardeshir
- Ariki
- Aristides
- Arnau
- Aroha
- Arvid
- Arvo
- Asbjorn
- Asger
- Aspasia
- Aster
- Astghik
- Atara
- Athelstan
- Attila
- Aubin
- Audun
- Aurelian
- Aurelien
- Aurelio
- Ausra
- Averil
- Aviva
- Ayelet
- Aylin
- Aymeric
- Azadeh
- Aziliz
- Azubah
- Azucena
- Azzurra
B: 54 names
- Babatunde
- Bahram
- Baiba
- Baltasar
- Baptiste
- Baraka
- Baris
- Barnaby
- Bartholomew
- Bartomeu
- Bastian
- Batsheva
- Beathag
- Bedwyr
- Bellamy
- Benedetta
- Benedick
- Bente
- Berengere
- Berk
- Bernat
- Bertil
- Bertram
- Betony
- Bijan
- Birdie
- Birger
- Birgitta
- Birute
- Blaithin
- Blanche
- Blandine
- Blathnaid
- Bleddyn
- Blodwen
- Bodil
- Bogdan
- Boglarka
- Bohumil
- Botond
- Bozena
- Bozidar
- Bramble
- Brandusa
- Branwen
- Breeshey
- Breogan
- Briallen
- Brieuc
- Bronagh
- Bronislava
- Bronwen
- Brunella
- Bryony
C: 47 names
- Cadfael
- Cadwallader
- Caetano
- Caius
- Calixto
- Calla
- Calloway
- Casilda
- Casimir
- Cassiopeia
- Cathal
- Catriona
- Cecily
- Celestin
- Celestine
- Cengiz
- Cesira
- Chiamaka
- Chidi
- Chipo
- Christabel
- Chryseis
- Chrysoula
- Clelia
- Clemency
- Clementina
- Cliodhna
- Clodagh
- Clovis
- Colombe
- Conall
- Cordula
- Corentin
- Cormac
- Cornelia
- Cornelius
- Corrado
- Cosima
- Covadonga
- Cove
- Cressida
- Csaba
- Csilla
- Cuthbert
- Cynan
- Cyprien
- Cyrilla
D: 38 names
- Dagny
- Daichi
- Daiva
- Danae
- Danica
- Dariush
- Dearbhla
- Defne
- Deiniol
- Delphina
- Delphine
- Demelza
- Deniz
- Denzil
- Derwa
- Desdemona
- Devorah
- Diarmuid
- Diederik
- Digby
- Dionisio
- Dobromir
- Dobroslava
- Donatella
- Donnacha
- Dorthe
- Dougal
- Douwe
- Dragomir
- Dragos
- Drusilla
- Duarte
- Dubravka
- Dulcibella
- Dulcie
- Dunstan
- Durante
- Dymphna
E: 62 names
- Eabha
- Eachann
- Ebbe
- Ebenezer
- Echo
- Edric
- Eero
- Effie
- Efthymia
- Eglantine
- Egle
- Eilidh
- Eimear
- Eirene
- Eirlys
- Eirwen
- Eivind
- Eleftheria
- Elestren
- Elfrida
- Elidir
- Elihu
- Elowen
- Elspeth
- Eluned
- Emeka
- Emese
- Emre
- Emrys
- Emyr
- Endellion
E, continued
- Eneko
- Enguerrand
- Eniko
- Ennio
- Enora
- Eoghan
- Ermanno
- Ermengarde
- Ersilia
- Erwan
- Esfandiar
- Eskil
- Etain
- Etelka
- Eteri
- Ethelbert
- Ethelburga
- Etheldreda
- Ettore
- Eudoxia
- Eugenie
- Eulalie
- Eulogio
- Euphemia
- Eusebio
- Eustace
- Evadne
- Evanthia
- Everard
- Ewart
- Ezio
F: 37 names
- Fabiola
- Fable
- Fadrique
- Falko
- Farhad
- Farquhar
- Farrokh
- Faustine
- Fausto
- Femke
- Fenella
- Fennel
- Fenwick
- Ferdia
- Fereydoun
- Fergal
- Fermin
- Ferran
- Fiachra
- Fiammetta
- Fidelma
- Fillan
- Fingal
- Fintan
- Fionnuala
- Fiorenza
- Fitzwilliam
- Florbela
- Florian
- Floris
- Florizel
- Folke
- Forough
- Fosca
- Frideswide
- Friedemann
- Fulvio
G: 46 names
- Gaetan
- Garance
- Garazi
- Gaspard
- Gayane
- Gediminas
- Georgiana
- Geraint
- Gerben
- Gerda
- Gerens
- Gernot
- Gershom
- Gervase
- Gethin
- Ghislain
- Giedre
- Gijs
- Ginevra
- Gisela
- Gisli
- Glafira
- Glesni
- Godfrey
- Golnar
- Gordana
- Gorka
- Goronwy
- Gottfried
- Gottlieb
- Goulven
