Country Girl Names

A rising surname name for girls — it's overwhelmingly feminine, despite the association with Kenny Chesney.

Gertie has a certain homespun charm, summoning to mind butter-yellow braids and denim overalls, summoning mind the adorable character played by little Drew Barrymore in E.T. Is the world ready for the return of Gertie and Gertrude? Maybe?

There's only one: Emmylou Harris, the singer who gives dignity to an old-style combo name.

Gentry is a word name that's gaining ground for girls as a kind of updated Jennifer, especially in the Jentry (or Jentri or Jentree) spelling.

Variation of CASEY or combination of initials K. and C. From the time when initial names seemed really neat. K. C.

Louisiana is a geographic spin on the Louise theme. Pretty, if a bit of a syllable overload. Short form Lou or Lulu lightens it.

Gussie is fussy — try Gus.

Sister is an old-timey nickname-name for girls, ranking in the Top 1000 as a proper name for girls until the beginning of the 20th century. But more often, Sister was used as a nickname in the truest sense of the word, not a short form ala Kathy but a nickname in the way that Chip and Bud are. Or maybe Junior is a more appropriate name analogy: Sister was sometimes the nickname given to the only girl in a family of boys, so literally a descriptive word name like Junior.

Young rocker Tennessee Thomas has brought this former one-person name over to the girls' side -- though the census roles of North Carolina in 1850 included a female named Tennessee and called Tincy.

Short for Samantha or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.

Trapped somewhere in the nether region between Haddie and Catie, with the added confusion of sounding like someone who works on a golf course. Caddie Woodlawn was a TV heroine of the Old West in the 1980s. Caddie had its moment, but we don't see it becoming one of the more popular girl names starting with C.

Navy, Indigo, Sky, Ocean, and Sapphire already rank as current US favorites, and Demin is another shade of blue that's on the rise. With the stylish, sturdy, and versatile feel of the fabric it denotes, Denim could be an unexpected route to nickname Demi, or a surprising color name that strands out from Scarlett or Hazel.

Spunky old vaudeville era nickname name suddenly sounds new again.

A fresh take on the fashionable Audrey and Aubrey, or another novel surname name which seems fitting for either sex.

Straightforward yet romantic, this is one newly minted name with long-term appeal, especially as a middle name. It was used as such for Tea Leoni and David Duchovny's Madelaine, whom they call West. Definitely ambigender, it was chosen by Marley Shelton for her daughter.