Jewish Girl Names

A smooth, attractive choice, Arianna's on the rise with both single and double 'r's and 'n's. Single 'r' double 'n' Arianna — the second most popular version of the name — is these days associated with Greek-born blog queen Arianna Huffington.

Powerful and pretty, Aliyah is popular a name with two different origins.

While not as popular as the Ariel spelling of Little Mermaid fame, this rendition has achieved popularity in its own right.

A simple and pretty multicultural name: as a Japanese name, it's unisex and means "sky"; as a Korean name, it's feminine and means "conch shell".

This most proper form of the name shot up the charts in the nineties, only to sink just as precipitously, supplanted by upstarts Makayla and McKayla ad infinitum.

Mariel Hemingway popularized this attractive and unusual variation of Mary. It's a fairly recent form, emerging in the twentieth century. Other variations include Marielle and Mariella, which is found in Italy.

A beautiful Hebrew name that would work perfectly for a child today.

Dora is poised for a comeback, right behind Laura, Nora, Cora, and Flora. First-time parents who haven't watched cartoons in a couple of decades should be aware of the Dora the Explorer connection, which has its pluses and minuses.

This is a Hebrew word name, created from the word zahav, meaning gold.

Rani, alternatively spelled Ranee, is the female equivalent of Raja in Hindi. In many Indo-Aryan languages it can mean "queen" or "lady". The Hebrew version is used for both genders in modern Israel. Actress Kate Hudson and director Danny Fujikawa named their daughter Rani after Fujikawa's late father, whose name was Ron.

Variation of Aviela/Abiela, feminine forms of the Biblical Aviel/Abiel "God is my father". The modernized/anglicized double-l spellings are popular now in English-speaking countries.

Friendly and relaxed choice used by singer Annie Lennox for her daughter; Tal is a unisex Hebrew version.

This simplified version is not nearly as popular as the original (it also destroys a perfectly good palindrome), and has been on the decline in recent years.

A common girl name in Israel that could travel well to the US.

One of the quintessential midcentury combination names, Leanne was spelled any number of ways: Lianne, LeeAnn, Leigh-Anne, and so on. Like many similar combo names -- Joanne, Maryann -- they're all dated now.

This old man nickname feels remarkably fresh when applied to girls and can be used as a short form of Lena, Helena, Magdalena, Lennon or Lennox. The pan-European Leni is identical in sound yet feels a little lighter and fresher, and is a fashionable favorite in Germany.

One of those pan-European nickname names much more familiar in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe than in the US, though related name Mina is making a comeback here. Light and bright, it could be an alternative to Mila, Minnie, or Millie.

Cute, nickname-y, and international, à la Romy or Demi. Spelling it Orly turns it into a busy French airport.

The first name of Ethiopian supermodel Liya (pronounced like Leah) Kebede is also a Russian variation of Lia and Lily. Rather than using Liya, English speakers will do better to call a child Leah or Lia.

In the contemporary US, Minka attracted notice via actress Minka Kelly, who played the gorgeous Lyla on Friday Night Lights.