Two Syllable Names for Girls

Zayah is more famous in the US in its Zaya spelling, thanks to the elder daughter of basketball great Dwyane Wade. Either way you spell it, Zayah is a name that's both unique and simple, a great combination.

This Cornish place name is possibly named after a female saint, Senara. It makes a very interesting choice for those of Cornish descent or who love Cornwall.

Kyōka Izumi was a 19th-century surrealist author. He was a man, but a female character in the anime series Bungo Stray Dogs was named after him in full.

Variant of Nyx or Nixie

A very popular girls' name in Japan with an unfortunate English pronunciation: picture a toddler with a hurt knee saying "owee."

Leonore is a melodic variation of the wide range of names related to Eleanor and, via a different root, Leonie that are so stylish throughout Europe right now and bound for greater visibility in the U.S. The name of one of the little princesses of Sweden, Leonore carries the gravity of Eleanor with more quirky charm.

The only downside: Spelling and pronunciation confusion given so many similar variations, from Lenora to Leonie to Eleanora and onward.

This Hebrew name deserves consideration by parents looking for a traditional by underused girls name with a gorgeous meaning.

Tauriel is the name of an elf in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, played by Evangeline Lilly. She is the head of the Mirkwood Elven guard, and a companion of Legolas. Her name was created from the Sindarin elements taur "forest" and riel "maiden’.

Nela is a pretty if slight name that ranks among the Top 1000 for girls in the UK. It is commonly used throughout Europe as a short form for any range of names ending in -nela including Cornelia and Fenella, though it is widely used on its own.

Sometimes spelled Emer and pronounced "EE-mer," the legendary wife of Cuchulainn possessed the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, voice, speech, wisdom, chastity, and needlework. A fresh alternative to Emma, but the two have the potential to be frequently confused.

Old-fashioned nickname for a sister, almost never heard today.

Sasha in all its forms -- which include Sacha and Sascha -- is rising in popularity for both boys and girls, especially with the Sasha spelling attached to one of the First Daughters.

This sunny new word name is gender neutral, used for 13 baby girls and 12 boys in 2021. Along with other celestial and weather choices, we can see Solar getting hotter.

Newly popular boys' name could cross over in much the way the related Cameron has.

Corliss, eccentric yet well-established, has an independent and artistic air.

It's interesting how names imported to the US from other countries and cultures have fashion cycles of their own. Paulette along with cousins Annette and Claudette were the most fashionable French imports in the middle of the last century, only to sink from sight and be replaced by such current French favorites as Charlotte, Sophie, and Eloise. In general, feminizations of male names have faded in favor of gender-neutral choices, and Paul itself is off its own fashion peak. But Paulette has the same vintage charm as names like Margot and Josephine that are very much a la mode. And far from being extinct, Paulette hits that sweet spot of names that are familiar but not over-used. It was given to about 130 baby girls in the US last year, on par with May, Avalon, Jolee, Liza, and Vivianne. This is three times as many baby girls as were named Paulette in 2000, so while the name may still lie well beneath the Top 1000, it's very much on the way up.

Term for a native-born Israeli, first brought to notice in Edna Ferber's 1929 novel Cimarron. Prickly pear has neen interpreted to mean tough on the outside, soft and sweet within.

Calah, also called Nimrud, is one of four ancient cities of Assyria, Noah's great-grandson. This unusual name suggests a woman open to opportunity.

Kaylee meets Hailey.

This female form of Tristan was featured on the reality-television show The Bachelorette, and has been rocketing up the charts as a new millennium Trisha.