Two Syllable Names for Girls

Jagger, made famous as the surname of Rolling Stone Mick, gets an entry in the girls' column thanks to Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross, who chose it for their daughter. For either gender, this name rocks...but a bit jaggedly. Currently, there are nearly 20 times as many baby boys than girls are given the name Jagger. That balance may shift, making Jagger a more truly gender neutral name.

An Italian word name that somehow feels incomplete in itself.

Māori form of India, also found as a male name: the Māori form of Aeneas.

Teigen is rising in popularity now that model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen has made it more visible.

Royalty was the hottest name of 2016, moving furthest up the ladder to enter the Top 1000, and is also arguably the trendiest name of the past decade, used a whopping 71 times as often in 2017 as it was ten years earlier. Royalty represents the convergence of two important trends: word names and superlative names such as Legend and King. This is one we'll hear a lot of for a while.

Cana is well-known to readers of the Bible as the city where Jesus performed his first miracle. If other place names, both modern and ancient, real and mythical, can be baby names, why not Cana? Rhyming with Dana, it can work for either gender.

A captivating and sprightly name brought into the limelight by actress Thandiwe Newton.

Biblical name from the Old Testament.

Gülce is derived from the Turkish word for "rose," gül.

This variation of Jayla had one of the highest increases in popularity between 2012 and 2013.

An intriguing variation of classic Mary that could act as a more inherently feminine alternative to the rising unisex Micah.

Hagar is an Old Testament name with an unfortunate association with comic strip character "Hagar the Horrible."

A Roman name that's unused by English speakers today, but might appeal as a shorter, lighter alternative to Aurelia. The Latin vocabulary word aula also meant "hall".

Dodo is one of the few names of the cute repeating-sounds genre that is not alas so cute, being a slang word for someone brainless as well as the name of the infamous extinct bird. Dot, Dottie, Dory, or Thea are all preferable.

Lovely Japanese choice that would translate well cross-culturally.

Sweet and charming French nickname for Anne, à la Manon for Marie.