Two Syllable Names for Girls

Gussie is fussy — try Gus.

An lesser-known member of the John-Joan family, though popular in its native habitat, has never emigrated, possibly due to its non-intuitive pronunciation.

An old Irish saint’s name and the name of a lovelorn poetess in Irish folk legend. Liadain is another variation.

Jasmin doesn't have the grace of Jasmine (which in 2016 ranked at 122 in the US Top 1000), but it is far more preferable to the trendier versions doing the rounds like Jazmin or Jazzmyn. If you are looking for a more unusual variant try Yasmin or Jessamine.

A wonderful Yiddish diminutive of Sarah, most familiar to Americans as the name of Tevye’s eldest daughter in Joseph Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof.

An attractive and easily translatable Finnish name.

Spelling variation of Erin invented for a character on the science fiction TV show Farscape.

Variant of Marianne or Maryann

In the Choctaw tribe of Mississippi and Oklahoma, Tassa was a traditional female name.

A unisex name used in India with an upbeat meaning.

This rare and archaic French name is a little too close to Chlorine for our liking. Despite its flowery origins, Florine has a warrior history - Florine of Burgundy was a female French crusader, who fought in battles alongside her husband and died after continuing to fight with seven arrows in her chest.

Nickname left over from the last generation.

Londyn is now a more popular name than the original London for girls. Some parents feel that varying the spelling nudges the name away from over-identification with the British capitol. Substituting a y for another vowel is also seen by some as more feminine. For boys, London is five times as popular as Londyn -- though both variations are far more popular for girls.

The French spelling of Adele, and currently very popular in France.

While the Cailin spelling doesn't appear on popularity charts, other forms such as Kaylin and Kaylen do, along with several similar names, from Caitlin to Jalen to Kayla. The result: a name that feels more common than it actually is.

Nabisco has never revealed the origins of their sandwich cookie brand name, but the prevailing theory is that it was derived from Oreodaphne, a genus in the laurel family.

Sounds a bit like a shortening of Rafael or a condensation of Rafaela, but Rafa is a name in its own right.