Two Syllable Names for Girls

A pretty Persian name with an equally lovely meaning

This Catalan classic — spelled Nuria in Spanish — is the name of a valley in Catalonia with a shrine to the Virgin Mary, making this both a Marian name and simply a place name. Or maybe not so simply: during Franco's dictatorship, place names were a way to sidestep the rule that all names had to be Spanish, so Núria became popular as an act of Catalan patriotism. It is still in the region's Top 100 girl names.

This name, which sounds like "C.G.", was popularized by the character Ciji Dunne on the soap opera Knot's Landing. She appeared from 1982-3, and her name peaked sharply in 1983 before slowly fading.

Navy, Indigo, Sky, Ocean, and Sapphire already rank as current US favorites, and Demin is another shade of blue that's on the rise. With the stylish, sturdy, and versatile feel of the fabric it denotes, Denim could be an unexpected route to nickname Demi, or a surprising color name that strands out from Scarlett or Hazel.

Everyone will misunderstand it as Lara, but if you're willing to put up with the confusion, this is a truly different yet simple option.

Euli is a nickname for Eulaalia, the Finnish variation of the Greek name Eulalia.

One of the wives of King David in the Old Testament.

When archeologists discovered a shrine to a previously unknown goddess in England, they initially believed her name to have been Senua. Further research pointed to Senuna as a more likely name.

This modern Dutch name is far more popular in the Netherlands than its English equivalent Quinta is in the USA. But with the viral popular of Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson, that could change quickly. Quinty and Quinta are both wonderful, underused names.

Nilay is a celestial feeling name that paints a picture in the mind. Connected to the moon, water, and a place, it combines the Turkish and Azerbaijani name from the River Nile, Nil, with the Turkish element ay which means "moon". In 2023, Ni̇lay made the Azerbaijani Top 10.