UK Girl Names

Twiggy was the working name of English international supermodel and original 'mod squad' girl Lesley Lawson. While the name conjures images of cool 60s parties and glamour, be warned that this could be a hard name to wear as a teenager, particularly if you're not stick thin. Perhaps best to keep this one as a middle name or nickname.

This trendy spelling of Emily may be benefiting from the rise of Emery.

All the names ending in-lyn seem sadly dated.

Latter-day Ashley that comes in a range of spelling variations. Ansley and Ainsley have both hit the Top 1000 in recent years.

Palin has suddenly become a hot new surname-name given usually to girls. The inspiration can only be former Alaska governor Sarah, though the name Palin is her husband's -- her original surname is Heath. Palin herself is no stranger to the adventurous baby name, as the mother of daughters Bristol, Piper, and Willow, and sons Track and Trig.

Both Madisyn and Madison have lost ground in recent years.

Sisley may look like a modern coinage, building on the fashionable -ley ending, but it's actually a medieval English variant of Cicely or Cecily, which in turn is a variation of Cecilia. Also found as an English surname, from the same root.

Vibrant and vital noun name chosen by actress Shawnee Smith for her daughter.

Makes Ida more feminine but no more fashionable.

Simple ancient name of a Celtic goddess, but her friends might sound like they were asking for more.

One of the rare English surname names originally derived from a female given name: Eoforhild (Everild), meaning "boar battle". Also spelled Averill, it's an extremely rare choice today, but shares sounds with fashionable Ava and Avery.

Fresh choice in the vein of Carly and Harley.

Brings Jennifer into the twenty-first century.

Yeats, the strong name of the great Irish poet, would work better for a boy. Also has possible pronunciation problem with people who might think it rhymes with Keats. Yeats rhymes with the word from which it's derived: gates.

Bobbsey Twins-era nickname name that could find new life via Nan, heroine of The Nanny Diaries. Nan was also the nickname of Annabel St George, the protagonist of Edith Wharton's novel "The Buccaneers".