Cottage Garden Girl
- Faerydae
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"gift of the fairies"Description:
The ultimate ethereal name for lovers of fairies, pixies, and sprites.
- Fantasia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"imagination"Description:
One of the more prominent by-products of reality TV, via Disney.
- Farasha
Origin:
ArabicMeaning:
"butterfly"Description:
Farasha is butterfly in Arabic, which means that to English-speakers, it feels more like a soft feminine name and less like a fluttery animal. Pretty without feeling flighty.
- Fawn
Origin:
Nature nameMeaning:
"a young deer"Description:
The doe-eyed Fawn is as gentle and soft as the baby deer it represents. And much like that baby deer, it carries with it the potential of new life. Fawn was featured at the bottom of the Top 1000 throughout the '60s and '70s — around the same time that Bambi came into play. But unlike Bambi, Fawn maintains relevance in the 21st century, thanks to its warmth and ties to the natural world. We would love to meet more baby girls named Fawn.
- Faye
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"fairy"Description:
Soft and simple, but no less magical, Faye is enjoying a quiet spell of popularity in the US. It broke the Top 1000 in 2014, and by 2023, was one of the fastest rising names on the charts. Faye is a perfect example of a name that fits in and stands out, recognizable and yet unexpected. It also makes a beautiful middle name option, if Mae and Rae are feeling too overdone.
- Felicia
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"lucky"Description:
A lacy, lucky name very popular in the Hispanic community a decade ago, less so now.
- Felicity
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"good fortune, happy"Description:
Felicity is as accessible a virtue name as Hope and Faith, but much more feminine -- and dare we say, happier. The hit TV show did a lot to soften and modernize the once buttoned-up image of Felicity, and it got further notice as the red-haired Colonial doll, Felicity Merriman, in the American Girl series. A current bearer is actress Felicity Huffman.
- Fenella
Origin:
CelticMeaning:
"white-shouldered one"Description:
More unusual than Fiona and more user-friendly than Fionnuala, the engaging Scottish Fenella, has been scarcely heard in this country.
- Fern
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"plant name"Description:
Of all the botanicals, Fern has been one of the slowest to move back from the front parlor into the nursery, despite the appealing girl character in the children's classic Charlotte's Web. Fern was most popular from the turn of the last century through the 1940s, reaching a high of #152 in 1916. We can certainly see her rejoining the long list of popular greenery names.
- Finch
Origin:
English word and nature nameMeaning:
"to swindle"Description:
Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.
- Fiona
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"white, fair"Description:
Fiona entered the American consciousness with the opening of the 1954 Broadway musical Brigadoon, but didn't come onto the U.S. popularity list until 1990.
- Fiore
- Fiorella
Origin:
ItalianMeaning:
"little flower"Description:
Not only are individual flower names more popular (and out-there) than ever, but so too are the more generic names like Florence and Flora. While brother name Fiorello became known via long-term New York Mayor LaGuardia, the lovely Fiorella has never crossed cultures. She could join Arabella as a post-Isabella ella choice.
- Fleur
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"flower"Description:
Fleur is a generic, delicate flower name that emigrated into the English-speaking world when John Galsworthy bestowed it on one of the Forsytes in his celebrated saga. More recently, there was Fleur Delacour, a French witch and the Beauxbatons champion for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter.
- Flora
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"flower"Description:
Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names we think is due for a comeback— alongside cousins Cora and Dora. Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all.
- Florence
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"flourishing, prosperous"Description:
Florence is back, returning to the US Top 1000 girl names in 2017 after a nearly 40 year absence. Other English-speaking countries have been quicker to welcome Florence back into fashion.
- Flossie
Origin:
Diminutive of FlorenceMeaning:
"flourishing, prosperous"Description:
Flossie was an extremely popular Florence nickname that was used independently in the early twentieth century, given to over five hundred girls per year a century ago. Flossie was one of the younger twins in the iconic children's book series The Bobbsey Twins, first published in 1904. Appealing, if a little cutesy--sweet as candy floss. A similar name is Florrie.
- Forsythia
Origin:
Flower name, from English surnameMeaning:
"Forsyth's flower"Description:
This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.
- Foxglove
Origin:
Flower name, from EnglishMeaning:
"fox's glove"Description:
A rare flower name that works as well for boys as it does for girls, so named because of its resemblance to a small glove.
- Fran
Origin:
Diminutive of FrancesMeaning:
"from France or free man"Description:
This short form has been pretty much replaced by Frankie, however, it could fit in with other clunky but charming names, like Peggy, Bess, and Enid.