UK Girl Names

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. 

Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta.

Divine seems more proper a name with the rise of Heaven and its turned-around twin Nevaeh. Though superlative names like Divine -- Unique, say, or Precious -- sometimes seems as if they're trying to hard and protesting too much.

Now that the midcentury sound-alike name Gail for girls is sailing out to sea, Gael is becoming an increasingly popular name for boys -- and could make the gender switch in the opposite direction again.

Edina is an infectious-sounding Minnesota place-name, featured in the British cult hit TV show "Absolutely Fabulous." Edina is also a poetic name for Edinburgh and is a common name in contemporary Hungary. Though some sources list its origins as Hungarian, more peg it as a variation of Edwina, the feminine form of Edwin, an English name.

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.

Though it's used far more often for boys, Lyle has a lot in common with today's trending girl names that share the double L sound: Lila, Layla, and Lola.

So sweet it makes our teeth hurt. It has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year since 2006, though it dropped a significant 136 places from 2014 to 2015, and kept dropping to Number 974 in 2016.

This sassy, spunky name was used for the mostly Irish jump-roping pigtailed girls of the thirties and forties -- and some Irish and Italian boys as well. Its most noted bearer was iconic country music singer Patsy Cline (born Virginia), and was sighted most recently in the Ab Fab movie. After reaching Number 52 in the late thirties, it dropped off the list completely in 1970--and we're not anticipating a return.

Unusual multicultural choice that may appeal to the artistically inclined. The bear meaning gives it a new trendy edge as an animal name.

The Gwendoline form may introduce pronunciation confusion -- does that last syllable rhyme with wine or win or when? We vote Gwendolen as not only the most proper but the clearest spelling, followed by Gwendolyn, with Gwendoline a distant third.

The tree, not the charred bit of soot in the fireplace, usually used for boys, but, as a short form of Ashley, works for girls too.

Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.

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.

A name with an obvious meaning, for a long time associated with Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Nickname Goldie seems to be catching on in the celebrity community.

Biblical name long associated with the fallen-yet-redeemed Mary Magdalen, now rising improbably into the ranks of the fashionable among parents hungry for classic yet distinctive girls' names. The Magdalene and Magdalena versions are perhaps even more stylish. Can be shortened to Maggie or Magda but the full version is prettiest. One of our new favorites!

An offbeat way to get to Gwen.

Fading boys' name making fresh start for girls, aided by -ley ending.

Carlisle may be a male name in Twilight (he's vampire hero Edward's adoptive father), but in the real baby naming world, it's used about a quarter of the time for girls. Unusual now, we think Carlisle (or Carlyle) has the potential to be the next Carter.

This name is a combination of the traditional Grace and popular suffix -lyn. Both Gracelyn and spelling variation Gracelynn work as alternatives to the highly popular Brooklyn.