Adelais

This female form of the ancient Latin Aelian has an appealing sound, though kids might have a hard time handling that initial "ae" spelling. Just remember that the "ae" is pronounced "ee" (think Aesop's fables).The Annals of Aeliana is a children's fantasy series by Ryan Watters. 

The meaning is uncertain but is thought to derive from the Greek helios, which means sun.

Aeliana

Aerial

Aerith Gainsborough is a lead character in the video game Final Fantasy. The name was invented by the developers as a translation for the character's original Japanese name Earisu.

Aerith

Aeronwy

Ailsa is a traditional <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/472/scottish-names-for-girls">Scottish name for girls</a> related to a rocky island in the Firth of Clyde called Ailsa Craig. It might make an interesting alternative to the outdated Ashley or overly popular Ella, and could also be thought of as a relative of Elizabeth or Elsa.
 Some other Ailsa relatives: Ailis, Ailse, Ailsha, Allasa, Elsha, Elshe.

Ailsa

This form of Alannah was derived directly from the Gaelic term a leanbh, meaning "child." Though not as popular as the more traditional Alana spelling, it has consistently charted in the US since 2007. Alannah Myles is popularizing this spelling of Alana.

Alannah

Alcie and Alsie are antiquated short forms that feel more baby-ready now that names such as Elsie, Elsa, and Isla are becoming popular again.  Mother name Alcina was an operatic sorceress who turned men into trees and animals.

Alcie

Aleksey

A form of Adelaide (and therefore related to Alice, too) used in the Netherlands. The country's first female physician was Aletta Jacobs. In the USA, Aletta is rare, but on a slight upward trend. It fits perfectly into the sweet spot of being deep-rooted and straightforward, yet barely used, and has Etta and Lettie as potential nicknames.

Aletta

Obscure form of an old-fashioned favorite that's poised to make a comeback.  This version, which owes as much to Alison as to Louisa, has a stylish A beginning and a multi-syllabic feminine grace.

Aloisa

Alula, the palindromic name of the first double star to be identified as physically related to its twin, would make the perfect name for a first-born twin.  Ideas (we're only half joking) for the second born: Aviva, Aziza, Otto.  Alula is reminiscent of the unusual name chosen by Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen for their second daughter: Elula, a month name from the Hebrew calendar.

Alula

Alya is most familiar in the US in its much-more-complicated form Aaliyah, the spelling used by the later singer. The traditional name of the star system Theta Serpentis, Alya is also an established Muslim first name and a Turkish place-name.  It may also be a Russian short form for Alexandra or any other Al- name.

Alya

Ambyre

Pop princess Amerie is half Korean, half African-American.  Her name may relate to Amelia, Emily, Emery, or Amory, though there's no exact equivalent among historical names.  But doubtless there will be more Ameries, starting now.

Amerie

Amory is best known for the hero of Fitzgerald's 1920 This Side of Paradise, Princeton student Amory Blaine. Amory is in some danger of being borrowed by the girls, a la Avery. Alternate spellings Amori or Amorie also relate to the Latin word for love.

Amory

Anais, the name forever attached to the daring French-born American novelist and diarist Anais Nin, is unusual and French enough without appending an e, though some may think it clarifies pronunciation.

Anaise

Anci

Angelou

Melodious and unusual form of a name with an uncountable number of variations. Many will understand it as the more down-to-earth Annalee.

Annalie

Anneli is one of the hundreds of Anne variations with an intriguing spelling. This name has been popular throughout Scandinavia over time and would certainly translate easily to English-speaking countries.

Anneli

When people talk about unique baby names, Apple is often one of the first examples they mention. Apple made international headlines when Gwyneth Paltrow chose this wholesome fruit name for her daughter. Many have called it ridiculous, but we have to admit, we find it appealing enough to list as one of our top <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/508/cute-baby-names-for-girls">cute baby names</a>. Rocker Bob Geldof named one of his daughters Peaches; Banana Yoshimoto is a hipster writer. Another choice in this genre is the luscious Plum, though for different reasons, neither Prune nor Cherry will fly.

Apple

Aravis was the name of a female character in C.S. Lewis's A Horse and His Boy, and is also the name of a mountain range in southern France. With the rise of Ava, Avery, and indeed seemingly all names that start with A, Aravis may finally reach a wider audience.

Aravis

Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones. There were about 6400 baby girls named Aria in the US last year alog with 2400 named Arya, which counted together places the name in the Top 10.
 
The light and airy Aria entered the list in 2000 and now ranks among the Top 25 girl names in the US. In Italian, Aria's literal meaning is air, while in Hebrew it's a form of Ari meaning lion. An Aria is a musical term denoting a kind of song or melody, often in an opera.
Aria is a Top 100 name throughout the English-speaking world and also ranks highly in France and several European countries -- though notably not in Italy or Israel. In Persian, Aria is a male name, and in Indian it is considered unisex. 
Aria is also an improbably cool saint's name. Saint Aria (or Arria) of Rome was an early Christian martyr.

