Girl Names I like

Viola has several positive elements going for it: the rhythm of the musical instrument, the association with the flower, the trending 'Vi' beginning and its leading role in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Waverly, with its literary resonance and lilting three-syllable sound, could well become the next generation's successor to Kimberly. Its upper-crusty surname feel places it among the new stylish English names for girls, successors to Ashley and Whitney.

In 2014, fifteen newborns were named Whisper, all of them girls. We can see the attraction of the name but if you are in Australia be warned - Whisper is a well-known brand of sanitary products, so a teenaged Whisper will find life more embarrassing than usual.

Yesterday's sensation that rose with the popularity of Whitney Houston. Whitney may have lost some of its style value, but it still sounds like one of the quintessential English names for girls. Today, you might want to shorten it to cool nickname Whit.

Rode two rockets to fame, with actress Winona Ryder and singer Wynonna Judd. Winona entered the Top 1000 for the first time since 1957 this past year in 2022, following in the footsteps of trending short form Winnie.

Abbreviated form of Zahara that was used by Chris Rock for his daughter and as a middle name by both Eddie Murphy and David Bowie. Compared with the even-more-abbreviated Zara, Zahra may create more spelling problems but clarify pronunciation.

While this African place-name is much more popular for boys, nearly 40 girls were named Zaire last year. Among African baby names, this is one of the best-known in the US.

This contemporary creation plays on a couple of trends by applying the attractive Z to the rhyming family of names including Hailey, Bailey, and Kayley. The -ee suffix is the icing on the cake. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Zephyrus was the Greek god of the west wind, and all names associated with him have a pleasantly gentle, breezy feel.

Zinnia is an unusual floral choice with a bit more edge and energy than most and beginning to find its way onto namers' wish lists of botanical possibilities. Named after an eighteenth German botanist called Johann Gottfried Zinn, it appears in Roald Dahl's Matilda as the young protagonist's mother.

A zippy little international name. The Hebrew name relates to the month of Israeli independence. The Slavic Ziva (also spelled Živa and Siva) is a goddess of love, life and fertility.

Zoe is one of those surprising names that has been on the Top 1000 nearly every year since 1880, but it's only since the turn of this century that it's ranked in the Top 100.

As Sophia gets more popular, parents search out more unusual spins, and the Z makes this qualify.