Hazen

Meaning: (Sandy Meadow, From the Hedge Enclosure, Smooth, Beautiful, from Hasin, a pet form of a Germanic personal name, Haso, derived from haswa 'Gray', 'Black'; or from the plural of Haas.)

Origin: (Dutch, Germanic, Old English, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (HHEYZAHN, HAY-zən)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I forget where I saw this name but when I saw it I thought it was unique and pretty cool looking. It has really lovely meanings and has a look like Hazel in a way so maybe twins or siblings Hazel and Hazen would be cool. All in all I like this name and would love to see it used more often in novels.

Mirabai

Meaning: (Wealthy, High Born, Ocean, Limit, Boundary, Prosperous, 16th century Indian poet and singer, also called Meera.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Hindu)

Pronunciation: (Meer-ah-bye, Mee-ra-BYE)

Gender: Female

I forget where I saw this name but when I did see it I really loved the foreign look. However the pronunciation throws me off as I want to pronounce it meer-ah-bay not meer-ah-bye. I love the meanings a lot and the whole look is divine and breathtakingly beautiful. If you do use it a good nickname option, for English speakers who might get a bit infuriated trying to say this name, could be Mira. It has wonderfully long history of use so it could fit just about any century going back to the 16^th Century and probably even before that. You could do some research and see if maybe it was used before then.

Shyama

Meaning: (Dark, Black, Blue, Black Beauty)

Origin: (Indian, Hindi, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (SHayaa-Maa or SHayaa-Mah, Shee-ar-mah)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I heard this name and saw it spelled out on the TV screen when watching The Hunt with John Walsh show. That episode was where a man of either a Hindu or Buddhist community molested several young girls and the girls’ parents said if the contact was seen as bad to the girls then there was something perverse in their thinking. When the girls grew up they left and years later reported it. Two of the women were within the statute of limitations but ones statute of limitations had just run out. The man was found guilty but while out on bond he fled to Mexico and then from there to India before sentencing. They are still hunting him down and I do hope they get him so he can go to jail for his crimes and stop running and hurting people like a coward. Anyway one of girls name was this.

This is a unique name that is also very foreign and beautiful looking. The meanings are lovely and exotic and this is a name I could see on a definitely foreign beauty in a foreign maybe Arabic desert setting.

The only problem I have is with the pronunciation as it looks like Shy should to me be pronounced like the word Shy or how you would start the name Cheyenne *see on list of posts*. Then the last part Ama should to me be ah-muh, so SHY-ah-muh but that’s probably because certain foreign names just don’t want to compute with my English speaking brain, lol.

Anima / Animas

Meaning: (Infinite Smallness, Minuteness, Soul, Spirit, Hindi name derived from writings on yoga. In yoga texts, this is the name of the ability to make oneself infinitely small so to be invisible. Also refers to a petite and especially feminine physique. In Jungian psychology the anima is an individual's true inner self, or soul.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Spanish, Latin, Hindi, English (Rare))

Pronunciation: (AN-i-mə, AENihMAH, Animas: ON-ee-mas)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

A few months back a river in Colorado went yellow after contamination of waste from an old gold mine and the river was named this. The contamination was an awful accident and probably will leave lasting effects to the area but it was kind of interesting looking but a sad state of affairs for the EPA.

The name is pretty and the meanings are interesting and lovely. The name does look like you are trying to spell Animal but left off the L at the end or for Animas left off L and added an S.

I have used Anima as the name of some woods in one of my stories I am currently writing. My character finds something in the woods that no one thought could exist for someone twice and so it seemed to be about the heart or soul so I thought this name fit that quite well. I know my description is odd and lacking but I am not getting into the long story that I am writing as I am tweaking it as I am writing so ideas may change but I am keeping Anima as the name of the woods in the story.

Jahan

Meaning: (The World, Universe)

Origin: (Persian, Hindi, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (JHaa-HHAE-N)

Gender: Uni-Sex

There is a band I forget whose name it is but one of the women in the band is named Jahan. I saw it a lot and I really came to like it. The meanings give a look of vastness and beauty.

