Two Syllable Names for Girls

With the booming popularity of Irish Maeve and now the climb of vintage revival Mavis in the charts, more parents are beginning to gravitate towards this aesthetic variation. Maevis was a fast riser in 2022, but was still only given to a little over 50 baby girls.

Auden is increasing in use for girls each year, and the feminized spelling Audyn is beginning to follow along. Parents are loving the gentle but unisex sound of this surname, associated with poet W.H., Auden.

While only 8 baby girls were named Milia in the US in 2021, its rise seems inevitable along with the rise of Emilia and Mila and other similar names. Like Livia, Milia has the advantage of being different from the rest, but the disadvantage of maybe not being different enough (and being a word for tiny, harmless white spots on skin).

Pronounced like Sunny, Suni is the nickname of astronaut Sunita Williams. Suni is also the nickname of US Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, whose full name is Sunisa.

Cedric the Entertainer chose this for his daughter, but most other parents would find it, though optimistic, not exactly substantial.

Anastasia is a lovely yet very long name, and Stasia is a fresher, classier short form than Stacy.

Rilla dropped out of the US Top 1000 in 1915, but it's starting to feel like an intriguing possibility again in this age of short, sweet, a-ending names for girls. It is traditionally a short form for names ending in -rilla, like Marilla from the Anne of Green Gables books (Anne's youngest daughter is Bertha Marilla, called Rilla for short). Rilla may also derive from the German word Rille, meaning "brook; stream".

Laisha made the US Top 1000 list for a few years in the early 21st century, thanks to its role on a Spanish soap opera. The name is a variation of the popular Arabic and Muslim name Aisha, which has many spellings and forms.

Annis and Anice are both antique variations of Agnes that have fallen out of use, perhaps because of pronunciation problems (ANN-is, or an-EES?)

This Indonesian name meaning little goddess is also common in the Netherlands due to the old colonial relationship between the two countries.

Not a blend of Gwendolyn and Lillian! Gwenllian was a medieval Welsh princess noted for her bravery and beauty. Sometimes referred to as the Welsh Bouddica, Gwenllian resisted invasion by English and Norman forces and is a national heroine of Wales.

Kynlee had its moment in the spotlight during the 2010s, when it entered the US Top 1000 alongside its more popular counterpart Kinley. An All-American style name, it peaked in 2017 when it rose to #552, but it has been in decline ever since.

Tuneful variation on the Claire names.

Kizzy was a character in Alex Haley's Roots; this and other Keziah variations were widely used among enslaved people. In Roots the name is explained by the hero Kunta as 'you sit down' or 'you stay put' in the Mandinka language meaning that 'this child would never get sold away'.

An interesting name despite the pronunciation challenge. It has literary roots, both in the classical poetry of Horace, and as a character in John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. Appealing nicknames are Lalla and Lally.

You can call your daughter Sugar, but only as a term of endearment. Her real name has to be something, almost anything, else.

Jenna is overheated, but Jemma is still cool. Jemma and Gemma are most heard in Australia but are increasingly used in other countries.

Inoa is an evocative choice from the South Seas.