Girl Names I like

Rosalind feels fresher now.

Rosella can be seen as a nature name (a rosella is the name of a variety of beautiful Australian cockatoos and an Australian flower) or a diminutive version of Rose.

With its soft sounds, its unisex appeal, and its nature connection, Rowan has been climbing the charts in recent years. The modern spelling twist, Rowen, has trailed behind, about 7 times less popular than the traditional option and not as well-used as Rowyn, but nevertheless, still given to 170 babies in a recent year.

A fabled storybook name via the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), which featured a heroine called Rowena of Hargottstanstede, and also a Harry Potter name, as Rowena Ravenclaw, founder of one of the Hogwarts houses.. Rowena has some old-fashioned charm, though most modern parents seem to prefer Rowen. Pronunciation, however, is NOT like Rowen with an a at the end, but with a long e and an emphasis on the middle syllable. She was on the popularity list until 1963, several years in the Top 500.

Best known as the beautiful heroine to whom Cyrano de Bergerac says, "Your name is like a golden bell".

The origins of Samantha are not entirely clear, although it is commonly thought to be a feminization of Samuel with the suffix derived from the Greek anthos, meaning "flower." Samantha has been in English-speaking use since the eighteenth century, particularly in the American South, and drew attention via Grace Kelly's Tracy Samantha Lord character in High Society, featuring the song "I love you, Samantha."

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin is a master namer, and this unusual choice from India is beginning to be heard in nurseries as well as on television. Sansa was perhaps slower to catch on than other names such as Arya and Khaleesi as Sansa Stark was in the first seasons of the show a weak and compromised character.

Santana is a saintly name...or Latin rock band. While traditionally masculine, character Santana Lopez on the show Glee showed the name's potential for a girl as well. Sound-wise, it feels like Savannah with a twist.

Before the young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan made her mark in the films Ladybird and The Lovely Bones, few of us had heard this name, let alone known how to pronounce it. But now it is slowly way edging its way into the mainstream, particularly, of course, with parents who have Irish roots. It made its first appearance in the US Top 1000 in 2016, when it was the third-fastest-rising girls' name.

Sapphire goes waaaaay beyond Ruby and Pearl. This September birthstone, occasionally used a century ago, might be worth a reappraisal, perhaps as a Sophie/Sophia alternative. Sapphire is the pseudonym of Romona Lofton, who wrote the book Push, which was turned into the movie Precious. Sapphire entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022, and is proving to be one of the freshest gem names for girls. Another intriguing variation is the lovely Sapphira.

Sasha, largely male in Russia--and also spelled Sascha and Sacha--is an energetic name that has really taken off for girls here, chosen by Jerry Seinfeld (using the alternate Sascha spelling) and other celebs. The Barack Obamas use it as the nickname for their younger daughter, whose proper name is Natasha. But in line with a trend toward softer-sounding boys' names like Asher and Joshua and thanks to Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen, Sasha also still has life as a boys' name too--it's popular in France for boys and girls almost equally.

Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most popular girls' names starting with S, right after longtime favorites Sophia and Sofia.

Serena, a name used since Roman times, was given fresh life by tennis star Williams, and then again with the leading character on Gossip Girl, Serena van der Woodsen. There have also been Serenas on soap operas and other shows from Bewitched to Law & Order.