One Syllable Names for Girls

Meabh, the native Irish spelling of Maeve, is in the Top 100 in Ireland and becoming more popular here in its Anglicized form. Outside of Ireland, life will be easier with the Maeve spelling of this lovely queen's name.

Brio is a musical term with great verve and energy, with possibilities as a first name on the heels of such choices as Cadence, Allegra, and Rio.

Swayze is an Anglicization of the German surname Schweiz or Schweizer, referring to a Swiss person. It's most commonly associated with late actor Patrick Swayze, of Dirty Dancing fame. Interestingly, it's overwhelmingly feminine, with over 83% of babies born with the name girls.

Medieval name that still hasn't crossed the ocean, known here primarily via actress/teacher Uta Hagen.

Better on your living-room walls.

Novel choice for the child of authors. Quill could be used to honor someone with a rhyming name, such as Jill, Bill, Phil, or Gil.

The well-known phrase "hale and hearty" gives this name a warm, positive feel. Hale is clean and straightforward but doesn't crack the top 1000 for either gender. For those in search of a namesake, Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale would make a strong one.

Bright is a rare yet intriguing word name used for a female character in Ann Patchett's novel The Dutch House.

Simple, Zen-like name of a mythological forest elf.

This geographic name has lots of Gallic elan. France Nuyen is a French-Vietnamese actress who starred in the Broadway hit The World of Suzie Wong.

Triss is a short form of Beatrice used for one of the heroic characters in The Witcher. She is a sorceress and ally of the protagonist Geralt whose magic is used for good.

Dael is cooler than Dale -- but why? Vowel switch gives an old nature name a hipper look.

Lianne is occasionally used independently, but fairly flimsy. Our advice: Keep looking for a name that carries more individual authority.

Former traditional male name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents. Actress Glenn Close is a famous female bearer.

Duke has recently been seen on the TV show Better Things as the name of the youngest of three sisters, the other two having the very on trend names Max and Frankie.

The childhood name of the heroine of Memoirs of a Geisha is pretty and accessible. Chiyiko is a pet form.

If girls have adopted Ray, why not Roy.

Rising fast for boys both as a stand-alone name and as a nickname to Cassius or Cassian, Cash also has potential to cross over to the girls' side — either as an edgy word name, or as a diminutive of names such as Cassia and Cassandra.

For Americans, a little too he for a she.

Gio is a cute, more androgynous variation of Gia that could work well as a nickname for names such as Giovanna, Giordana, or Giorgia. It was chosen by Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo for their daughter in 2018.