Two Syllable Names for Girls

Pola is an international name that still bears the femme fatalish air of Polish-born silent screen vamp Pola Negri, whole birth name was Apolonia. Rarely used, she could join sisters Lola and Nola.

More common in Slovenia than its mother name, Jerneja. Neja peaked in 2015 when it ranked at Number 15 on the Slovene Top 100.

Tayla is a hybrid name, ala Sayla and Mikayla. Recipe for sudden -- if brief -- new name success: take two of the trendiest choices, Taylor and Kayla, stir, and voila...Tayla, which made it onto the hit parade in the mid-1990s.

Sounds like a variant of Heidi or Hailey, but Haidee is actually a separate name with a literary history, used in Byron's epic poem Don Juan.

The Sirens in Greek myth were nymphs of half-woman, half-bird appearance who lured sailors to their deaths with their song.

Jaycee is a modern invented name, likely inspired by the similar sounding Casey and Macy.

Though often heard in the Hispanic and Italian communities, it hasn't made an impact here, perhaps because of the connection to the character of Faust and his pact with the devil. Variations: FAUSTINA, FAUSTIA, FAUSTIANA

Like Marvin and Melvin, Sheldon has been perceived as about as far out as you can get, though there are very pretty towns in Devon and Derbyshire that inspired it. Sheldon Lee Cooper is the lead (male) nerd character on the TV hit The Big Bang Theory, giving the name a brainy image. Nickname Shelly is sweet and naturey, in a retro kind of way.

The Finnish writer Mika Waltari invented the name Minea from the Greek Minos for a character in his 1945 novel The Egyptian. It's become a popular Finnish name in the 21st century.

A modern virtue name with ancient charm, Valor works well as it doesn't come up in everyday conversation all that often. Predominantly used for boys, Valor has been given to a slowly growing number of girls in the last decade, with 18 receiving the name in 2023.

Skylar may be mainstream now, but Skylark is fresh and offbeat. With Lark gaining more attention as a name — following in Wren's footsteps — Skylark feels fashionable yet distinct. Skylark debuted on the US charts in 2022.

A glittering alternative to Stormi.

Sasi can be a nickname for the fuller Sasithorn, or just a name on its own. In a Western context, the very cute Sasi is probably the way to go.

Variation of Kylie with the popular suffix -ee. Kylie was popular in Australia in the 1970s and 80s, said to come from a Noongar word for "boomerang". In the US, it has also been used as a feminization of the Scottish male name Kyle.