Popular English Girl Names

In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into non-literary use in the 1840's, peaking in the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s: Melinda was a Top 100 name from 1967 to 1980. It began to fade as nickname Mindy ascended. Nowadays, however, Melinda feels more contemporary than cousins Melissa, Mindy, Belinda and Linda.

Kinsey enjoyed popularity blip thanks to similarity to Lindsay, and because of Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries heroine, Kinsey Millhone. Now, Kinsley has become more popular than Kinsey.

This frilly Victorian name is a variant of Cecilia and Cecily, with which it might well be confused. Cicely was a surprise choice for comedienne Sandra Bernhard.

This name is currently best known on The Bachelorette's Tenley Molzahn. In the 1950s, it was attached to the Olympic figure skating champion Tenley Albright, and Jessica Biel played a Tenley in the movie Summer Catch.

Literary heritage: the "Loony Tunes" girlfriend of Porky Pig. But with the increasing popularity of all kinds of unusual botanical names, Petunia may be a name we start to hear more of. Perhaps-more-pleasing Petunia alternatives: Petal, Posy, Poppy.

Mason is a supertrendy name for boys that's starting to cross over -- Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter. Creative speller's delight.

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Sweet, modern descriptive name, but perhaps a little too cute for its own good.

An early unisex nature name that has been surpassed by others, Dale is still a simple, sylvan and serene option.

Adley made the Top 1000 at Number 735 in 2012 on the heels of sister name Hadley, only to vanish again in 2013. But now, with the popularity of Adelaide and Adeline, it has leaped upward and entered the Top 1000 once again. Adley feels in step with name trends of the moment, but will it survive the ages? Other such mashups have not.

Walker is an outdoorsy, Old Western-style name that leapt into the US Top 100 for boys back in 2022. Now, like a number of occupational names before it (think Sawyer, Palmer, and Parker), Walker is being used for an increasing number of girls.

Like Verity and Amity, this inclusive virtue name used by the colorful British literary Mitford family is ready to join its more popular peers Hope, Faith, and Grace.

Spring doesn't sound half as contemporary as Winter, which has become the cool season name.

She'd better be. Merry is one of the classic names for Christmas babies.

Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.

The old word name Temple has gained some recent notice as a girls' name via admired autistic writer and inventor Dr. Temple Grandin (born Mary Temple), subject of an acclaimed biopic, in which she was played by Claire Danes.