Aria

Arkady is a rhythmic Russian saint's name from the Greek meaning "from Arcadia." As a literary name, it belongs to a genteel character in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and a much less benign one in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, and is also a key figure in Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith.

Arkady

Arleigh

Part of a group of lovely A-starting names popular in Spain, along with Ainhoa and Aitana. Spanish actress Aroa Gimeno introduced this one.

Aroa

A pretty, dainty name for one of the little characters in the children's book series The Borrowers. It was the basis for a later Studio Ghible animated film, The Secret World of Arrietty. While the connection to Harriet is tenuous, you might want to consider Arrietty as an honorific for an ancestral Harriet, Harry, or even Henry or Henrietta.

Arrietty

A male Biblical name meaning healer, Asa is also an international gem. In Japanese, it means "(born in the) morning". And in Scandinavia, where it's generally spelled Åsa or Ása and pronounced O-sa, it's a popular diminutive form of Old Norse names beginning with the element áss "god".

This lovely Umbrian hill town became a striking first name for the young daughter of Jade Jagger. 

Assisi

Atalaya

Athalia was an Old Testament daughter of Jezebel and a king's powerful wife with a gory history. You don't wanna know -- and you probably don't wanna name your kid after her either. Pretty name, though, and one that's in step with the current fashions for A beginnings and endings as well as for distinctive names with deep roots.  Atalia is a simplified spelling..

Athalia

With its rich aural relation to names like Aubrey and Audrey, this color name could be the next Amber, or Scarlett. 

Auburn

Aurelie is the delicate French variation of Aurelia, one of the most improbable popular names of recent years. Both versions of the name are lovely, but it might be difficult to insist that Americans pronounce Aurelie the attractive <a href="https://forvo.com/word/aur%C3%A9lie/#fr">French way</a> rather than like plain old orally.

Aurelie

Lady Aurex is a character in L. Frank Baum's Glinda of Oz, a sequel to The Wizard of Oz.

Aurex

Though it might be acceptable in its native land, the fact of Azni being an anagram of a word with unpleasant World War II associations would limit its usage here.

Azni

Anevay

An important name in Irish myth, belonging to a beautiful giantess who was both mother and wife of Brian Boru.  It is usually Anglicized as the phonetic Bevin, but also as Vivian.

Beibhinn

A felicitous combo of two sweet names; also a Queens, New York neighborhood.

Bellerose

Name of pastoral Vermont town and college sounds too stiff and starchy.

Bennington

Sources say that Bina, which is close to the word for bee in Yiddish, was once used as a translation for the Hebrew Deborah, which means bee. On its own, it also means "understanding" in Hebrew. Simple and sweet in itself, it could also be short for (or a nod to) many names including Sabina, Robina, Columbina, and Jacobina.

Bina

Binne

This contemporary combo name was chosen by reality stars Tristan and Ryan Sutter for their daughter and has been picked up by others.

Blakesleigh

Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta. 

Breeze

Unusual floral name which would be perfect for a spring baby girl, if you can pronounce the Welsh double L correctly. It's a tricky sound for non-native Welsh speakers, kind of halfway between an H and an L.

Briallen

Briny

Bryony is an unusually strong plant name --the bryony is a wild climbing vine with green flowers --that caught on in the U.K. before sprouting here. The name of the young character in the Ian McEwan novel Atonement is spelled Briony, which is the variation and Bryony the original.
 Bryony sounds a lot fresher than the now dated Brittany. Pronunciation is like Brian with an ee at the end, though the name bears no relationship to the male Brian or Bryan.

Bryony

Bellaroux

Cai, as distinguished from the boys' name Kai, is international, simple, unusual.

Camby

Cami

Cammy

The name of a small yellow bird that hasn't taken off in the way that some of its avian sisters – like Robin, Wren or Lark – have.

 Two of the most well known bearers of this first name are Canary Burton, an American keyboardist, composer and writer, and Canary Conn, an American singer and author.

Canary

Cayla

With the growing popularity of Celia and Cecilia, this vintage canasta-playing nickname name could be due for a comeback.
 Ceil had a few years of recorded popularity in the first decade of the twentieth century, peaking in 1905. Today, fewer than five baby girls receive the name, meaning it doesn't even make the US extended list.
 One prominent bearer was fashion designer Ceil Chapman (born Cecilia),who was a favorite of actresses from the forties to the sixties--she was one of Marilyn Monroe's favorite designers. She also provided the trousseau for young Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding.
 Caveat: Might be misheard as Seal.

