Modern Baby Girl Names

A Scottish surname name, more popular as the Presidential McKinley, meaning "son of the fair hero".

This variation of Brinley is currently the most popular of the plethora of alterative spellings. Ranking in the US Top 300 and given to 1200 girls in 2023, it is twice as popular as the traditional Brinley.

A simple, unusual word name with an evocative meaning, Ever feels similar enough to Eva, Evelyn, and Everly that it shifts easily into name territory. Actor Robert Carradine was ahead of the trends when he named his now grown-up actress daughter Ever back in the 70s, while more recently, it was used by both Milla Jovovich and Owain Yeoman.

Cameron was once a rising star for boys only, but Cameron Diaz almost single-handedly transported it into the unisex camp back in the 80s.Though there are still eight times as many boy babies named Cameron as girls, it is currently in the US Top 600, where it is joined by Camryn and Kamyn.

Quincy is a Presidential surname name that actually sounds both cute and strong when used for a girl. For the first time ever, Quincy joined the Top 1000 roster for girls in 2023, given to over 250 baby girls that year.

A hot name, though perhaps not in the sense you want for your baby. About 20 times as many boys as girls were named Blaze in one recent year, perhaps because it can be seen as a spelling variation of the classic male saint's name Blaise.

Rey, a Ray-soundalike that has ranked on the boys' side for the past 15 years, is about to get more popular for girls too, now that it's the name of the new heroine of the latest Star Wars movie. While the sound of the name is nothing new, the royal connection is, joining names such as Reign (Kardashian) and Charlotte (the new Princess) in an expansive definition of royal baby names.

If Melody and Lyric are on your style sheet, the peaceful Harmony, popularized by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, should be too. Girls names starting with the "Har" sound like Harper, Harley, and Harlow have been trending in recent years. This musical choice fits right in, and it is no wonder that Harmony has been in the Top 200 since 2014.

Rarely used until the 90s, Payton rose up the charts when it was popularized by the football star, Peyton Manning, and, interestingly, by the character of "Peyton Flanders", the villainess of the 1992 film, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

One-time overnight success name, thanks to Hannah Montana actress and singer Miley Cyrus, Miley fell just as quickly from her peak of Number 127 in 2008 as the star entered her rebellious era.

If you live in a state where marijuana is legal (or maybe even if you don't), you might know that Sativa is one of the major strains of weed.

Take away the Mac and what do you have? Rather than "son of Kenneth," the meaning becomes simply Kenneth, which in itself means son of fire or handsome.

Halo is a glowing word name that's both cosmic and spiritual, and with its shiny imagery and bright sounds, it was one of the fasted rising names in 2023.

Winslet is one of a legion of surnames newly considered fair game as first names. The inspiration may be British star Kate, but she's not the only reason parents are attracted to Winslet, one of those British girl names that sounds at once classy and winning. Yet be warned that if you choose this, people will forever assume you are major fans of the actress. Other Win- beginning names up for new consideration: Winslow, Winston, Wynton, Winifred and Winnie, along with just plain Win or Wyn or Wynn.

This is an African name that would fit into any culture.

The name Wilder is still used more than 90 percent of the time for boys, but it's being used quietly for girls too. with 50 receiving the name in a recent year. Along with the rest of the Wild and Wiley family, it's one of the hottest baby names starting with W. Certainly giving your child of either gender such a wilder name is setting them up for a certain kind of character and future.

This distinctive spelling was popularized by the R&B singer Mya (Harrison) and has inspired many baby namers to adopt Mya for themselves.

Supermodel Christie Brinkley launched an entire name genre when she picked this breezy occupational name for her daughter in 1998, and it has become more prevalent in recent decades. The Saylor version, which you might consider a spelling spin or a surname-name, is now among the Top 500 names for girls, given to three times as many baby girls as the Sailor spelling. Counted together, Saylor and Sailor were used for about 1000 baby girls in one recent year in the US, versus about 100 boys.

Updates Allison—which everyone will misunderstand it as. But it's definitely a fresh spin on the Ellie names, and a rising surname name choice for girls. It made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 in 2013.

Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman. It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer.