Marvelous Middles [Girls]

A lacy, lucky name very popular in the Hispanic community a decade ago, less so now.

Fiona entered the American consciousness with the opening of the 1954 Broadway musical Brigadoon, but didn't come onto the U.S. popularity list until 1990.

Gemma is a jewel of a name, an Italian classic that was very popular in 1980s England, but has only recently been started to be used here; it entered the list in 2008.

With the sounds of Jennifer and Alexis, and the vibes of Eden and Serenity, Genesis is a Biblical inspired choice that has been popular in the US since the 2000’s.

Could cute nickname Gertie, remembered as cute five-year-old Drew Barrymore in E.T., revive the long shunned Gertrude?

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen undoubtedly gave this name a boost. The French pronunciation (jiz-ELLE) gives it a more graceful, balletic, gazellelike feel.

Grace, a simple and pure virtue name which originally referred to divine grace, is a fashionable classic. In the early 2000s, it seemed headed for the Top 10 but pulled back from the upward trajectory, which you may consider a very good thing.

Heidi became known—and popular—via the 1880 eponymous children's classic by Swiss writer Johanna Spyri and, despite decades of American Heidis of all sizes, shapes, and personalities, the name seems permanently tethered to that spunky little girl on the Alpine mountaintop in the book and Shirley Temple movie.

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

Holland is one of the coolest geographical names, unadorned and elegant, evocative of fine Rembrandt portraits and fields of pink and yellow tulips. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2014.

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.

Jaylee belongs to the family of names including Haylee and Caylee, all of which experienced their greatest popularity five to ten years ago.

Jenna was first noted on the 1980s TV series Dallas, later associated with one of the First Twin Daughters. Jenna is still being used, but no longer feels much fresher than Jennifer. You can also spell it Jena, but then many people will pronounce it jeen-a, as in Gina.

Once rare, this streamlined form of Jessica has been boosted by two very different television figures: the Jemima Kirke character on HBO series Girls, and reality television daughter Jessa Duggar.

This spelling of Jillian is now much more popular than the original, maybe because the G version invites pronunciation problems.

Stuck in the shadow of the old Dolly Parton song. In spite of its dated feel, Jolene reentered the charts in 2010 and has been rising in recent years.

Jolie is as pretty as its literal meaning; nowadays it is also seen as a girls’ name, via Angelina for whom Jolie was originally her middle name.

This variation of Jordan entered the Top 1000 in 1989. Jordyn as well as Jordan trended throughout the 90s and early 2000s, but are beginning to fall slightly on the girls' side. While the Jordan spelling reached the highest point in popularity out of the 2, making it into the Top 50 in the late 90s and early 2000s, today Jordyn has taken the lead.

Josie is jaunty and friendly: among the most winning of all nickname names. She's been on the social security list since records began being kept.

The biblical Judith, the fourth most popular name in 1940, may be getting ready for a comeback in its full, elegant, if somewhat solemn form. Many of those earlier Judiths were called Judy—some after Judy (born Frances) Garland—preferring it over their more formal proper name. Today, Judith, like Deborah, may have shaken off just enough to appeal to parents looking for a traditional, yet under-the-radar biblical name. And Jude would be a likelier nickname these days than the Judge Judy connection.