Two Syllable Names for Girls

The Turkish element ay, meaning "moon," is common among girl names. In this case, it is combined with büke, meaning "queen," giving Aybüke a stunning and covetable meaning.

Carleigh, a fancier way of spelling Carly, reflects the trend toward trying to make an ordinary name more special by fiddling with the spelling. Yes, Leigh is a feminine way to spell Lee, so Carleigh is theoretically an acceptable way to spell Carly, but it doesn't really work that way. People will wonder: is it Car-lay? Car-lee-uh? And your child will forever have to spell her name. Stick with Carly....or better, Carla or Carlin, or better yet, Charlotte or Caroline.

If you can add Lynn to a name, someone will and Mae is no exception to the rule. This compound name sits somewhere between the mid-century charm of Marilyn, Jerilyn, and Jocelyn, and the contemporary cool vibes of Jazlynn, Oaklynn, and Emberlynn.

More modern nickname for Victoria than Vicky. Better known as Tori spelling.

This name is very wearable in English-speaking countries and has a lovely meaning.

Although it's a variation of the masculine name Jubal, modern Israelis have taken to using Yuval for girls as well.

Scotlyn is a smoosh name that sounds almost like Scotland but has more cred as a first name. Moving quickly up the popularity ladder but still hiding beneath the Top 1000, Scotlyn can also be spelled Scotlynn.

A Zulu name given to a child who is planned be the last born, literally meaning "enough, sufficient".

This spelling variation of unisex Casey leans farther to the girls' side. Kaycee ranked in the US Top 1000 in the late 80s and 90s, but has fallen out of favor now.

Minda is a simle, even familiar-sounding name that is nevertheless completely unknown. It might be a contraction of Melinda but it is a genuine Indian name with an appealing meaning.

A lovely Hawaiian name that was surprisingly only given to a handful of baby girls last year, but that would cross cultures with ease.

Lucy Maud Montgomery used Tannis as a character name in her short story 'Tannis of the Flats'. Her character has Cree origins, and it is thought that Montgomery may have based the name off of the Cree word for "daughter", tânis.

This was the name of a 13th-century saint, a Mercedarian friar who was martyred by pirates. It derives from the name of the Greco-Egyptian bull god Serapis.

Of all the names in the Magdalene/Madeleine family, this is the most sweetly simple.