Animal Names for Girls

Allaire, a last name in France. could make a first, with its light and airy feel.

How can a strong simple name like Cera remain so uncommon? Only five baby girls were named Cera in the US last year.

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

Beata, a Latinate saint's name, has been widely used primarily by Roman Catholics in several European countries, but is rarely heard in English-speaking countries. Playground alert: could be mispronounced Beeta.

The entire congregation of Alissa-related names—from the classic Alice and Elise to newer forms like Alicia, Alyssa, and Elissa—have faded somewhat from their heyday in the late 20th century but maintain some appeal as a member of the popular class of girl names starting with A. Their major disadvantage is their similarity to each other and the resulting confusion.

Courageous sister of Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

This Danielle/Monique hybrid offers a new twist on an old favorite.

French Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne has put the spotlight on her name.

The final e introduces pronunciation questions. Is Eleanor pronounced just like Eleanor, or is it the more elaborate el-LAY-ah-nor? Or something else?

In Greek legend Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon, mother of Orestes and Electra. She took a lover while her husband was away fighting in the Trojan War, and upon his return she had him killed as revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia. She was subsequently killed by Orestes.

Alula, the palindromic name of the first double star to be identified as physically related to its twin, would make the perfect name for a first-born twin. Ideas (we're only half joking) for the second born: Aviva, Aziza, Otto. Alula is reminiscent of the unusual name chosen by Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen for their second daughter: Elula, a month name from the Hebrew calendar.

A pretty name heard in the Louisiana Cajun community, Abella would fit right in with all the other, more familiar, bella names.

An unusual way to get to the nickname Addie.

Unusual floral name which would be perfect for a spring baby girl, if you can pronounce the Welsh double L correctly. It's a tricky sound for non-native Welsh speakers, kind of halfway between an H and an L.

On trend for boys but with plenty of unisex appeal too, the place name Cairo was put on the map for girls when model Beverly Peele chose it for her daughter. Given to around 50 girls each year, it hasn't caught on just yet but with its similar sounds to Kaia and Skyler, it might do in the future.

This Cameron variation was popularized by actress Camryn Manheim and Twitches character Camryn. But why choose Camryn over Cameron? In most cases, the classic spelling is preferable.

A pretty Kazakh name derived from Turkish ayla, meaning "moonlight". The Hawaiian name 'Ailana (with the 'okina mark) means "loving".

Analia is a melodic newcomer to the US Top 1000, a fresher spin on the Olde Worlde Anamaria. It charted in the US from 2009 to 2012, and then reentered the popularity list in 2015. El Rostro de Analia is a popular Spanish language telenova on the Telemundo channel, which probably greatly contributed to its initial entry to the US list in 2009 at Number 331 when it was unranked the previous year!

The name of an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and a section of Greater London, Bexley is increasingly being coopted by parents looking for a novel name in the Kinsley/AInsley/Paisley family. Bexley debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016 and is definitely one of the trendiest girl names starting with B. Think of it as a 21st century Becky.

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