Modern Baby Girl Names

Just when we thought Paisley couldn't get trendier, this -ee suffix showed up. Although it's not our favorite, parents are choosing this spelling more and more often.

One of the new literalist religious names, like Blessing, Heavenly and Neveah. More male than female, but essentially unisex.

Alternative to Princess or Queenie.

The popular -leigh suffix is clearly an attempt to feminize this traditionally boyish nickname -- and it works. There were about 550 baby girls named Charleigh in the US last year -- and zero baby boys.

Honesty is one of the modern virtue names, which along with Justice and Destiny are picking up where Faith, Hope, and Charity left off. Is Honesty the most appealing name ever? No, and it's also sure to spark lots of tiresome jokes. Still, Honesty is a positive quality and a lot more appealing than negative word names such as Pistol and Rehab (which both, yes, were given to five baby girls in the US last year).

This name caught the attention of American parents beginning in 2018, when the Fox show The Four: Battle for Stardom premiered. Zhavia Ward was a finalist on the first season.

As with many other names, the y seems to make this name more girl-appropriate for some parents. About three-quarters of the babies named Austyn are female.

Devony is a highly unusual girls' name that is occasionally found. While there were no baby girls named Devony on record in recent years, the name has been used over time for a handful of females. It may be a variation of the British county name Devon or a made-up name. Pronunciation follows the same rhythm as Stephanie.

Girl names ending in lani are one of the hottest trends of recent years, thanks to the lilting and lyrical Hawaiian name Leilani. Leilani has inspired a number of offshoots, including Kehlani and Meilani.

Oakley is one of the truest unisex names for babies, achieving a 56-44 gender distribution, favoring girls. Oaklee is 80% female and may serve as a clearer identification of sex, if that’s what you’re interested in.

The Kimberly of the current age, but currently less popular than either Ember or Everly.

This alternate spelling of Amora rose over 1000 places in 2019, making it the fastest-rising girl name of the year. It continued to rise steeply in 2020, but has fallen a little since.

This contemporary creation plays on a couple of trends by applying the attractive Z to the rhyming family of names including Hailey, Bailey, and Kayley. The -ee suffix is the icing on the cake. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

A nouveau creation inspired by Paisley.

A variation of Riley with an added -lynn suffix, this girl name is bubbling right underneath the Top 1000.

Debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Less popular than spelling variation Jazlyn. The extra n does not make this name any better. Nonetheless, this spelling entered the US Top 1000 in 2007 and peaked at Number 573 in 2011.

This overly trendy spelling jumped into the Top 1000 names in 2013. It got there by being the fourth fastest-rising name on the 2013 list, riding the increasing popularity of Journey and Journee.

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Names rising precipitously for babies in recent years, used last year for nearly 200 children, about 85 percent of them girls. Loyalty may also owe some of its popularity to trendy sister name Royalty.