Fairy Garden Girls
- Hillie
- Indira
Origin:
SanskritMeaning:
"beauty"Description:
A striking and feminine possibility associated with a modern hero — longtime Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.
- Irene
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"peace"Description:
Serene Irene, the name of the Greek goddess of peace and one of the most familiar Greek goddess names, was hugely popular in ancient Rome and again in the United States a hundred years ago.
- James
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"supplanter"Description:
James for a girl? Believe it or not, this is one of the boy names for girls" gaining a lot of attention these days, since Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds shocked the world by choosing it for their eldest daughter in 2014 (after his late father).
- Larkspur
Origin:
English botanical nameDescription:
A rarer-than-rare floral name with a sting in the tail!
- Lenore
Origin:
German variation of Leonora, Italian derivative of Eleonora, meaning unknownDescription:
A "modernization" of Leonora that has suddenly come back on the radar along with the many other Leo names--both male and female. With literary cred via a famous eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (and also in his even more famous The Raven,) Lenore was steadily in the top half of the popularity list until the mid-fifties, falling off in 1973. Cameron Diaz played a Lenore in The Green Hornet.
- Lucine
Origin:
ArmenianMeaning:
"moon"Description:
Either an Armenian name meaning "moon" (also spelled Lusine) or an elaboration of sweet classic Lucy.
- Luna
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"moon"Description:
The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
- Lyra
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"lyre"Description:
Lyra is a name with ancient and celestial roots that's finding new popularity thanks to its starring role in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, seen in the movie The Golden Compass. Simple yet unique, Lyra hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual.
- Maren
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"sea"Description:
Maren is one of the many twenty-first-century takes on Mary--but we find the more classic Marin spelling preferable. When spelled Maren, the pronunciation seems more clearly to resemble Mary, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Marin, the spelling also used for the beautiful coastal county north of San Francisco, is often pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, as in Marie.
- Merritt
Origin:
English surname nameMeaning:
"boundary gate"Description:
Merritt has a long and distinguished history as a surname; the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut and the Merritt Building testify to that. But it wasn't until Emmy-winning actress Merritt Wever came along that we gave it much thought as a girls' name. And we aren't alone. It's grown tremendously in popularity since the premiere of Nurse Jackie, in which Wever played a key role. More than 100 baby girls a year are now named Merritt in the U.S.
- Neely
- Odessa
Origin:
Ukrainian place-nameDescription:
Odessa, a Ukrainian port city, was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey. It would make an original and intriguing choice.
- Posey
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"a bunch of flowers"Description:
Posey is fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is only starting to be heard here.
- Sasha
Origin:
Russian, diminutive of Greek AlexanderMeaning:
"defending men"Description:
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.
- Selene
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"moon goddess"Description:
Selene may be the mythological Greek original, but Latin variation Selena is used more often in the US these days. Selene is the Greek goddess of the moon, sister of Helios the sun god. Selene is also sometimes called Cynthia and Phoebe. The name may be related to the word selas, which means light, and is one of the loveliest of the Greek goddess names.
- Silver
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
" a metallic chemical element with atomic number 47"Description:
Among the first wave of word names used in the hippie era, it actually is a legitimate girl's name with a lot of luster.
- Sylvie
Origin:
French variation of Latin SylviaMeaning:
"from the forest"Description:
Although Sylvia seems to be having somewhat of a revival among trendsetting baby namers, we'd still opt for the even gentler and more unusual Sylvie. Despite being dated in its native France (where it was popular during the 1950s and 60s), in English-speaking regions it still feels fresh and international without being unfamiliar and has a cosmopolitan, international air. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016.
- Tabitha
Origin:
AramaicMeaning:
"gazelle"Description:
Though never as popular as the name of her Bewitched mother, Samantha, Tabitha has its own quirky, magical charm. The name of a charitable woman who was restored to life by Saint Peter in the Bible, it was a popular Puritan choice. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick chose it for one of their twin daughters, which gave it a slight boost. Nonetheless, Tabitha remains in decline.
- Talia
Origin:
Hebrew; Australian AboriginalMeaning:
"gentle dew from heaven; by the water"Description:
Talia is derived from the Hebrew elements tal, meaning "dew," and yah, in reference to God. In the mythology of one ancient sect, Talia was one of ten angels who attended the sun on its daily course. The occasionally homophonous name Thalia has unrelated Greek origins.