Four Syllable Names for Girls

An ancient Germanic name that's so clunky and contrarian it's actually brilliant. One famous Hermelinda was a medieval queen of the Lombards; another was a Belgian saint.

While this might look like a modern spelling of the classic Isabella, it is also the Hungarian and Polish form, pronounced with an EE sound at the beginning. A Top 50 name in Hungary and a Top 200 name in Poland, this form is also popular in Latvia.

Ada is one of those names found in two different languages with two different meanings. As a German name, it means noble or nobility, and as a Turkish name, it means island.

Brimming over with a sense of good fortune. Could make a little girl feel very lucky.

We like all forms of this name—Annabel, Anabel, Annabelle, Anabela, and Annabella—so you decide how elaborate you want to get. Actress Sela Ward chose the Anabella spelling.

More grown up than Jamie, but never given to more than 13 baby girls in the US per year (and that back in 1968). Modern parents prefer Jamie, Jameson or even James itself, as Blake and Ryan Reynolds chose in 2014.

This weighty ancient name could be the perfect fits-in-stands-out choice for fans the increasingly fashionable group of girls' names that both start and end in A.

Adjectives names are the latest class of word names to gain popularity in the US, a trend spurred by celebrities. Beautiful is one of the more established adjective names — first used in 1997 — yet has never been given to more than 70 baby girls in a single year.

Another, more feminine, female form of Jacob sometimes heard in Scotland.

This Basque name, which derives the name of a small town, is less well known than its diminutive version Arantxa. The name comes from the Basque word aratza meaning thornbush.

A beautiful plant and a rare botanical name probably deriving from Greek.

Illumination with a French accent.

Soft sound, good nickname potential, but not a good meaning for a child's name.

An African name with a joyful meaning.

Apparently a smoosh of Isabel and Mara, this name is used in Brazil, but very rare in the USA. For parents looking for alternatives to Isabella and Isadora, it could be an undiscovered gem.