American Girl Names

A strong and simple nature name from the Choctaw culture.

The double S is pronounced with a pause between like in "dress suit."

Alaska's Denali National Park is the home of the highest mountain in the US, officially renamed Denali in 2014, endowing the name with a lofty feel. Twice as many girls as boys were given the name in 2021, but the gender gap is closing.

Striking and accessible choice.

Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

This diminutive of Kimberley is gaining momentum as a standalone name. For our part, we're stumped by its rise.

Overly trendy western place-name, as stated in the title of our book Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana.

St. Kateri Teckakwitha is the first Native American saint, canonized in 2012. St. Kateri was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior, born in 1656 in upstate New York. She converted to Christianity at age 20 and died at 24, and was known as "Lily of the Mohawk." Kateri was the name the saint took on, a native variation of Katherine, upon her baptism.

Justice is a fashionable word name, used for both girls and boys. Justice has the distinction of being a virtue name without the religious implications of Faith or Grace. It still feels more male than female, perhaps partly due to the classic Roman name Justus, but Justice has become a more common pick for girls in recent years.

In the Choctaw tribe of Mississippi and Oklahoma, Tassa was a traditional female name.

It's far cooler to drop the first syllable and go for Elle.

An inspirational and aspirational word name that evokes ideas of loyalty, faith, honesty, and accuracy, True is a unisex name, which is just slightly more popular for boys. Like an updated form of Trudy and Prue and with the virtuous feel of Grace, Faith, and Hope, True was given to around 200 girls in 2023.

The calming variety of marijuana, used as a baby name every year since 1992.

You know who Beyonce is. One of the most famous people in the world. When she was born, her name was truly unique; it was a riff on her mom's maiden name, Biyence, with an accent over the final e.

Beautiful Indigenous name connected to visual artist Dyani White Hawk. Dyani was most popular in 2001, when it was given to 73 baby girls.

This simplified form of the lovely name Georgia was spotlighted by the actress Jorja Fox, and seems to be making inroads; rocker Bret Michaels chose it for his daughter. Still, we'd opt for the traditional spelling.

Among the children named Heaven are the daughters of TV personality Brooke Burke and rap singer Lil' Mo, who also has a daughter named God'iss Love. Some parents have taken to using Nevaeh instead—Heaven spelled backwards.

Fiery Native choice.