Two Syllable Names for Girls

In the 2006 film Pan's Labyrinth, Moanna is the name of a Spanish princess, but it's the Moana spelling that has become more famous of late, thanks to the eponymous Disney heroine.

Star Wars fans may be interested in this unusual variant of Natalia with Leia -- as in the princess -- inserted into the second half. Nickname possibilities abound, making this one of those unique baby names with mainstream possibilities.

This contemporary creation plays on a couple of trends by applying the attractive Z to the rhyming family of names including Hailey, Bailey, and Kayley. The -ee suffix is the icing on the cake. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Panda, welcome to the baby name menagerie! Panda is an adorable animal name (after an adorable animal) that is sure to be both very rare and very cute. In Skins there was a character called Panda, which was short for Pandora. The name Panda comes from the Nepali word ponya meaning "bamboo eater".

Mattel is experiencing a revival in the Orthodox Jewish community, where it's becoming increasingly common as a first and middle name. It's the feminine version of Mottel, itself the Yiddish form of Mordecai. Mattel was commonly Anglicized as Matilda during emigration in the 19th and 20th centuries.

An ethereal name with elements of Irene and Miriam, Irian is a woman/dragon character in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea novels, and a historic name for the island of New Guinea, now with colonial associations.

Midcentury macramé-maker.

Variant of Lunet

Genuine is a truly (or dare we say genuinely) unique virtue name. It definitely makes a statement, but could easily lend itself to the familiar nicknames Gen/Jen or Genny/Jenny.

Variant of Gemma/Jemma or James.

Chelsea with dyslexia.

One of several trendy boys' names now being adopted for girls with feminized spellings.

Cute Japanese name with a nickname to match. Rini was used in the Sailor Moon series.

If Vivian became Vivienne, why can't Lillian become Lilienne? This pretty name has that chic French ending, and is a fresh way to popular Lily.

Derived from the Roman family name Naevius, which in turn came from the Latin word naevus, referring to a mole. Like many cognomina, Naevius likely originated as a nickname — in this case, for someone with a conspicuous mole.

Jaylene is one of those modern creations that looks like a messy attempt at being trendy. We suggest you instead consider Jane, Jaya, Jolene, Josephine, Justine, Geraldine, or Janine for a name with a similar sound and a more classic look.

Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Bulgarian form of Julia.