Names That Mean Feminine

This makes Milan sound like less of a place, more of a name.

This Olde World name with a large measure of European style makes an offbeat possibility for the bold baby namer in search of interesting Italian names for girls. Currently very popular in its native Italy, Ludovica is an unusual path to all the great Lu nicknames, like Lulu and Lula.

Commonly used in Russia, has an Old World Slavic feel. The original Galen can be used for girls as well as boys.

Ariyah jumped into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, probably because some American parents see it as a creative spelling of the popular Aria or Arya. But it's also an authentic Hebrew name in its own right, a feminine form of the Biblical Aryeh, heard in modern Israel..

A euphonious and lovely name with a dark-eyed, long-flowing-haired image, Raphaela is, like Gabriella and Isabella, beginning to be drawn into the American mainstream.

A life-affirming choice — just beware pronunciation issues among the goyim in your neighborhood.

This jazzy old name could make a comeback, the way Josephine and Ella have. In England the name was popularized by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, after whom her governor general of Canada husband named the North American province. Jazz singer Alberta Hunter was a noted bearer.

One of the rarest of virtue names, Clemency could come back along with the more familiar Puritan virtue names such as Hope and Faith. It has a rhythmic three-syllable sound, and offers a more virtuous alternative to the more popular Clementine.

This obscure but simple name is related to a Latinized form of an ancient Greek appellation that receives a mention in both Plato's Dialogues and the New Testament. Timmea and Timmia have also been found.

Has a musty 1940s feel. Try Georgia -- or Georgiana.

The usage of this Arabic name has been increasing in the US, joining the Top 1000 for the first time in 2015. Aminah bint Wahb was the mother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

It's interesting how names imported to the US from other countries and cultures have fashion cycles of their own. Paulette along with cousins Annette and Claudette were the most fashionable French imports in the middle of the last century, only to sink from sight and be replaced by such current French favorites as Charlotte, Sophie, and Eloise. In general, feminizations of male names have faded in favor of gender-neutral choices, and Paul itself is off its own fashion peak. But Paulette has the same vintage charm as names like Margot and Josephine that are very much a la mode. And far from being extinct, Paulette hits that sweet spot of names that are familiar but not over-used. It was given to about 130 baby girls in the US last year, on par with May, Avalon, Jolee, Liza, and Vivianne. This is three times as many baby girls as were named Paulette in 2000, so while the name may still lie well beneath the Top 1000, it's very much on the way up.

Fashionably Continental and much fresher than Dominique, though it's been used since the Middle Ages. Dominica can be spelled any number of ways, from Dominika to Domenica, but we prefer this version.

Rare but attractive female form of Basil.

The popularity of Mila has no doubt influenced the rise of Mylah, which can also be viewed as a feminization of Milo.

Calm, composed, and chic.

Though rarely used now that many parents would rather appropriate men's names than sweeten them with feminine endings, Thomasina does have some vintage appeal.

High profile supermodel/entrepreneur Tyra Banks has put this name in the spotlight, endowing it with her confident, superattractive image.

A French name that's lost its chic.

Festive name of the wife of Salvador Dali. In Spanish, Gala comes from the Roman name Galla, a feminine form of Gallus meaning "rooster" or "a person from Gaul".