Girls

Abigail has been in for so long -- the name has ranked in the US Top 100 since the late 1980s -- it's amazing that it isn't more out by now. But Abigail's biblical and historic roots make it a fashionable classic rather than a passing fad.

Sometimes, a new name is created by lopping off the first letter or letters. Such is the case with Abrielle, which feels like Gabrielle without its shirt.

Adah is a biblical name twice over—one was the mother of Jabal and Jubal, the other was a wife of Esau. The latter Adah and Esau’s descendants settled in Edom and became the Edomites. Adah is unrelated to the visually similar name Ada, which is Germanic in origin.

This undiscovered unisex name has lots of flair. It was first noticed as a girl's name, starting in the 1980's, on the long-running daytime drama Search for Tomorrow, with the character Adair McCleary, who had ahead-of-their-time brothers named brothers Hogan, Cagney and Quinn. But since Adair has yet to find many takers, it would make a fresh and appealing choice.

Adalee's rise is thanks to the current fashion for all names ada-related. It does have a sweet melodic charm.

Perfect name for a Virgo or an Aries baby. It is also the name of a character in the fantasy Belgariad series.

Adelaide is now heading straight uphill on the coattails of such newly popular sisters as Ava, Ada, and Audrey, and in the company of Adeline and Amelia. It was chosen by actress Katherine Heigl for the name of her second daughter.

Credit the award-winning single-named British singer for taking the girls’ name Adele from a quiet semi-retirement back into currency. Adele reentered the US Top 1000 popular baby names in 2011 and has remained there ever since.

A whole raft of names that start with Adel are coming back into fashion, from Adele to Adelaide to Adeline to Adelina, and so Adelisa -- a hybrid of the Adel sound and the isa suffix -- was given to a handful of girls last year. While still a quiet variation, we predict we'll see more of Adelisa in the coming years, and as hybrid names go, it's quite charming.

Name of an Old Testament soldier that's been also used as a girls' name in modern Israel. An alternate spelling is Adinah. Some mistake Adina and Adinah to be the root of Dinah, but the Biblical name Dinah is borne by a different figure and has a different meaning. You can consider the modern short forms Dena and Dina as stemming from either Adina or Dinah.

Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos, meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl's name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne Brontë.

Ailsa is a traditional Scottish name for girls related to a rocky island in the Firth of Clyde called Ailsa Craig. It might make an interesting alternative to the outdated Ashley or overly popular Ella, and could also be thought of as a relative of Elizabeth or Elsa.

Name of the French town where a vision of the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared, this name, virtually unknown elsewhere, is in the Spanish Top 100.

Aira is a light and airy name that is currently on the rise. Playful but concise, Aira made its debut in the England and Wales Top 1000 in 2022.