One Syllable Names for Girls

Mio is a lovely Japanese name for girls that has migrated beyond its native country. One Berry reports several young girls named Mio in Australia, and the name has potential in the rest of the English-speaking world for parents who want to move beyond Mia and Maya.

A nickname name heard in Spanish-speaking cultures, might lead to "loopy" jokes here.

Despite its modern sound, Blaise has plenty of history as a given name (for boys), from a Christian martyr to Arthurian legends. Today Blaise feels like the cool and edgy Blaze with a French accent.

Clove is a spice name that is a tad more piquant than Saffron or Cinnamon. It might get more attention now as a member of The Hunger Games family of names.

A sweet way—literally—to honor a Melissa or a Pamela.

An attempt to make this name swing more to the feminine side, though the original Ryan is becoming perfectly acceptable for girls.

A smooth and velvety Gallic choice first heard here as the heroine of the movie "Chocolat."

Brisk but rather brittle. Britt Eklund was a Bond Girl in the 1974 The Man with the Golden Gun. Britt is a contracted form of Birgit, but be aware that it does come with the strong possibility of being confused with Bret/Brett—or as a shortening of Brittany.

Families with a J-initial sibset may opt to spell Dream this way. While Dream has been climbing up the charts since its' entry in 2017 — attributed to the birth of a Kardashian baby by that name — alternative spelling Jream only just entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

Also spelled Aoibh, this rare Irish Gaelic name is pronounced just like Eve.

Could be confused with the much less captivating Leanne.

The goddess and personification of victory in Greek mythology – sister to strength, force, and zeal – could make a powerful namesake for a daughter. The goddess would fly a chariot across battlefields rewarding the victors with laurel garlands. Though Nike would make a more unique alternative to her much more popular Roman counterpart, Victoria, be warned that many people’s first association will be the sportswear brand.

Likely boosted by its similarity to fast-rising names Rhea, Raya, and Freya, enough parents chose this sweet and simple name in 2023 to push it into the US Top 1000 for the first time.

With this spelling, and one-syllable pronunciation, it sounds less like a whole name than a cut-off version of Mary. In fact, actress Mare Winningham was christened Mary.

Traditionally a masculine diminutive of Moses, Moe could work equally well as a short, sweet, gender-bending nickname for girls – perhaps from Ramona, Moana, Imogen, or Monroe.

A name with a less conventional animal meaning, rescued by the reputation of the Greek courtesan Phryne (more beautiful than Aphrodite, one of the wealthiest women in classical Athens) and the charming character Phryne Fisher from Australian author Kerry Greenwood's detective series Phryne Fisher's Mysteries, set in the 1930s. In the series Phryne is a wealthy Melbourne woman, but goes beyond her class and gender stereotypes - she can fly a plane, drives her own car and sometimes wears trousers. However, while displaying bohemian panache, she manages also to maintain style and class. With the Greek pronunciation of the name (FREE-nee), Phryne could be an alluring, unique alternative to Phoebe, although most English speakers would default to the FRY-nee pronunciation.

Khione was the name of several minor figures in Greek mythology, of which the most notable is the nymph who Hermes turned into a snow cloud. Khione works as both a high-brow mythological name and a Kardashian-trendy K name.

Brea is another spin on the increasingly-popular Bria, another entry in the stylish Mia-Leah-Gia sisterhood. While Bria is on the charts with an arrow toward the top, Brea is used more quietly, maybe because the spelling makes the pronunciation less clear. Is it bree-a or bray (answer: bree-a).