Indra

Meaning: (Possessing Drops of Rain, Supreme God, Beauty, Splendor, and Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain. He is the chief god in the Hindu text the Rigveda. )

Origin: (Sanskrit, Hindi, Indian)

Pronunciation: (IN-dra, IN-drə, AHNDRah)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I was watching Heroes of Cosplay on Syfy a few months back and one of the cosplayers is named Indra. I really came to see, hear and like the name when her name was said or it was on the screen. I like the main meaning of this name but I don’t really pay much mind to it being the name of a foreign deity. The meaning seems very nature oriented which I like a lot.

This name was also used for the name of a city in Kendal and Kylie Jenners’ book, rather they had a ghost writer write the book and they took credit for it but all they contributed was the idea (you can read more about this issue in one of my posts from a month or so ago.) So anyway Indra is a name gathering popularity a bit but it still rings foreign, pretty, strong, exotic, and fascinating all at once.

Ritika

Meaning: (Of a Stream, On the Move, Movement, Stream, and Brass)

Origin: (Indian, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (RIH-tih-kah, Rah-Tee-Kah, ree-tee-ka, ree-THEE-kah, ree-TEE-kah, Riy-TIY-Kaa)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I can’t remember where I saw this but it was on a names list somewhere I think. I wait so long to add them I forget where I saw them, lol! Anyway this name has such a unique but kind of really cool pretty look to it.

The pronunciation is the only down fall for me but the meanings I think are really pretty and nature based. Unfortunately it is a name I will probably forget about unless I see it more often. I like it though because it reminds me of the character Riddick, played by actor Vin Diesel. That is if you say if fast enough and have my accent when saying it, lol. But spelled out they don’t look alike.

Taryn

Meaning: (Thunder, From a High Rocky Cliff, Of the Earth, Tender/Innocent, Rocky Hill, Thunder, Earth, Rock, The Reaper, Wild Goat, To Carry, Young, Queen, Little Princess, Combination of Tara and Erin or a form of Taran/Terran.)

Origin: (English, Welsh, American, Scottish, Gaelic, Irish, Norse, Celtic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Roman, Scandinavian)

Pronunciation: (TA-rin, TARE-en, TARE-in)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

I like the look of this name. It has a great many meanings but they are all really good and interesting. I forget where I saw this name but I think I was looking up another name and I saw this one. I think it is easy, cute, pretty and seemingly pronounceable by many different people.

Amita

Meaning: (Endless, Limitless, Boundless, Truth, Friend, Friendship, Variant of Amit.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Hebrew, Italian)

Pronunciation: (ah-MEE-tah, aa-Miy-Taa)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

I had a thought the other day and it sort of evolved as I daydreamed about it. I might write a story about it sometime in the future. So I was brain storming about potential names for the main two characters, male and female. I don’t know why but Amitalyn popped in my head. Then I thought I don’t really care for the Lyn part. Then I wondered is Amita even a name. I mean I know some people who think they created a name but in truth it already was a name but I have never been one of those people, I mean once I thought I had just combined some letters and made a name but I found out years later it was actually a Japanese name, LOL. So I thought perhaps I have heard this name somewhere and just forgot. So I Googled it and found out it is a real name and is actually perfect for my character, it has another world look to it and the meanings are spot on to that characters abilities and job. It was all by accident I thought of this name but it’s perfect for her. Then I was watching The Millionaire Matchmaker and a lady on there was named Jensi (JEN-see) and I thought that was cool but upon Googling it I saw it was mostly a male name. So I named my male character Jensi *See on list of posts*.

As for Amita the name, it is unique and has very lovely meanings.

Kieron

Meaning: (Black, Beam of Light, Dark, Little Dark One, Variant of Kieran and Kiran. Popular for over 1500 years, at least 26 Saints have borne the name.)

