Five Letter Girl Names

The Old Norse word væla, meaning to wail or lament, is the source of the English word "wail" today. Despite the sorrowful meaning, Vaela has a beautiful sound.

Rhett has never been more popular for boys, and it soon may be discovered by parents of girls. It shares a sound with such stylish girl names as Scarlett, Colette, and Juliette, making Rhett a viable option for a daughter.

The male name Elwyn is used regularly in Wales, but its feminine form Elwen (also spelled Aelwen) slightly less so. Elsewhere, this name is little-known but very appealing, with straightforward spelling and a fantasy-like sound. A male Cornish and Breton saint also bears the name.

Although this is a legitimate name, most people would associate it with a line of Volkswagens -- you'd be better off choosing a Mercedes.

Signy — also spelled Signe — would make another distinctively offbeat alternative to Sydney. Signy appears in Norse mythology as the twin sister of Sigmund.

This jazzy French diminutive of Isabelle was first made famous by the title character of Raymond Queneau’s novel Zazie dans le métro, which was adapted into a film in 1960. It could also work as a nickname for Elizabeth or Susannah.

Faine is a very unusual one-syllable option.

In Celtic mythology (later borrowed into the Roman empire), Epona is the goddess of horses and fertility. Link's horse in The Legend of Zelda is fittingly named Epona.

The German name for girls Wylda was introduced to the world by British filmmaker/artist, director of Fifty Shades of Gray Sam Taylor-Wood and her actor husband, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who named their daughter Wylda Rae. Is that Wylda, which rhymes with Hilda, and might be found inhabiting a sod hut on the Kansas prairie in 1901? Or Wylda, sister of Wilder, destined for a future as a hell-raising singer in a rock band?

Moria was a nymph, sister of Tylus, who played a role in a very complicated story involving a serpent and a life-giving plant. It sounds like and will often be mistaken for the name Mariah, as in Carey.

Karin was a fairly popular spelling variation of Karen in the US but fell off the Top 1000 in the late 80s, as Karen's popularity wained. Today, the Karen meme interferes with the otherwise appealing sound of this name.

Mythological princess who killed her kids. Eternal no-no.

Merve is derived from Marwa, a significant name in the Muslim community, as it the name of a mountain in Mecca.

Hilla is a rising girl name in Finland, where it is seen as both an independent name and a short form of names beginning with Hil-.

All baby names can be made more "creative" by putting a Z at the beginning instead of what's conventionally there: B or C or H, for instance. Zaley is an adorable entry in this group, also spelled Zailey or Zayley or Zalee. The Zaley spelling attains a measure of authenticity when seen as a feminine form of Zale, a Greek name with an ocean-related meaning.

Queen has seen a revival in recent times, reaching its record high in 2018 with 280 births — it has remained steady since then. Previously, Queen saw a peak in the 1920s, but its origins go back even further than that. Queen was a noted name among enslaved people in America, along with other royal choices such as Duke, Squire, and Prince.

With male version Leon taking off all over Europe, the female variations, from Leona to Leonie to Leone, are coming back into style too.