Surname Names for Baby Girls

This tailored Welsh surname is an attractive option for girls, fitting in with other single-syllable prepster girl names such as Sloane and Quinn.

A name with plenty of celebrity glamor and contemporary flair, Anniston has a variety of origins. On one hand, it's a place name, deriving from a city in Alabama of the same name. Founded in the late 19th century by Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, it was named in honor of the latter's daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler.

Between 1980s-era television private eye Remington Steele and Remington Arms, this name might seem all-boy. But in 2014, Remington entered the US girls' Top 1000, and it's been rising since.

A fragrant floral name that would be great as a middle name. Bloom is the name of the character in TV's Winx Club who, Harry Potter-style, gets sent to fairy college. Also a surname —such as actor Orlando Bloom.

Lovella is most likely a feminine variation on Lovell, a surname. While it feels one of the invented-yet-antiquated girls' names, has the obvious attraction of containing the word "love" within it, as well as the opportunity to use "Ella" as nickname.

The unusual and intriguing Tullia has been used since Roman times and may appeal to parents who like Tallulah, Julia, and Lillia but want something that's very rarely heard.

A rising choice for girls that fits in with tailored surnames such as Sloane, Greer, and Blair.

In Georgian mythology, Dali is the goddess of hunting. The origins of her name are disputed — some scholars claim it comes from the Georgian word for morning, dila, while others claim links to words for "demon" and "god".

Though Tate is used almost exclusively for boys, we can see Tate as a stronger surname alternative to Kate or a clipped form of Tatum.

This once-trendy name has been fading for both boys and girls. A Top 10 name from 1992 to 2000, it is now at Number 38 and falling. It was the surname of the tenth U.S. president.

An English place and surname with a fierce natural meaning. Loxley is a village and river name from Yorkshire, England, famous for being the purported birthplace of Robin Hood. Loxley Chase was an extensive historic forest bordering Sherwood Forest in the Middle Ages.

While the most famous Channing is the very male Channing Tatum, the name is now given about a third of the time for girls. It makes an attractive surname-name for either gender.

A unisex surname now seeing some use for girls, as it fits right in with such trendy crossover girls' names as Everly. Ellery and Emery, and others with the popular ly/leigh/lea ending

Rare surname name deriving from an old German word meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". Ellender is actress Blake Lively's middle name.

Proof that one or two letters can make all the difference: Chapel is a nouveau spiritual word name while Chappell lands firmly in surname territory. They're both pronounced the same.

Transferred use of the surname Vianney, in reference to French saint Jean-Marie Vianney. It is generally masculine in France, Belgium and French-speaking Africa, but in Latin America it is mainly feminine and sometimes spelt Vianey.

Deriving from an old English surname or from the alder tree, whose wood is used to make electric guitars, Alder can mean "old" if considered a variation on the Germanic alter or "red, brown" when you follow the root of the tree name.

This unusual unisex surname name is pretty evenly divided between the sexes these days than it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when it was almost entirely male.

In centuries gone past, no one would have considered this occupational surname for their daughter; tanners were associated with terrible smells and stained skin as a result of the processes used to treat hides to make leather. But now, we see increasing numbers of parents in the US choosing this for their girls. Given the popularity of other two-syllable T names like Taylor and Tyler, Tanner has some appeal for those looking for a non-frilly name for their girls. For what it is worth, we prefer the Greek name Tana, which has an infinitely more pleasant meaning.

Kiernan Shipka, aka Sally Draper on Mad Men, brings this Irish surname into the girls' column. And, like Kieran and Tierney and Tiernan, it's one of the perfectly unisex baby names. Only 14 girls were named Kiernan in the US in a recent year...and three times as many boys. If you want to move beyond Riley and Kennedy to one of the more unusual surname-based Irish names for girls, this may be a good choice.