1798 Four Letter Girl Names

A small number of girls are given this Irish surname as a first name each year.

Baby is rarely seen as a given name — or even nickname — these days, although it did rank in the Top 1000 from 1989 to 2003. These instances can be accounted for in two ways. Firstly, infants whose birth certificates are not filled out on time are given generic placeholders for registration, such as Infant, Unknown, or Baby. But more influential during this decade was the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman. It's the origin of the famed line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

One of several fascinating names used in Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas books and the NBC adaptation thereof, Fiji is a pleasingly quirky place name that's been little used for babies. Though it has been used quite a lot for fancy bottled water, we don't think it quite qualifies as a water name.

Tyra would be a more modern pick.

Snowy short form.

A European nickname for Katherine variations.

Rein, along with Reign, have taken over from Rain as a trendy word name. Should you rein it in or let it rein? Okay, bad puns we know, but that's the downside of word names. This is a true unisex name, given to 15 girls and 12 boys in the US in one recent year.

Vola comes from Volodya, a masculine Russian name that is often used as a nickname for Vladimir.

This name of a constellation in Orion's belt has an astral feel; it also belonged to the first woman to win a Pulitzer prize in drama, Zona Gale.

Related to the better-known Arabic name Noor.

A fen is an English marshland, and Fenn came into use as a habitational surname for a person who dwelt near one. Could be a fresh alternative to Fern or Gwen.

Zain is a name usually given to boys -- nearly 500 with this spelling alone in the US in one recent year, vs. only 20 girls. But CNN newswoman Zain Asher, sister of actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, is a noted female bearer and may inspire more baby girl Zains.