Girl Names That End in I

An appealing, usable Japanese choice, since there are so many familiar ori/ory-ending Western names.

Meraki is one of those untranslatable words that only exist in a single language. It's the Greek concept of putting your whole heart into something. NPR says, "Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table."

Despite its varied cultural ties, Zizi still sounds like a cancan dancer or a fluffy lapdog.

The short O variation of Tomi (homophonous with Tommy) was used for dozens of daughters in midcentury America, putting it firmly in grandma name territory.

Phonetic spelling of Xochitl, used only six percent as much as the original.

Only slightly fewer girls are named Brandi each year than Brandy, 45 versus 57 in the US. Both spellings have their advantages and disadvantages.

Bright, just like its meaning.

An alternative spelling to Cece that would make a more intuitive nickname for names with a "Ci" spelling, like Cicely or Lucille.

Kennedi is a spelling variation of Kennedy. Kennedi has been on an upward trend since she entered the Top 1000 in 1998. If you're going to go with this trendy Presidential name, we prefer Kennedy.

The sources that do list this name give it as a boys' name, but Woody Harrelson chose it for his daughter, and it does have a feminine lilt.

The Hindu princess and poetess Meera, was also known as Mira Bai. Mira Bai was a Rajput princess, the only child of Ratan Singh, younger brother of the ruler of Merta. Her royal education included music and religion as well as instruction in politics and government. In the West we usually think of such traditional names as Charlotte and George as royal baby names, but this adventurous choice breaks the mold. Mirabai combined the Sanskrit "Mira" (meaning ocean) with the suffix -bai (historically added to the names of women as a sign of respect).

A nouveau elaboration of Arya that may have also been influenced by the rise of -ani ending names such as Leilani.

Iolani feels quintessentially Hawaiian, a stylish origin for baby names these days thanks to Malia, the Hawaiian name of the Obamas' older daughter. The initial I is pronounced with a long e sound, as in Waikiki, and the name Iolani has four syllables.

Dynamic and creative; common in Africa, challenging here. Pronunciation isn't as difficult as you'd guess, but everyone will have to ask. Many favor n-GO-zee, but a native speaker tells us that it is closer to n-GAW-zee, and we've found at least one n-GAH-zee, too.

Upbeat name that cheers you as soon as you hear it. One famous bearer is Maori feminist Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia.

Malti is an Indian floral name from the plant madhumalti — a tropical flowering vine that is known in English as the Rangoon creeper. In India, Madhu and Malti are often used as twin names or as a first/middle name combination.

The açai palm is a tree native to Brazil that produces açai berries (the base of those trendy smoothie bowls). Since US birth certificates don't allow for diacritical marks, we are unsure if people are naming their children after the fruit (pronounce ah-sah-EE) or omitting the cedilla and pronouncing it a-KYE.