Frank Guenthers Top Girl Names

Anja is one of the most international of several versions of Ann/Anna now being imported, also including Anya and Annika.

Annika is a surprise hit of recent years, inspired by golfer Sorenstam; for Trekkies, it was also the name of a 'Star Trek:Voyager' character. Some people's first memory of it might be as Pippi Longstocking's friend. A nice namesake for an ancestral Ann.

With the enormous popularity of Emily and Emma, we're sure to see more of Emmi, Emmie, Emme, and Emmy, whether as short forms or standing on their own.

A variation of Giselle.

Pronounced with two syllables, as if spelled Ilsa, Ilse is popular in The Netherlands and may rise here with cousin Elsa.

A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.

This pretty, succinct Arabic name is also commonly used as a nickname for names like Carolina.

Austrian actress Romy Schneider seemed to be the singular bearer of this international nickname name until it found new style currency in the past decade.

Sophia, which was the Number 1 girls' name in the US from 2011 to 2013, is among the top girl names in the Western World, with a sensuous sound and high-minded meaning. A real winner, Sophia reached the top of the charts without losing any—okay, much—of its sophisticated beauty.