Does anyone else enjoy looking at baby names even when they are not pregnant? I find myself watching YouTube videos about unique names, nature names, vintage names, and everything in between. I’ve mentioned before that I’m hopeful we will have a third child (sooner rather than later!), but I want to clarify right away that I am not pregnant. I’m just a girl who likes baby names and keeps an ongoing list on her phone. Tell me I’m not the only one!

For reference I have two adorable little boys and their names are pretty short, very uncommon, and begin with E and F. I am drawn to really unique names that are not in the top 100 list, and my husband believes that popular, common names are popular for a good reason. The fact that we’ve agreed on two names already is a miracle itself. The names I’m sharing in this list are ones that I really, really like, but for whatever reason, they wouldn’t be a good fit in our family. Also, if you guys are interested in hearing a boys’ name list, just let me know.

In no particular order, 10 Girl Names I Love But Won’t Be Using:

1. Everleigh– This name is absolutely gorgeous. I love the length of it, the spelling of it (another option being Everly) and frankly, I adore any name that begins with a vowel. That said, I feel like Everleigh will only get more and more popular and since one of my son’s names starts with an E, this one is out for us.

2. Remi– This name is short, sweet, and spunky. It is a French name that means “oarsman” and I prefer to have a connection to the meaning of a baby name if I’m going to choose it. Since I cannot relate to the meaning in any way, Remi didn’t make the top of our list.

3. Cordelia– I’m an actor and Cordelia is a character in a Shakespeare play, King Lear, so I immediately see this name as romantic and lovely. However, Cordelia doesn’t seem to fit with my boys’ names so I never really considered using it.

4. Teagan– This is a name that both Mr. Cookie and I loved when I was pregnant with our first son but you know how your opinions change as years go by? That’s what happened with Teagan. It is a Gaelic name that means poet, beautiful, or creative, and all of those sound right up my alley, but I just don’t love it like I used to.

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5. Eden– Can you tell I love E names? Eden is the name I was obsessed with in high school. I just assumed I would have a girl and her name would be Eden Nicole. Then someone I knew used the name for her daughter, and I grew up and met a Scottish man and Eden became a distant memory. But I still think Eden Nicole is such a great combo.

6. Penelope– And she could be Penny for short. This is a beautiful and vibrant name with Greek origins. But I find it is a bit too popular for my taste currently, and it doesn’t really sound right with our last name. Some names just sound better with your surname than others.

7. Winter– I love the idea of this name. I think it’s stunning. But I live in Minnesota and this year winter has been an absolute beast. We have broken records for snow, and low temps, and basically the polar vortex has been kicking our butt. I get so sick of winter here! And I cannot name my child after a season I whine about for half the year. Also, Mr. Cookie says it’s not a real name, which I disagree about, because I also love names like Sunday and November but again, those could get tricky too.

8. Freya– This gorgeous Norse name means “a noble woman,” and is very uncommon in the US, but I am trying to avoid names that start with F because my second son’s name starts with that letter. Although I find I am less and less married to that self-imposed rule the more I think about it. With Freya, I also worry about spelling and pronunciation.

9. Siobhan– Speaking of issues with spelling and pronunciation. Siobhan is a really lovely Irish name that is pronounced shi-VAWN. I love the cool way it’s spelled and I love the way it’s pronounced, but it does seem like it would be very confusing and a lot of work to explain to people. On the other hand, if we lived in Scotland or Ireland where it’s a more common name, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.

10. Arabella– This is probably one of the more unique names on my list and I’ve only just heard it quite recently. I believe Arabella is Latin for “yielding in prayer” which is a very sweet meaning. However, it feels too long when I say it with my son’s names and I just can’t picture using it but it’s a lovely alternative if you are looking for something similar to Isabella or Ella.

Obviously, I think these are all wonderful names, and hopefully you enjoyed reading this post whether you are pregnant or not. I swear I’m not pregnant at the moment but I do hope I can start seriously looking at baby name lists again soon!

What is one of your favorite baby girl names?