Sam and Kate are expecting their third child soon, a brother or sister for Lucinda "Lucy" and Asa, and are looking for potential name. Sam describes their style as 'slightly quirky' and keen to avoid names which are particularly common at the moment.
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Lucinda and Asa are both striking and stylish with historic ties, but both have a modern twist to them. Here are some other suggestions which might hit the same note:
Zelie – The chic French short form of Solene and Azelie.
Perdita – Sharing all the buttoned-up romantic charm of Lucinda, with a quirky twist. Beatrix Potter charm combined with Shakespearean elegance.
Juniper – A pretty plant name related to youth and vitality. Juno -- the Roman queen of the gods -- makes either a great nickname for Juniper, or a great standalone choice.
Elowen – A pretty botanical Cornish name (pronounced el-OH-en) meaning 'elm'. A similar gem is Cornish Lowen "happy".
Vela – Tying in with Lucinda's Latin heritage, Vela "sails" is the name of a constellation representing the sails of Jason's legendary ship, the Argo Navis. An alternate homonym is Vaila -- the name of a pretty Scottish island which is used as a girls' name in the Shetlands.
Eulalia – A meliflouous ancient Greek name meaning "sweetly speaking," known in Spain (thanks to the patron saint of Barcelona) which adds a continental twist. The French form is Eulalie, which adds a chic, gentle twist. An even more uncommon but equally beautiful Eu- name in the Greek family is Eumelia meaning "melody."
Kerensa – A lilting Cornish meaning "love". A cognate of Welsh Cerys/Carys but much less expected. Another stylish
Corinna – A Latin form of the Greek Korinna "maiden" which was borne by a 6th century poet.
Clio – Cleo may be a short form of Cleopatra, but Clio "glory" is a ancient Greek name in its own right, as the name of the goddess of history and poetry, one of the Nine Muses.
Phaedra – Meaning "bright, shining," Phaedra is a stylish ancient Greek gem.
Jessamine / Jessamy – Older spellings of the floral jasmine used as given names since the 18th century.
Ev- – So many of the names that made my list contained the striking yet genteel "ev" sound, so here they are all together: Evanthe, Evadne, Evelina, Evangeline, Evita, Evelien, Genevieve, Ginevra, Guinevere
Ro- – What I love about Ro- names is how they can be both lady-like and dramatic at the same time, much like Lucinda. Here are some worth considering: Romilly, Romola, Romona, Romany, Roxana, Rosabel, Romina, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosamund, Rowena
Fletcher – Reminiscent of medieval archers and bow-weilding heroes, Fletcher is cool and modern with plenty of pedigree.
Odin – While Thor is getting a lot of attention at the moment thanks to the action-hero, another great choice from Norse mythology is king of the gods, Odin. Strinking yet fresh sounding at the same time.
Soren – A stylish Scandi form of Severinus -- borne by notable philosophers and scientists for centuries and yet it still feels fresh.
Stellan – Another great Scandi choice is highly accessible Stellan.
Theron – A sleek ancient Greek name with the bold meaning of "hunter."
Leonidas – Leo names are super stylish. Leonidas remains uncommon but also recognisable thanks to Greek hero-king Leonidas I.
Laszlo – A striking Hungarian form of Vladislav "glorious rule" borne by an 11th century saint-king.
Ephraim – An uncommon Biblical name which hits the same chords as Asa.
Jovan – A striking Slavic form of John. For a Roman twist, there is also Jovian (borne by a Roman emperor), which is derived from Jove > Jupiter.
B- – A lot of names that made this list are bouncy B names. Striking historic gems that are also stylish firstname-surnames: Breccan, Beckett, Bowen, Bastian
-o – One of the hippest ending for boys is 'o' right now, and as you already have Lucy and Asa, an o ending strikes a nice balance. Here are a few uncommon yet stylish choices: Inigo, Enzo, Arno, Tygo, Cato, Cosmo, Ivo, Viggo, Ezio, Argo
-ander – Many names I thought of for this list end is the quirky and unexpected -ander suffix: Leander, Evander, Lysander, Iskander, Vander, Anders
I hope this has been of use. Best wishes with the name hunting.