Two Syllable Names for Girls
- Mio
Origin:
JapaneseMeaning:
"beautiful, or, cherry"Description:
Mio is a lovely Japanese name for girls that has migrated beyond its native country. One Berry reports several young girls named Mio in Australia, and the name has potential in the rest of the English-speaking world for parents who want to move beyond Mia and Maya.
- Nisa
Origin:
Turkish, Japanese and ThaiMeaning:
"women; night, dream"Description:
A multicultural choice with an appealing sound. In Arabic, it means "women" and is the name of the fourth chapter of the Quran (surah an-Nisa).
- Adair
Origin:
English and ScottishMeaning:
"shallow place in a river near oaks"Description:
This undiscovered unisex name has lots of flair. It was first noticed as a girl's name, starting in the 1980's, on the long-running daytime drama Search for Tomorrow, with the character Adair McCleary, who had ahead-of-their-time brothers named brothers Hogan, Cagney and Quinn. But since Adair has yet to find many takers, it would make a fresh and appealing choice.
- Viva
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"alive, living, life"Description:
Viva la baby with this life-affirming name, one of the appealing group of girl names that mean life.! Singer Rufus Wainwright chose it for his baby daughter, perhaps in celebration of a new life entering the world the year after he lost his mother Kate McGarrigle. The baby's middle name is Katherine.
- Moriah
Origin:
Biblical place name; HebrewMeaning:
"the Lord is my teacher"Description:
Where Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him. Taylor Hanson chose this as the middle name for his son Viggo, his fourth child, but most will see it as a girls’ name. Make life simpler and spell it Mariah.
- Maelyn
Origin:
Variation of Mae, EnglishMeaning:
"drop of the sea; pearl"Description:
A combination of vintage Mae with popular suffix -lynn, Maelyn feels reminiscent of glamorous Marilyn and contemporary Raelynn. In use since at least the 80s, Maelyn practically doubled in popularity 2019 after singer Maelyn Jarmon won that year's season of The Voice. Given to around 180 babies in 2023, when you combine this with the 215 girls with the alternative -lynn spelling the same year, that makes for nearly 400 Maelyns.
- Evren
Origin:
TurkishMeaning:
"universe"Description:
A modern-sounding unisex name which belongs to a dragon in Turkish mythology. Evren is also a Turkish place name.
- Nisha
Origin:
SanskritMeaning:
"night"Description:
Pretty name that hit the popularity charts in England in the late 1990s.
- Tyler
Origin:
Occupational nameMeaning:
"maker of tiles"Description:
This once-trendy name has been fading for both boys and girls. A Top 10 name from 1992 to 2000, it is now at Number 38 and falling. It was the surname of the tenth U.S. president.
- Ia
Origin:
CornishDescription:
This punchy little name, reminiscent of Latin Io, has a whimsical and beautiful fable behind it. According to legend, the Cornish saint Ia was an Irish princess who sailed across the sea to Cornwall on a leaf. She was martyred and buried at the spot where the church of St Ives (called Porth Ia - "St Ia’s cove" - in Cornish) now stands. EE-ah is the Cornish pronunciation, but EYE-ah is also accepted.
- Whimsy
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"whimsical or fanciful"Description:
Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.
- Tulip
Origin:
Flower name, from PersianMeaning:
"turban"Description:
One of the most unusual flower names, Tulip is cute but tough to pull off as a first. It has some celebrity cred via Charlie Tamara Tulip, twin daughter of Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell. It derives from Persian dulband "turban", due to the distinctive shape of the flowers.
- Éabha
Origin:
Irish form of EveMeaning:
"life"Description:
Irish spelling of Eva or Ava, also spelt Eabha in Ireland.
- Nylah
Origin:
ArabicMeaning:
"winner"Description:
Nylah is the Arabic name of a princess -- Nyla is another variation -- that's rising quickly through the ranks, partly thanks to an adorable kitty that enjoyed 15 minutes of YouTube fame. But we predict this attractive and unusual name will get a longer turn in the sun than the pop-culture cat.
- Rocio
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"dewdrops"Description:
This name, which refers to Mary as the Virgin of the Dew, is all but unknown in the Anglo community, but popular enough in Hispanic families to put it in the U. S. Top 1000, at least until 2006.
- Siofra
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"sprite, changeling"Description:
A relatively modern (18th C) Irish Gaelic name, Siofra or, more properly, Síofra with the fada has its roots in superstition. In the past, when babies were born in Ireland their families feared that the fairies would steal the baby and leave an elven changeling child in its place. It’s an uncommon name starting to pick up in its native country.
- Rainey
Origin:
Word name or diminutive of Regina, LatinMeaning:
"queen"Description:
Has an old-time country feeling, perhaps due to Ma Rainey, considered the "Mother of the Blues". This is the most popular spelling of the name, given to about 50 girls last year, with half as many called Rainy and a quarter named Rainie, the spelling used by Andie MacDowell for her now-grown daughter.
- Yari
Origin:
Spanish, HebrewMeaning:
"gold"Description:
The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew or Spanish names for girls Yari may be uncertain, but the name might get more attention thanks to its similarity to Yara, which means butterfly and is becoming more popular for baby girls throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
- Ghislaine
Origin:
French from GermanMeaning:
"pledge"Description:
Ghislaine still sounds unusual to us, even though in France this name is dated. It can also be spelled Ghislain.
- Lili
Origin:
Spelling variation of Lily or diminutive of LilianDescription:
Lili has been blooming in many forms for a couple of decades now. The Lili version will surely get more attention now that the Duke and Duchess of Susses, aka Harry and Meghan, are using is as a short form for their daughter Lilibet Diana's name. Lili makes the slight and light though that is not necessarily a bad thing; it also mutes the name's floral identity and gives it a cute and quirky repetitive spelling, ala Coco and Lulu. A famous German song is titled Lili Marlene.