Ceil

The name of a French city famous for its fine lace. Another association: Chantilly cream – a sweetened whipped cream apparently invented there in the 17th century by a chef at the Château de Chantilly. The town probably takes is name from the Gallo-Roman personal name Cantilius, derived from a word for "white".

 Tilly is a sweet and stylish short form – especially in the UK, where it's on the rise as a standalone name, as well as a nickname for Matilda or Ottilie – but Chantilly feels a little too saccharine.

Chantilly

Charlsie

Chaylea

Chessie

One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation. One of the rare flower names counted among <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/351/names-for-autumn-babies">names for autumn babies</a>, Chrysanthemum is also one of the most unusual nature-themed <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/c">girl names starting with C</a>.
 Chrysanthemum is the title of a 1991 children's picture book by the American writer and illustrator Kevin Henkes. The plot deals with a young mouse named Chrysanthemum, who loves her name until classmates tease her about it.

Chrysanthemum

Citlalli

Corsica, the picturesque Mediterrean island birthplace of Napoleon, makes an easy switch from atlas to baby name book, with its delicate, feminine ending. Just don't consider neighboring island Sardinia. 

Corsica

Cyan is an attractive color names, but for a girl, better go all the way to Cyane, the name of a Sicilian nymph who lived in a blue pool.

Cyan

Cyane is a mythological Sicilian nymph who lived in a pool and whose name is an intriguing twist on the color name trend. 

Cyane

The Anatolian mother goddess Cybele had a place in Greek, Roman, Trojan, and Anatolian mythology. Today, she has special meaning as a symbol of gender nonconformity.

In ancient Rome, Cybele's cult included followers called the Galli, male by birth but feminine in appearance, who often castrated themselves.

Cybele is a different name and a different figure from Sibyl or Sybil, the collective name for the Greek and Roman female prophets of legend. But the pronunciation is similar and contemporary English speakers will inevitably conflate the names and their inspiration.

Cybele

Cyndel

Cyra is an unusual name that can be pronounced either SEER-a or SI-ra, rhyming with Keira or Tyra. This name may be a feminine variation of Cyrus but is also a Persian name that stands on its own.  One noted bearer is writer Cyra McFadden.

Cyra

Carmindy

Clelya

If you're looking for a name with Scandinavian roots, this would make a stronger and more appealing import than Dagmar. With its meaning of "new day," it could make an ideal choice for a girl born around New Year's.
 Dagny Taggart is the powerful railroad executive and steel mogul heroine of the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged. 
 Dagny is also a French place name.

Dagny

Dannielynn

This Hindu goddess name has a powerful heritage plus lively sound with a devilish edge. If you're enchanted by <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/433/goddess-baby-names">goddess names</a> but want to set your little girl apart from all the Lunas and Athenas in the playground, consider Devi.

Giving Devi a more serious edge, it's the middle name of Kamala Harris, whose mother was from India. About 50 baby girls were named Devi in the US last year.

Devi

Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of her infant brother's pronunciation of the word moon as 'nuna' and a character in a book her father was reading, Prince Djalma, and so he "put the Dj onto the 'una'." Result: the silent-D pronunciation (as in Django) of JOON-a.
 Fellow writer Anais Nin adopted the name for a character in her 1950 novel The Four Chambered Heart, and Woody Allen had a young girl called Djuna in his 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You — nicknamed DJ.
 All in an, an attractive and intriguing possibility.

Djuna

Dwyn

Contemporary and cool East paired with popular Lyn, this compound name is slightly edgy and slightly trendy, but, is equally surprisingly literary thanks to Ellen Wood's 19th century sensation novel, East Lynne.

Eastlyn

Feels like a hybrid. Better go for Edith or Evelyn. 

Edlyn

Long popular in Scotland, this attractive name is strictly-speaking the Gaelic version of Eleanor, but is also often considered part of the Helen family of names. After the Normans introduced it into the British Isles, it was transformed into Aileen or Evelyn. It has rarely been heard in the US, but it is slowly starting to be used here too.

Eilidh

Elena is at its most popular point ever in the US, thanks to its cross-cultural appeal and the overall popularity of El- names. It's more international than Ellen or Eleanor, but still accessible.
 A pan-European version of Helen, Elena has roots in Spanish, Italian, Slavic, and Romanian, among other languages. Helen, the name from which it derives, came from the Greek word helene, meaning "torch." Alternate spellings include Elaina, Ellena, and Alena.
 
Elena may be trending, but she's also a solid classic as well as an international favorite. Elena ranks highly in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain along with a host of other countries. 
A worthy namesake is Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the fourth female to hold that position. Pseudonymous Italian writer Elena Ferrante, author of the Neapolitan Novels, is another famous Elena. 
 
