Frilly and Edgy Girl Names

What is so rare as a month named June? October – and November and December – are a lot rarer. Brisk and substantial, they're so much more memorable and modern than April or May. October got its name via being the eighth month in the old Roman calendar. Some related, more feminine variations are Octavia and Ottavia.

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.

Orchid is a hothouse bloom that has not been plucked by many modern baby namers — yet. In the language of flowers, orchids symbolize love, beauty, and sophistication.

Parents are beginning to scan the whole spice shelf for inspiration, picking up on Saffron, Sage, and Cinnamon -- and opening up a chance for this spiciest possibility of all; used for peppy TV characters.

Phoebe is the Latin variation of the Greek name Phoibe, which derived from phoibos, meaning "bright." In classical mythology, Phoebe is the by-name of Artemis, goddess of the moon and of hunting. The masculine version of Phoebe is Phoebus.

Piper is a bright, musical name that entered the list in 1999, one year after the debut of the TV series Charmed, which featured a Piper, and it's been a consistent riser since. Piper Kerman is the memoirist whose prison experiences provided the basis for the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.

British-born novelist Plum Sykes has taken this rich, fruity name out of the produce section and put it into the baby name basket. It's more appealing than Apple, more presentable than Peaches. The French equivalent, Prune, is very fashionable there but would not fly with English speakers.

This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.

Poppy, unlike most floral names which are sweet and feminine, has a lot of spunk. Long popular throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, Poppy is finally starting to rise toward the top in the US, where it entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2016.

Posie and its near-identical twins Posy and Posey are delicate old-fashioned flower names of the type that are stylish today: Think Poppy, Marigold, Clover.

A heroine in a Victorian novel written with a quill pen, has an unusual, offbeat charm.

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Ramona is a sweet spot name – neither too trendy nor too eccentric. Kids will associate it with the clever Ramona Quimby character in the series of books by Beverly Cleary, also seen on TV. It was chosen by starcouple Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard for their little girl, who would be joined by sister Gloria.

After a 60 year slide down the popularity ladder, Robin made a turnaround in 2020 and began climbing back into favor for baby girls. One reason may be its new status as one of the most evenly-divided gender neutral names.

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

Sadie started as a nickname for Sarah, but their images couldn't be more disparate. Where Sarah is serious and sweet, Sadie is full of sass and fun.

A beautiful and evocative place-name that deserves wider use.

Salem is a biblical place-name in Canaan, believed to be the same as Jerusalem. Americans may be more familiar with Salem as the name of the Massachusetts town famous for its witch trials in the late 1600s. It's also a popular Arabic name widely-used for both genders.

Shoshanna is a variation of one of the best-known original Hebrew baby names for girls , the original of Susanna. This is the spelling used by Shoshanna Lonstein, a designer who creates the Shoshanna clothing line and also the name of one of the four leading characters on the TV show Girls, Shoshanna Shapiro.