Two Syllable Names for Girls

Cute, nickname-y, and international, à la Romy or Demi. Spelling it Orly turns it into a busy French airport.

In the contemporary US, Minka attracted notice via actress Minka Kelly, who played the gorgeous Lyla on Friday Night Lights.

Pretty name that hit the popularity charts in England in the late 1990s.

A variation of mega popular name Emma and all of her cousins, Emmie came back to the US Top 1000 for the first time in 80 years in 2016. It's phonetically the same as more popular Emmy, but this option may avoid the award show connection. We could see it rising in future years.

This name used for both sexes in several cultures is quite well used in Israel.

Romy and co. are more fashionable than ever, as evidenced by this recent addition to the UK Top 1000.

A traditional Nordic name, Helga was extremely popular throughout Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Germany, it was a Top 10 pick from 1924 to 1943. And it still ranks in the Icelandic Top 50 today.

Nona is a name sometimes given to the ninth child -- but unlikely to serve that purpose today. Musical cred: the name of a song by Motley Crue.

Charlize is a name that owes its very life to a star: elegant blond South African actress Charlize Theron. She was named after her father, whose name was Charles. Charlize jumped onto the popularity lists in 2004, the year the actress won the Oscar for lead actress in Monster.

Could there be a more poetic name than Sonnet? Actor Forest Whitaker was inspired to choose it for his daughter.

Hayes is a stylish surname name given to more and more baby girls -- nearly 100 in the US last year. That's a considerable number, but many fewer than the nearly 1800 baby boys named Hayes.

The name of a small, inhabited Shetland island in Scotland makes one of the unique Scottish names for girls. While it’s an uncommon name internationally, it's also a traditional girls’ name in its native country, where it ranks in the top 400 (though that still equates to fewer than 10 babies born in any given year).

When the Eddie Murphys named their fourth daughter Zola, it affirmed the up-and-coming status of the name, which has African roots, but also literary links to Emile Zola. Zola may also be recognizable to some as the adopted daughter of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd on the hit, long-running show Grey's Anatomy.

Like Araceli, Cielo is a heavenly name associated with the Virgin Mary. Cielo, the Spanish word for "sky," began being used as a name in honor of María del Cielo, a title for the Virgin Mary meaning "Mary of the Sky."

Flossie was an extremely popular Florence nickname that was used independently in the early twentieth century, given to over five hundred girls per year a century ago. Flossie was one of the younger twins in the iconic children's book series The Bobbsey Twins, first published in 1904. Appealing, if a little cutesy--sweet as candy floss. A similar name is Florrie.

Heloise is an ancient name related to sleek, peppy classic Eloise. Both ultimately derive from the Germanic name Helewidis, which became Helewis in medieval England. In the twelfth century, the name was borne by the beloved of the French philosopher Pierre Abelard, who was considered to be one of the most learned women of the Middle Ages.

Kenna is the Scottish version of Kendra, both of which are feminine versions of Kenneth. Used in the TV show Reign for one of the supporting characters.

Either an Armenian name meaning "moon" (also spelled Lusine) or an elaboration of sweet classic Lucy.

Cody is a once-trendy boys' name occasionally used for girls. The Cody trend has now given way to other nickname-y names such as Rory and Ruby.