Mini Names for Girls

See VALDA.

Velma likely originated as a phonetic spelling of the German name Wilma, itself derived from Wilhelmina. Velma Dinkley is a smart, if nerdy, character in Scooby Doo.

Vera was the height of fashion in 1910, then was for a long time difficult to picture embroidered on a baby blanket. Now, though, it has come back into style along with other old-fashioned simple names such as Ada and Iris.

Vital and vivacious, Vita is stirring back to life along with many of her V-themed sisters -- Vivian, Vivica -- and is becoming a new celebrity baby favorite.

It is popularly claimed that the name Wendy was invented by Sir James Barrie in 1904 for the big sister character in his play Peter Pan, which was followed by the classic novel in 1911. Barrie supposedly took it from the nickname "fwendy-wendy", that he was called by a young girl acquaintance.

Willa has become increasingly fashionable, with its combination of Willa (born Wilella) Cather-like pioneer strength and the graceful beauty of the willow tree.

The name of a character from Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist manga and anime series. She is a strong-willed teenage mechanic, who has consistently been ranked among the best female characters in anime.

An attractive, widely appealing, multicultural option. KPOP singer Yuna may be attracting some attention to her name.

Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The ultimate nicknamey name, à la Ziggy Stardust or the comic-strip character Ziggy. Then again, there's Ziggy Marley, and most anything Marley is cool. It's used for a handful girls every year in England & Wales.

Zoey is a modern spelling variation of Zoe, the Greek Jewish translation of Eve. For a few years, it was even more popular than the original Zoe, but has now dropped back to the second ranked spelling.