What’s in a name?
A lot, actually; just ask any of the multiple Dara/ Darragh/ Daires I went to school with.
We all know a ‘big’ Sean, a ‘ginger’ Aoife or a Sarah O (as opposed to a Sarah S or Sarah K) – it’s an unfortunate fact of life that those of us with common first names either have a prefix awarded to us by someone else or are forced to find other ways to stand out from one another.
If you ventured into any preschool room nowadays, you’d likely see at least one coat-hook labelled ‘Ava’, ‘Emily’, ‘Jack’ or ‘James’ – they’re some of the most popular baby names of the past few years.
Prospective parents eager to buck the trend or help their little ones distinguish themselves from their classmates might be interested in some different monikers.
Mumsnet has compiled a list of baby names that were each only registered three times in the UK and so are some of the rarest for newborns.
Most of the names are pretty out-there, though some will be fairly familiar to Irish people; nothing too strange about Dougal or Tadgh to an Irish ear.
So, fancy being the only mum or dad calling out “Onyx” or “Ajax” at the school gate? These names might be right up your street.
Girls’ names
- Adalie
- Agape
- Birdie
- Noam
- Onyx
- Oracle
- Sonali
- Sondos
- Tiger
- Yvette
Boys’ names
- Ajax
- Dougal
- Henderson
- Jools
- Marvellous
- Oakleigh
- Oswin
- Richmond
- Tadgh
- Thibault