Origin: (Irish, Gaelic, Hindi, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (KIH-R-aeN, ke-ronh, kee-ron, keer-awn, keer-in)

Gender: Male

I was looking up another name and stumbled upon this name, which happens a lot, LOL! The meanings I really like a lot. The look is different and seems a handsome sort of name. This name reminded me a lot of a main character in one of my stories who is named Kiernan. With such a long use and history this name would be a wonderful character name for an author. I don’t know if I will use it even though I love it because I will confuse myself because of its close look to my characters name Kiernan. Also I might not realize that I may try to make any Kieron be too similar to Kiernan in looks, personality, background, everything. That said I love this name and would love to see it used more often. Oh also I think my writer friend might have used this name, but not sure. But I keep thinking she has but I don’t know. 

Ishani

Meaning: (The Ruling Goddess, Desire, Variant of Ishana.)

Origin: (Hindi, Sanskrit, Indian)

Pronunciation: (ee-shah-nee, iy-SHaa-Niy)

Gender: Female

I saw that new Disney Pixsar movie Planes advertised the other day and one of the planes is named Ishani. I think this is a really pretty exotic name with really lovely meanings.

Summer

Meaning: (Summer, A Nature Name; the season used as a girl’s name, like Spring and Season. Taken from the name of the warmest season of the year. The name has been used in recent times, often in reference to the liveliness of the season.)

 

Origin: (Old English, English Nature Name, Sanskrit)

 

Pronunciation: (SUH-mer, SAHMMehR)

 

Gender: Female
 

I have never been a fan of season names but I did add Winter / Wynter *See on list of posts* to my blog some time ago. Summer is not my favorite season nor favorite name but it is a decent nature name. I see this name a lot so it would do well as a character name because it is easily recognized and pronounceable.

Elin

Meaning:  (Nymph, Woman of Intelligence, Bright One, Also Finnish and Swedish form of Helen.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Hindi, Finnish, Swedish, Welsh, Old French, Old Greek)

Pronunciation: (ee-lyn, EHL-ahN, ee-l-ih-n, ai-l-ih-n)

Gender: Female

I can’t remember where I saw this name but I came to like it. It is short and has a good look and is easily pronounced. It is also a foreign form of Helen *see on list of posts*. 

Evanora

Meaning: (Eva: Life, Living One, Giver of Life, Full of Life, Mother of Life,  Alive, Animal, Latinate form of Eve, Also an Anglicization of the Gaelic name Aoife Nora: Light, Honored, Honorable, Valor, Short form of Eleanora “Light”, Honora, “Woman of Honor,” and Leonora. Also used as an independent name. In Scotland, Nora is often used as a feminine form of Norman. Nora is the heroine of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”. )

Origin: (Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek, English, Celtic)

Pronunciation: (Eve: AY-vah, EE-vah, EYVaa (Dutch), IYVah (English), EHFaa (German), EHVaa (Italian, Spanish)) Nora: NOR-ah, NOWRah (English), NOWRaa (German) Evanora: EV-uh-nor-uh, AY-vah-nor-uh)

Gender: Female

I saw an advertisement for the new Oz the Great and Powerful. One of the wicked witches is named Evanora. I know it’s just a combo name of Eva and Nora but I think even if they created it for the movie I think it can be used in novels. I think this is a beautiful exotic name. It had beautiful meanings.

Ashok

Meaning: (Not Causing Sorrow, Sorrow Less, One Without Sorrow, Without Sadness, A form of Ashoka, Ashoka the Great, a 3^rd Century BC Emperor of India, Ashoka Diamond, a 41.37 carat D flawless named after the Buddhist Warrior-Emperor Ashoka Maurya.)

Origin: (Hindu, Indian, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (aa-SHaaK, ah-shock)

Gender: Male, Possibly Uni-Sex

I was watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit one day and this guy was some sort of investigator. His name was Ashok Ramsey. I love names that have Ash in them. It’s a very foreign sounding yet handsome name. I love the lovely meanings. It has a nice long history of use. I don’t see this often but I would love to see it in novels. It might be used just not much among English speakers.

Isha

Meaning: (The Ruling Goddess, The Lord, Woman, Protector, Alive, She who Lives)

Origin: (Hebrew, Sanskrit)

Pronunciation: (ee-SHAH, eye-shah, iy-SHaa- or iy-SHuw)

Gender: Famale

I saw this name the other day and I thought it was really pretty. The meanings are beautiful and I love the look and sound of this name. It's short and I love the exotic quality of this name as well.