- Grainne
- Grazyna
- Griet
- Gruffudd
- Gualtiero
- Gudula
- Guglielmo
- Guillemette
- Guinevere
- Gunilla
- Gwenaelle
- Gwenda
- Gwendolen
- Gwenllian
- Gytha
H: 38 names
- Haile
- Hajnalka
- Halcyon
- Haldor
- Halfdan
- Hallgerd
- Halvar
- Hannelore
- Hartmut
- Hartwig
- Hasmik
- Hawise
- Hayk
- Hedda
- Hedwig
- Heidrun
- Heledd
- Helmi
- Heloise
- Hephzibah
- Hereward
- Hermine
- Hesper
- Hester
- Hilda
- Hildegard
- Hilja
- Hillel
- Hinemoa
- Hjalmar
- Holger
- Honore
- Honoria
- Horia
- Hortense
- Humphrey
- Hyacinth
- Hywel
I: 40 names
- Idony
- Idunn
- Iestyn
- Ifeoma
- Ifor
- Ignatia
- Ignatius
- Ikaika
- Ilaria
- Ildefonso
- Ildiko
- Ilinca
- Ilmari
- Ilze
- Imants
- Inese
- Ingeborg
- Ingmar
- Innes
- Innokenty
- Iolana
- Iolanthe
- Iolo
- Ipek
- Ippolita
- Iracema
- Irakli
- Irati
- Iria
- Isadora
- Isambard
- Isaure
- Iseult
- Ishani
- Ishbel
- Ismay
- Italo
- Itamar
- Itsuki
- Izaro
J: 21 names
- Jabez
- Jadranka
- Jadwiga
- Jago
- Jamshid
- Jarmila
- Jaromir
- Jaume
- Jelle
- Jerusha
- Jessamine
- Jessamy
- Jethro
- Jocasta
- Jolyon
- Joost
- Jory
- Jovita
- Jowan
- Jurate
- Jytte
K: 33 names
- Kadri
- Kalervo
- Kalev
- Kalliste
- Kalyani
- Kasumi
- Katinka
- Katriona
- Kaveh
- Kazimir
- Keala
- Kekoa
- Kenelm
- Kenna
- Kentigern
- Kenver
- Keoni
- Kepa
- Kerem
- Kerensa
- Kerenza
- Kerstin
- Kerttu
- Ketevan
- Keturah
- Kezia
- Kiri
- Kofi
- Konstantin
- Kourosh
- Kwame
- Kwesi
- Kyriakos
L: 52 names
- Laia
- Laima
- Laleh
- Lalita
- Lambert
- Lamorna
- Lancelot
- Laoise
- Lark
- Lavinia
- Lazare
- Leandre
- Lemuel
- Leocadia
- Leocadio
- Leonidas
- Leonie
- Leonilde
- Leontyne
- Leopoldine
- Letitia
- Lettice
- Lettie
- Levan
- Levente
- Libuse
- Liesel
- Lilias
- Linden
- Lindiwe
- Liora
- Ljubica
- Lleucu
- Llywelyn
- Loic
- Lorcan
- Lorenz
- Lourenco
- Loveday
- Lowenna
- Lowri
- Lubomir
- Lucasta
- Lucien
- Lucretia
- Ludger
- Ludivine
- Ludmila
- Ludovica
- Ludovico
- Lusine
- Lysander
M: 63 names
- Mabli
- Macarena
- Macsen
- Madhav
- Madoc
- Mael
- Mafalda
- Mahalia
- Mahina
- Mahsa
- Maialen
- Malini
- Malo
- Manaaki
- Marama
- Marceau
- Marcellus
- Marigold
- Marijke
- Marius
- Marjatta
- Marloes
- Marmaduke
- Marsaili
- Marzia
- Mathilde
- Maude
- Meabh
- Mechthild
- Medea
- Meher
M, continued
- Mehitabel
- Mehrdad
- Meinir
- Meinrad
- Melchior
- Melisende
- Meltem
- Melusine
- Melyor
- Meraud
- Mererid
- Meritxell
- Merryn
- Mesrop
- Mhairi
- Mildred
- Millicent
- Miltiades
- Mindaugas
- Mircea
- Mireille
- Mirjana
- Misaki
- Montague
- Morag
- Mordecai
- Morven
- Morwenna
- Mstislav
- Mungo
- Murdo
- Myrto
N: 27 names
- Nairi
- Naoise
- Narek
- Navid
- Nehir
- Nekane
- Nerissa
- Nestan
- Nevena
- Ngaio
- Ngozi
- Nicasio
- Nicodemus
- Nienke
- Nikau
- Ninian
- Nino
- Niranjan
- Nitya
- Nives
- Njeri
- Nkechi
- Nnamdi
- Nneka
- Noelani
- Nuno
- Nuria
O: 39 names
- Obadiah
- Octave
- Octavian
- Odhran
- Odysseas
- Oighrig
- Oihana
- Oisin
- Olalla
- Oleander
- Omid
- Onni
- Oona
- Ophira
- Orabel
- Orhan
- Oriana
- Oriel
- Oriol
