Two Syllable Names for Girls

A particularly distinctive and dainty example of the life-affirming family of names.

Sister is an old-timey nickname-name for girls, ranking in the Top 1000 as a proper name for girls until the beginning of the 20th century. But more often, Sister was used as a nickname in the truest sense of the word, not a short form ala Kathy but a nickname in the way that Chip and Bud are. Or maybe Junior is a more appropriate name analogy: Sister was sometimes the nickname given to the only girl in a family of boys, so literally a descriptive word name like Junior.

While Ilise is unusual, the E version is more attractive.

In Japanese folklore, Jami is an evil mountain spirit. Jami might also be a generic name for these deomons.

A pretty name with that fashionable V intitial, little known outside of Latvia.

Traditional Arabic choice, used for both boys and girls.

Ikea is a down-market version of the Chanel/Tiffany/Porsche brand-name-as-first idea.

Another feminine form of the old saint's name Maël, and highly popular in France.

Zusa is a sweet (literally!) and sparky Yiddish name which has real potential in today's naming climate, given the popularity of high-value Scrabble letters like Z.

One of the most popular Indian names for girls in the US.

The Irish form of Elizabeth is properly spelled with a fada (Eilís) and pronounced with a long vowel sound accordingly: EYE-leesh. But Billie Eilish has popularized the anglicized spelling and pronunciation of this name.

Magee became one of the first gender-bending Irish surname names so popular today thanks to New York television newswoman Magee Hickey. In case you don't know, the g is hard, as in Maggie, but with the opposite emphasis.