Keira / Kyra / Kira

Meaning: (Dark, Lady, Black Haired, It is an Anglicized version of Ciara, the name of a 7th century saint, Kyra it is a form of the name Kiran, pronounced /ˈkɪərən/KEER-ən. Kiran is of Hindi and Sanskrit origin, meaning "beam of light". From Sanskrit, it evolved to the Persian and Egyptian word Ki-Ra for "like Ra, the sun" and later to ancient Greek where its meaning became "lady" (male name Kyros (see Kyrie), meaning "lord"). A short form of kyria, κυρία, the Greek title of respect for a woman.

The word Sire for addressing royalty in western European languages is a modern variant of it. Therefore it can also be used as a female form of Cyril. In Slavonic, it means "strong woman".

Kira (Ки́ра): Feminine form of Russian Kir, meaning "mistress, ruler." This also can translate to "Leader of the people" or "One the people look to". Though the popularity and direct translation for the Russian forms of the name Kira are debated, there are several other Russian translations including Кира meaning "beloved". Kira is another Russian derivative for the name Kyra, descended from Kyros, the Greek form of the Persian name Kûrush, which may mean "far sighted" or may be related to the Persian word khur "sun". The name is sometimes associated with Greek kyrios "lord". This was the name of several kings of Persia, including Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel. The etymologically unrelated Japanese name, romanized as "Kira", is common in Japan, as both given name and family name. "Kira kira" also means glittery, or shiny, in Japanese. Irish derived from Ciar (Black): hence, “Black-Haired One.” In the U.S., Ciara is pronounced phonetically, rather than with its Gaelic pronunciation of keer-ah.)

Origin: (Irish, Gaelic, Celtic, Greek, Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian, Egyptian, Russian)

Pronunciation: (KEER-ə, KEE-ruh, KEE-ra)

Gender: Female

I have used this name as a main characters daughter's name. I used Keira but I like Kyra and see that spelling a lot. I love the beautiful meanings and the simple shortness of this name. There are many different genres and characters this could fit. I also like the pronunciation of this name.

Ashna

Meaning: (Beloved, Devoted to Love, Daughter of Bali, Voracious)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Indian)

Pronunciation: (AE-SHNaa)

Gender: Female

I was watching Keeping up with the Kardashians and Scott Disick was to do an appearance at a birthday party. The girls name that was her birthday party was named Ashna. I really like any name with Ash in it and this is just another to add to that list. It's exotic, unique, pretty with a great meaning.

Avani

Meaning: (Earth, The Good Earth, Stream Bed, Hindu Goddess Sita was also called Avanisuta meaning “Daughter of the Earth”. The legend goes that she was found while ploughing the Earth.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Indian, Hindi)

Pronunciation: (ah-vah-nee, ah-VAHN-ee, aa-VAA-Niy, OVEN-ee)

Gender: Female

I love going to this Medieval / Fantasy Wedding Gowns site I found years ago. I am not married or even planning to right now but I went there to get ideas for some of my characters who lived in the Medieval like era. The designer is in the UK and her gowns are briliant. They are beautiful and so well done. Anyway Avani is the name of one of her gowns. I really liked the name and a few others I will add later.

I am going to add the website below just so you can check it out if you like.

Rivendell Bridal Designs by Emily Jane

http://www.rivendellbridal.com/

Sanaa

Meaning: (Brilliance, Radiance, Splendor, Beauty, Work of Art, Praise to God, Praiseworthy)

Origin: (African, Swahili, Sanskrit, Arabic, Hindi)

Pronunciation: (sa-NAH, sa-NAAa)

Gender: Female

I was watching the movie AVP: Alien vs Predator the other day and the actress in the movie her name is Sanaa. It looks foreign but pretty and the meanings are wonderful. It is a name that is rare so that might actually be interesting if I saw it in a book. I can see a character of unmatched beauty and grace named this.