Modern Baby Girl Names

  1. Layne
    • Origin:

      Variation of Lane, English
    • Meaning:

      "a small roadway or path"
    • Description:

      Currently gender-neutral in the US, although boys have the edge, as they do with Lane. The Y spelling makes it a bit more feminine.
  2. Jazlyn
    • Origin:

      Modern invented name
    • Meaning:

      "jazz by the lake; fower by the lake"
    • Description:

      A modern invention that's been in use since the 80s and in the charts since the 90s, which combines the sounds of Jasmine (or Jasper or just the word jazz) with the popular suffix, -lyn. Inspiration might also have come from Joslyn, Jocelyn, or Roslyn. Trendy but snazzy too, Jazlyn remains in the US Top 600.
  3. Oaklyn
    • Origin:

      American invented name
    • Meaning:

      "oak lake"
    • Description:

      Oaklyn is one of the oak-related names moving up the popularity charts, along with more popular sister Oakley and near-identical twin Oaklynn. The Oaklynn spelling used for three times as many baby girls as Oaklyn -- 1800 vs. 600.
  4. Audrina
    • Origin:

      Variation of Audrey
    • Meaning:

      "noble strength"
    • Description:

      Audrina is a name that owes its fame to overnight reality TV sensation Audrina Partridge, one of the original cast of the MTV reality series The Hills.
  5. Mckinley
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "son of the fair hero"
    • Description:

      New Presidential name, if you're ready to move beyond Lincoln and Jefferson. At the turn of the last century, during the original McKinley's heyday, as a first name it almost reached the Top 100.
  6. Essence
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "the most significant element of a thing or person"
    • Description:

      Heavily perfumed word name that peaked a few years ago.
  7. Baylee
    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of occupational name Bailey
    • Meaning:

      "law enforcer, bailiff"
    • Description:

      This Bailey variation is the second most popular spelling for girls, and while the -ee ending does make it more feminine, it feels more substantial in the original form. Bailee and Bayley are two other, less common alternatives.
  8. Dior
    • Origin:

      French surname
    • Description:

      Has joined Chanel and Armani on the fashionista hit parade of names. The meaning of Dior is uncertain but it may be "gold".
  9. Heaven
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Among the children named Heaven are the daughters of TV personality Brooke Burke and rap singer Lil' Mo, who also has a daughter named God'iss Love. Some parents have taken to using Nevaeh instead—Heaven spelled backwards.
  10. Stormi
    • Origin:

      Word name, variation of Stormy and Storm
    • Description:

      Stormi is like Sunni, with angst. If naming your child Storm or Stormy is asking for trouble, naming her Stormi -- as Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott did -- is asking for trouble of several different kinds. But we're sure she'll be adorable and as celebrity baby names go, this one is nearly normal.
  11. Wilda
    • Origin:

      Variation of the word wild or German
    • Meaning:

      "to strive"
    • Description:

      Wilda (or Wylda) has two widely divergent images. Pronounced vill-da, it feels like a cousin of Hilda: a sturdy and none-too-attractive prairie settler. But you can also think of her as wild-ah, as in the feminine of wild and wilder.
  12. Karma
    • Origin:

      Hindi
    • Meaning:

      "destiny, spiritual force"
    • Description:

      Some parents, including rapper Ludacris, are literally bestowing good karma on their children; it could just join the new spiritual name congregation.
  13. Treasure
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "highly valued possession"
    • Description:

      Doting parents have begun to use names like Precious and Treasure, which are sweet for a baby, but might not hold up over the years. Treasure was used for nearly 300 baby girls in one recent year.
  14. Alita
    • Origin:

      Short form of Adelita, Spanish variation of Adelheid, German
    • Meaning:

      "noble"
    • Description:

      Alita is a girls' name threatening to break into the Top 1000. There are many possible sources of this name, but the most plausible is that it's a short form for the popular Spanish name Adelita, a relative of Adele and Adeline.
  15. Niko
    • Origin:

      Finnish variation of Nichoals; diminutive of Nikolaos, Greek
    • Meaning:

      "victory of the people"
    • Description:

      Niko was used for 20 baby girls in the US last year, and twin sister Nico for another 30 -- though that's still far fewer than the 2600 baby boys who were given one of those two names.
  16. Berkley
    • Origin:

      English variation of Berkeley
    • Meaning:

      "where birches grow"
    • Description:

      Berkeley, with an extra E, is the more familiar variation of this name, associated with the California school. But it's the streamlined Berkley that has proven itself to be more popular as a baby name, at least in the US.
  17. Aubriella
    • Origin:

      Combination of Aubrey and Ella
    • Description:

      Aubriella is a hybrid name that marries two trendy favorites, Aubrey and Ella, into a unit that's somehow less than the sum of its parts. Though both Aubrey and Ella may be overused at this point, combining them into Aubriella does not improve the choice. Aubriella entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2014.
  18. Wiley
    • Origin:

      Scottish diminutive of William, German, English
    • Meaning:

      "resolute protection; from Wylye"
    • Description:

      The Wylie spelling (with that feminine Y) is much more common among girls than Wiley, but both have been climbing the ranks. Could Wiley be the next Riley?
  19. Zen
    • Origin:

      Japanese, form of Buddhism
    • Description:

      Parents searching for a simple, peaceful name may be attracted to this one.
  20. Mackenna
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "son of the handsome one"
    • Description:

      Although the Mc or Mac prefix always means "son of", the first names McKenna and MacKenna are used in the US exclusively for girls, with the McKenna spelling outpacing this one 14 to 1. There are no boys recorded with either spelling of the name.