Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought I liked some "not top 1000" names, but this exercise has shown me that my sweet spot is 400-800. Outside the top 1000, a lot of the names just sound super outdated or made up.
+1
But names outside the top 1000 that are familiar and not terribly dated include:
Joan (I think this is underrated. Joanna is #254 so a decent alternative)
Erica
Anita
Lara
Constance
Monica
Courtney
Marisa
Gina
Teresa
Cara (personal favorite)
Anne (shocker! although Anna is #63)
I couldn't find any decent ones for men, unless you're interested in Stanley, Harold, Abner, Alfred, Gary, etc.
Raymond is in the 300s and I always liked that one. I've feel like people named Ray are always jolly. Like Martin/Marty.
for names that are more nationality-oriented, there's:
Cillian
Dario
Karim
Anton
Dermot
Anders
Emile
Ahmed
Mariano
Vera (sounds old-fashioned to American ears, but very common in Croatia, Slovenia, etc)
Dara (Eastern European women, Irish men but also Darragh)
Ilona
Siobhan
Rashida
Milena
Karina
Domenica
Natasha
Zora
Sanaa
Daniela
Katarina
Renata
Agata (this seems bad-ass)
Beatrice
Gaia