Surname Names for Baby Girls

Many parents these days are responding to names meaning peace, and this is one of the more unusual ones (more often heard as a surname). Pronounced PACH-ee-a, it relates to such other peaceful names as PAZ, PAX, and PAXICO

A virtuous surname which has occasionally been used as a unisex given name, as in the case of Vanity Fair author William Makepeace Thackeray.

Preppy surname that would make a fashionable first name for a girl.

A sort of Maisie-Hazel hybrid, likely influenced by the hit TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Actress Beverley Mitchell chose it for her daughter.

One of the most popular Italian surnames, this refreshes Ross and Rose for both genders.

Palin has suddenly become a hot new surname-name given usually to girls. The inspiration can only be former Alaska governor Sarah, though the name Palin is her husband's -- her original surname is Heath. Palin herself is no stranger to the adventurous baby name, as the mother of daughters Bristol, Piper, and Willow, and sons Track and Trig.

Patel is the most common Indian surname in the US, with nearly 10% of all Americans with Indian heritage having this surname in their family tree. It originated in Gujarat, where it is still a popular last name today, and was bestowed upon those in the Patidar, or landowner, caste.

Arrington originated as a habitational surname for those from a town of the same name in Cambridgeshire, England. According to the etymology of the name, the town was settled by an Earn or Earna — nicknames that meant "eagle."

Sisley may look like a modern coinage, building on the fashionable -ley ending, but it's actually a medieval English variant of Cicely or Cecily, which in turn is a variation of Cecilia. Also found as an English surname, from the same root.

An Irish surname choice that could very well make its way into first name territory.

An obscure European girls' name that will recall, to many, the Algerian surname of French soccer star Zinedine Zidane

A well-to-do London neighborhood, English surname, and potential route to the nickname May. Mayfair has everything going for it, and yet it couldn't be rarer.

Juliet sound-alike Joliet actually derives from the name Jolie, and was historically a term of endearment, later a surname. It's an attractive alternative to Juliet names and could work to honor a Joe or Joseph in your life.

Upbeat Scottish surname reminiscent of Kenzie. Kedzie Avenue is a major North-South street in Chicago, named after real estate developer John Hume Kedzie.

Yardley, a surname redolent of British soaps and perfume, was used for her daughter by Megyn Kelly.

An unusual French surname which may have been given to someone with a rosy complexion, or a combination of the floral name Rose with the popular La- prefix. British TV personality Lauren Goodger named her daughter Larose in 2021.

A fresh take on Jessica, Jessel is currently borne in the public eye by Jessel Taank, a Real Housewife of New York City.

A surname not often heard as a first, except in the case of English Gardner, the American track and field Olympian.

An emerging unisex surname name. Radley is more common for boys — it could be seen as an updated version of Bradley — but for girls, it's a rare alternative to Hadley and Adley.

A preppy surname and place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Ælfweard "elf guardian" + the -by suffix, meaning "village, homestead". Ellerby feels like a quirkier Ellery or Emery.