A fictional bearer is Elena Gilbert, protagonist of The Vampire Diaries. and Elena Lincoln is a character in Fifty Shades of Grey. Elena of Avalor is a princess featured in the Disney Junior show of that name. 
 
Read more about Elena and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Elena

In the past few years Ellery has gone from middle-aged male detective -- from old school fictional hero Ellery Queen -- to a plausible girls' name, a la Hillary.

Ellery is one of the golden names that ranks in Nameberry's Top 1000 but not in the US Top 1000, making it a choice both cool and stylish.

Ellery

Ellia is one of the newer entries in the extremely popular El group of names for girls, which includes Ella, Ellie, Elle and so on, as well as L-starting names such as Lillia. Nearly 100 baby girls were named Ellia last year, but we're afraid that the name will not sound as distinctive as it should due to so many other girls with similar names.

Ellia

Unlike Amber, which is in decline, this name still has a bit of a glow left -- though confusions between the two will inevitably arise.

Ember entered the Top 1000 in 2009 and has risen steadily in the years since. The Em beginning can make it an original route to the nickname Emmy.

Ember

Though Embry became famous as the name of a boy werewolf in Twilight, we think its Em- beginning and -y ending make it perfectly appropriate for a girl. You might consider it as an alternative to Emma, Emily, or Aubrey. Embry or Embury is an established English surname.

Embry

A literary name created by J. R. R. Tolkien for a Lord of the Rings noblewoman of Rohan. Properly spelled with an accent over the first E – Éowyn – it would make an interesting choice for literature lovers or fans of names like Elowen and Evelyn.

Eowyn

Evanna is the name of a Harry Potter actress who pronounces it ee-vah-na. This might be considered another international feminine form of the many variations of John; Ivana, Giovanna, and even Joan are cousins of Evanna. It could also be a compound name, combining Eva and Anna.

Evanna

Evanthe is a pretty Greek name not often heard outside its native culture.  With its stylish Ev-begining, Evanthe could make an interesting choice if you're looking for a generic flower name.

Evanthe

Evelia

A combination-type name invented by L. Frank Baum for a Princess character who first appears in his book Ozma of Oz.

Evrose

Ezri is one of the cool new <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/unisex-names/e">unisex names starting with E</a>, except as a Biblical name, it's not so new. Used for both genders in Israel, in the US it's currently running five to one in favor of girls, surprisingly. Its deviation from the better known and more traditional Ezra makes it feel like one of the more truly <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">gender neutral names</a>.

Ezri

Beware: extremely high pressure, high-expectation name. 

Flair

Frey 

Genevie

Prettier than Joy and just beginning to be used here. 

Gioia

Greige

Guthrie, folk singer Woody's last name, makes a perfectly fine first choice for a girl. Names such as Guthrie that have no gendered history can make true nonbinary names.

Guthrie

Hadley, most famous as the name of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, is more sophisticated, professional, and modern than cousins Harley, Haley, or Hayden. 

The hit book The Paris Wife, a novel by Paula McLain told from the point of view of Hadley Hemingway (born Elizabeth Hadley Richardson), has helped popularize the name, which also appears on the vampire show True Blood. Hadley could become this generation's Hailey.

Adley, a mashup of Hadley and Addie, has also appeared on the scene.

Hadley

Sounds like a variant of Heidi or Hailey, but Haidee is actually a separate name with a literary history, used in Byron's epic poem Don Juan.

Haidee

Hava is an anglicization of the Hebrew name Chava, which, like its English form Eve, means "life". In some accents, it may sound like "have a", so it's worth considering if this will be an issue combined with a last name. But overall, it's an elegantly simple name with a great meaning.

Hava

Reddish dye that sounds as if it could be a real name — of the outdated, Old World, Yetta-Hedda variety.

Henna

Holly ranks just in British Top 50, but it's been out of favor here since the 1970s Era of Nickname Names. Still, the name may be on her way back as a rejuvenated nature pick.
 Jolly Holly has always been among the favorite <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/412/christmas-baby-names">names for Christmas babies</a>, evoking the symbolic shrub with dark green leaves and bright red berries. And Holly is the flower for the month of December, so it's also among the perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for December babies</a>.
 A memorable fictional Holly is the enigmatic heroine of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, Holly Golightly (almost named Connie, and with the full name Holiday), played indelibly by Audrey Hepburn. A real life one is actress Holly Hunter. Holly Short is a fairy character in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl novels. And in Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, Holly and Jolly are siblings.

Holly

Hilary may feel too connected to a single personality, but this version offers a fresh and interesting alternative.
 
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin (born Hillary Lynn Hayward-Thomas) chose this variation of Hilaria's adopted name for their third daughter, Ilaria Catalina Irena.

Ilaria

LilAuburn13's list "Cute Girl Names" of 251 great name ideas: Adelais - Zoia!