Animal Names for Girls

This name comes from a genus of beautiful black and white Australian butterflies. Given the rise of "el" names such as Eleanor, Eloise, and Ella, Elodina could make a good choice for someone looking for a rarer name.

A preppy surname and place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Ælfweard "elf guardian" + the -by suffix, meaning "village, homestead". Ellerby feels like a quirkier Ellery or Emery.

The Spanish word for "shell" is a new addition to the quickly growing list of ocean-inspired nature names.

Best known in the US as the name of Chris Brown's son (they pronounce it like "echo"), but Aeko is a traditional Japanese name for baby girls.

Bryony or Brianne, with an edge. This last name as a first name is far more popular for boys, but returned to the charts for girls in 2020 after the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

The Turkish element ay, meaning "moon," is common among girl names. In this case, it is combined with büke, meaning "queen," giving Aybüke a stunning and covetable meaning.

Carleigh, a fancier way of spelling Carly, reflects the trend toward trying to make an ordinary name more special by fiddling with the spelling. Yes, Leigh is a feminine way to spell Lee, so Carleigh is theoretically an acceptable way to spell Carly, but it doesn't really work that way. People will wonder: is it Car-lay? Car-lee-uh? And your child will forever have to spell her name. Stick with Carly....or better, Carla or Carlin, or better yet, Charlotte or Caroline.