Two Syllable Names for Girls

A medieval Cornish name which despite sounding similar to the French name Emeraude, is actually connected to the Welsh name Morfydd. Pronunciation rhymes with Herod -- and yes, the final d is pronounced.

A short form of Alexandra and Alice used everywhere from Russia to Spain. A fresh alternative to Allie.

Rivers is an indisputably unisex surname with is strong nature connotation and its connection to the character Diana Rivers from Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. Rivers is also the first name of one of the girl Sweet Home sextuplets.

Soft and gentle, but feels like a less meaningful contraction of Theodora.

Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the name of the horse in the kids' TV show Spirit.

Diminutive of Alvina, and a cute boyish retro nickname we can see making its way back onto a few birth certificates today.

Intriguing twist on several familiar names, though many people will mistake this for Elsa, Eliza, and so on.

Phonetic anglicisation of the popular Scottish name Eilidh, a relative of Eleanor or Helen.

When President LBJ's daughter Linda Bird changed the spelling of her name to Lynda, she set a trend for spelling adventurism that's still rippling through the name world today.

Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry Potter character., a witch who worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was a celebrated Headmistress of Hogwarts School..

The Irish Gaelic form of Cecilia, which is the origin of the Anglicized version Sheila, which subsequently became very popular across the English-speaking world.

Variation of CASEY or combination of initials K. and C. From the time when initial names seemed really neat. K. C.

This Dutch name stems from the Greek root word "philos" meaning "love". It is relatively common in the Netherlands.

An old Irish saint’s name and the name of a lovelorn poetess in Irish folk legend. Liadain and Líadan are other variations.

Part of a group of lovely A-starting names popular in Spain, along with Ainhoa and Aitana. Spanish actress Aroa Gimeno introduced this one.

Funky choice with za-za-zoom. Zaza could be used as a nickname for almost any name with the "za" cluster, including Elizabeth and Esperanza.

Fading since the 1970s -- but still a lovely name.

Both an independent name and an alternate spelling of Jada.

An offbeat approach to Bella. Also a Yiddish form of Bilhah, one of the four women who gave birth to the tribes of Israel.