Animal Names for Girls

Very popular surname choice — it's in the Boys' Top 100 — beginning to catch on for girls. First female association: novelist Carson McCullers.

Mauve-tinted nickname with vintage charm that could just follow in the footsteps of ABBIE. More prominent now as the nickname for the Texas A&M sports teams.

A multicultural unisex choice that peaked for girls at the same time as Amy. Ami is also the French word for "friend."

A dramatic-sounding demonym for someone from the city of Gaeta, on the Mediterranean coast of Italy, with roots that stretch back to Ancient Rome, Cayetana is among the Top 100 Spanish baby names. It lends itself well to several sweet nicknames, such as Cay and Ana.

Edwina may still be taking tea in the parlor, but we can see her joining friends like Matilda and Josephine for a comeback, especially if pronounced like Edwin rather than Edween.

An unusual and appealing name that is the origin of Evelyn, via the Norman French name Aveline. It derives from an obscure Germanic root, the meaning of which is not clear. Theories include "desired, wished for" and "water, island".

Asterope is an undiscovered name that has three wonderful nature connotations: 1) (from its meaning) lighting; 2) it is a type of butterfly 3) it is the name of an asteroid. Asterope is a great name for those looking for something similar to Penelope or Aster, but even more unusual.

It will be a long time before Carmela shakes the image of TV's Sopranos wife.

Araluen is a beautiful Aboriginal Australian place name, used in several sites, always connected to the dainty water lily.

Short form of Bronisława, usually spelt Bronia in Poland.

In the US, well over 200 girls were named Chandler in 2016, its first year on the girls' list since 2002. To us it is still inextricably tied to the Friends character, making it more masculine than it otherwise might be. But it's one of the trendy boy names for girls that's climbing the ladder.

Adley made the Top 1000 at Number 735 in 2012 on the heels of sister name Hadley, only to vanish again in 2013. But now, with the popularity of Adelaide and Adeline, it has leaped upward and entered the Top 1000 once again. Adley feels in step with name trends of the moment, but will it survive the ages? Other such mashups have not.

An airy variant of the Finnish name Aura, which derives either from the Greek "aura" (breath; breeze) or from Old Norse "aurr" (earth; clay). It is also sometimes encountered as a short form of Aurora or Aurelia.

This Hindi name for the fifth element, related to the male Akash which means "open sky," was used by Anne Rice in her Vampire Chronicles.

It may have a masculine sound and meaning, but Dawson is becoming increasingly popular for baby girls, too. Blame it on Dylan and Logan and the wider trend of surname names for both genders. Over 70 baby girls were given the name in 2020.

An alternative spelling of Eleanor or Elinor, whose meaning is debated. It may come from the Germanic name Adenorde, meaning "ancient north" or "noble north". Another theory is that it derives from the Latin phrase alia Aenor, meaning "other Aenor," used to distinguish some original Eleanor, who was named after her mother Aenor.

Striking name of a legendary princess and a Welsh river that feels both moody and modern.

This royal Danish name has long been used across Scandinavia, Germany and Slavic countries and somewhat in the US around the turn of the last century --it was #622 in 1888. There were two notable silent screen stars named Dagmar, one with Polish, the other with Danish roots.

Alta, one of the newer names bookended by the letter A, has a meaning that might raise a child's self-esteem. It was the middle name of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.

Indian choice meaning fire in step with American styles.