Two Syllable Names for Girls

See SONIA.

Better known than it would otherwise be thanks to Meryl (born Mary Louise) Streep.

Soaring astral name has a great gender-free feel. It also has a pleasing christmas connotation, courtesy of the reindeer listed in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

One of the rarer names to come from the Bible, Cherith has a fresh and modern sound despite its ancient roots. Cherith was the name of the stream that kept Elijah alive during the three years' drought which he announced to King Ahab. In English, Cherith pleasingly reminds one of the word cherish which is another plus to this underused girls' name.

An Ethiopian girls' name with a bright and cheerful sound — rhyming with Haven. Feven is the Ge'ez variant of Biblical Phoebe, also the goddess of the moon and hunting in Greek mythology. In 2022, there were 5 baby girls given the name Feven.

This intriguing name is a rapid riser in the Italian name rankings, having entered the top 100 in 2011 and climbed to #61 in 2015. Its meaning and derivation are unknown, but it may be related to the name of the Germanic Suebi tribe. The form Sueva is also found.

As Sophia gets more popular, parents search out more unusual spins, and the Z makes this qualify.

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.

If you want a pan-Scandinavian name with energy and style that could have been a winner, if not for the sound-alike water filtration company Brita.

A less common relic of the Claudette-Paulette-Annette era.

In Buddhism, Dharma embodies the basic principles of cosmic existence--making it a fitting name for the hippyish character on the sitcom Dharma and Greg, whose middle name was Freedom.

Though it's French, most Americans would pronounce it as the stone.

Festive name of the wife of Salvador Dali. In Spanish, Gala comes from the Roman name Galla, a feminine form of Gallus meaning "rooster" or "a person from Gaul".

Kari and all her many sisters, from Carrie to Carey to Kerry and onward, originated for the most part as short forms of either CatherineKatherine or one of the Charles feminizations such as Carol or Caroline.

While god of mischief Loki is usually depicted as a male -- sometimes in animal form -- he gives birth as a mare to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir and also appears in some stories as an elderly woman. The name Loki, in contemporary American, will feel more feminine based solely on its sound.

Gypsy, long associated with the intellectual stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and the musical that was made about her life, was used by Drea de Matteo and Shooter Jennings as the middle name of their daughter Alabama. Be aware, however, that the word gypsy is now considered an ethnic slur when used for the Romani, or Roma, people.

Regal Kingsley seems like an all-boy name, but a growing number of parents have bestowed this name on a girl. Credit the ever-trendier -ley suffix.

While the most famous Channing is the very male Channing Tatum, the name is now given about a third of the time for girls. It makes an attractive surname-name for either gender.