Family Tree Names - Female

It feels like a slenderized modern version, but Jennet actually has deep roots. Could this plucky name rescue Janet and Jenny from their datedness?

The spiritual sounding Kiva has a number of other-worldly associations. Kiva is a "Stargate" character who becomes a commander in the Lucian Alliance, as well as a planet in "Star Wars." Kiva is also the name of a room used by the Hopi for spiritual ceremonies.

Lettice is still occasionally heard in upper-class British families, but we fear it would cause too much salad-green teasing to be considered in the U.S. Calling your little Lettice Lettie could help make the name more user-friendly, or go all the way to the original Letitia.

This surname, found rarely in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, has several origins. It either comes from a diminutive of Martin or Marta; or from Old French and Old Spanish martel, meaning "hammer" — thus a nickname for a smith or a forceful person.

Missouri, the name of a tribe, a state and a river, derives from the Illinois word mihsoori meaning "dugout canoe". It became a somewhat popular American girls' name in the mid-19th century.

Parents seeking a distinctive New Testament name might consider this one. Adopted by some Puritans in the seventeenth century, Persis was used in the William Dean Howells novel The Rise of Silas Lapham for the wife of the protagonist.

Rena is a Hebrew name all on its own and is also a European short form of Irene, Irini, Renata, and Renate. In Punjabi, Rena means "to remain".