- Orlaith
- Ornella
- Orry
- Orsina
- Orsolya
- Osbert
- Osian
- Osric
- Ostap
- Oswald
- Oswin
- Ottavia
- Ottaviano
- Ottilia
- Ottilie
- Ottmar
- Ottoline
- Ourania
- Ovidiu
- Ozan
P: 31 names
- Padma
- Palmira
- Pari
- Parisa
- Parthenia
- Pascaline
- Pasco
- Pelageya
- Pelham
- Pelin
- Perdita
- Peredur
- Peregrine
- Pericles
- Peronel
- Perpetua
- Petroc
- Petronella
- Philippa
- Philippine
- Philomel
- Philomena
- Photini
- Piran
- Piroska
- Polyxeni
- Pomeline
- Posy
- Praskovya
- Preben
- Prudence
Q: 5 names
- Quenby
- Quill
- Quillon
- Quinlan
- Quintus
R: 37 names
- Radomir
- Radu
- Rafe
- Raghav
- Ragna
- Ragnhild
- Ranald
- Rasa
- Rasmus
- Reinette
- Reka
- Revati
- Rhona
- Rhonwen
- Rhoswen
- Rhydian
- Rinaldo
- Rocio
- Roderick
- Rohese
- Romola
- Rosalba
- Rosalia
- Rosalinde
- Rosamund
- Roshanak
- Rostam
- Roxana
- Rozenn
- Ruaridh
- Rudo
- Rue
- Ruggero
- Rusudan
- Ruta
- Rutger
- Ruxandra
S: 62 names
- Sabela
- Sabine
- Sadhbh
- Saffron
- Sancho
- Sancia
- Sanziana
- Sarolta
- Saskia
- Sayuri
- Sefu
- Segolene
- Selim
- Senan
- Senara
- Senja
- Sennen
- Seonaid
- Septimus
- Serafina
- Setareh
- Severin
- Shiori
- Shirin
- Shoshana
- Shota
- Shulamith
- Shushan
- Siavash
- Sidonia
- Sidony
S, continued
- Siegfried
- Sietske
- Silvanus
- Sindre
- Siofra
- Sipho
- Siranush
- Siwan
- Sixtine
- Sjoerd
- Smaranda
- Smeralda
- Snjezana
- Snorri
- Sohrab
- Somerled
- Sonnet
- Sophronia
- Sorley
- Sorrel
- Spyridon
- Stavros
- Steinunn
- Steren
- Struan
- Sukie
- Sunniva
- Sverre
- Sybil
- Sybilla
- Szabolcs
T: 69 names
- Tadhg
- Tahmineh
- Takumi
- Talan
- Taliesin
- Tamsin
- Tancred
- Tancredi
- Tane
- Tanguy
- Tansy
- Tapio
- Taras
- Tariel
- Tarik
- Tarquin
- Tatenda
- Telmo
- Temperance
- Tendai
- Tengiz
- Tesni
- Teun
- Thabo
- Thaddeus
- Thais
- Thalassa
- Thelonious
- Themba
- Themistocles
- Theodoric
- Theron
- Thibault
- Thijs
T, continued
- Thistle
- Thomasina
- Thorfinn
- Thorunn
- Thorvald
- Tiberius
- Tibor
- Tiernan
- Tifenn
- Tigist
- Tigran
- Tikvah
- Tinatin
- Tirso
- Tirzah
- Titilayo
- Toivo
- Tolga
- Tomislav
- Torbjorn
- Tormod
- Tornike
- Torquil
- Torstein
- Traian
- Treasa
- Tristram
- Trofim
- Trygve
- Tryphena
- Tudur
- Tugdual
- Tullio
- Turlough
- Tuva
U: 10 names
- Ubaldo
- Uchenna
- Uldis
- Ulric
- Ultan
- Ulysse
- Unai
- Ursula
- Uxia
- Uxue
V: 31 names
- Vaclav
- Vahan
- Vaino
- Vakhtang
- Valdemar
- Vale
- Valentin
- Valerian
- Valter
- Vanya
- Vartan
- Vasco
- Vashti
- Veikko
- Veit
- Venetia
- Verena
- Verity
- Vesna
- Vikram
- Violante
- Viorica
- Virag
- Vita
- Vittorio
- Viveca
- Vladislav
- Vlasta
- Voirrey
- Vuokko
- Vytautas
W: 15 names
- Walburga
- Wanda
- Wenceslas
- Wendel
- Wenna
- Werburgh
- Wiebe
- Wilfred
- Wilhelmine
- Wilmot
- Winfried
- Wolfram
- Wulfric
- Wulfstan
- Wystan
X: 6 names
- Xabier
- Xanthe
- Xanthippe
- Xenia
- Xenophon
- Xerxes
Y: 16 names
- Yago
- Yamini
- Yannick
- Yannis
- Yarrow
- Yasemin
- Yetunde
- Yevgenia
- Yildiz
- Ylva
- Yngve
- Yocheved
- Yohannes
- Yorick
- Ysella
- Yseult