UK Girl Names

The name of the mother of Aethelred the Unready was once common among the Anglo-Saxon nobility, and was briefly revived during the 19th century, only to be lost once again to history.

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

Pre-Thomasina female form of Thomas, now seen as more literary and upscale British. In Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native, a leading character is Thomasin Yeobright.

Tanwen is a far more singular and colorful alternative to Bronwen.

Brisk and businesslike, with a can-do image...and a little heart too.

Tolkien may have been inspired by this unisex name of a Celtic goddess of war. Welsh poet Dylan Thomas named his daughter the variation Aeronwy. With goddess names so hot for baby girls, this ethereal choice is one to consider.

Kinsey enjoyed popularity blip thanks to similarity to Lindsay, and because of Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries heroine, Kinsey Millhone. Now, Kinsley has become more popular than Kinsey.

The combined inspiration of reggae master Bob and the dog-loving romp "Marley and Me" catapulted this name up the chart in recent years. But what goes up....

Demi and Bruce made waves when they named their now-grown firstborn after novelist Rumer Godden; a possible downside is its connection with the word rumor. English author Godden was actually born Margaret, with Rumer (a family surname) as her middle name

Corliss, eccentric yet well-established, has an independent and artistic air.

This name is currently best known on The Bachelorette's Tenley Molzahn. In the 1950s, it was attached to the Olympic figure skating champion Tenley Albright, and Jessica Biel played a Tenley in the movie Summer Catch.

Wylie is one Celtic surname with as much appeal for girls as for boys. Wylie is ripe for spelling variations: Wiley is as appropriate as Wylie but when you spell it Wylei, as Corey Parker did for his son, you're getting into yooneek naming territory.

The 6th century Irish saint Mirin emigrated to Scotland and now is the patron saint of both the Glasgow suburb of Paisley and the game of football. Mirren is one modern spelling; the Cornish Merryn, best known as the name of the seacoast town St. Merryn, is also related. In all its forms, one of the most classic Scottish names for girls.

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

While not generally thought of as unisex, this is a male name that, like Perry and Barry, has occasionally been used for girls over the years.

Though Embry became famous as the name of a boy werewolf in Twilight, we think its Em- beginning and -y ending make it perfectly appropriate for a girl. You might consider it as an alternative to Emma, Emily, or Aubrey. Embry or Embury is an established English surname. 

Combination of Mary and Ann which has been more popular than Marianne in recent years, although still below the Top 1000, after a peak in the 1940s.

"Help Me, Rhonda. sang the Beach Boys -- help me convince my parents not to give me this sixties name.

This variation of Rowan, which is also a color name rhyming with Joan, is more popular for boys than girls, as are the other variations of the name. Rowan is the most popular spelling of the name for both genders, followed by Rowen, and then there's Rohan, Rohen, and so on.

Gilda, although related to the words gold and gilded, has definitely tarnished. It once shimmered with the seductive image of Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda, then was associated with the beloved early Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner. In opera, Gilda lives on as the name of the daughter of Rigoletto.