Choosing what to name your child is a very personal decision but can also be a creative one. There are so many directions you can go: quirky, traditional, unique, family pass-downs, or trendy.

Knowing how much effort parents put into baby-naming (especially first-timers), there are plenty of online and media resources that have jumped in on the game. You’ll often see lists that categorize names by criteria such as most popular, movie or TV characters, vintage, or unisex.

One of the more uncommon categories we get to see now is “unused”. That doesn’t mean that your child has a name that is u-g-l-y, but simply that less people are picking it. According to this report by WCCO, baby name site Nameberry has compiled a list of 5,000 monikers that didn’t make the cut for 2016.

Among them: Trout, Rudyard, Hiawatha, and Puck. Yes, Puck. The endearing jokester from folklore and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now, why wouldn’t anyone love that name? Nameberry narrowed their list of 5,000 down to 100, and below is a sampling of which ones weren’t chosen.

Boys:

Averill

Bas

Beach

Drummer

Fenno

Falconer

Humphrey

Kassian

Kermit

Land

Nat

Night

Per

Salmon

Septimus

Scorpio

Spike

Thoreau

Umberto

Whistler

 

Girls:

Araminta

Bee

Chandra

Christmas

Circe

Daffodil

Eulalie

Franny

Freesia

Frostine

Jocasta

Kalindi

Louisiana

Melisande

Oberon

Sanne

Tally

Thaddea

Undine

Whimsy

Notice all the fairy and flower references? If you are in the market for something truly original in the baby name department, then these will definitely fit the bill. However, one of the things these newscasters point out is future job opportunities and job discrimination. It happens.
 
Your child will carry this name for the rest of his or her life (unless they change it). Sadly, sometimes there is also schoolyard teasing that comes during one’s adolescence. And the issue of pronunciation. Spelling variances and uncommon names can sometimes trip people up.
 
Parents do not have to take any of those things into consideration as their child is that – theirs. For many, what’s important is choosing a name that they love, find beauty in, and has meaning or symbolism for their family.
 
Nameberry’s list is based on information gathered through the U.S. Social Security Administration, so there’s a possibility that these names are popular in a different country. Though creativity can be part of the process here in the U.S., many states limit what types of names can be given.
 
It’s interesting. Obviously, you can’t name your child an obscenity. In some states, accent marks are not allowed. Illinois allows numbers but the majority of states do not allow those or pictograms and symbols. There are also states that limit the amount of characters that first, middle, and last names can have. Check your state’s rules!

Click on the video to hear more opinions on Nameberry’s findings and why some parents are into these lists and others are not. If your child isn’t in love with her name when she grows up, she could always change it – or at least go by a nickname.

What’s your opinion on these baby names? Are you a fan of name lists or does your inspiration come from another place? How did you come up with your child’s name?