Alia is the most classic and feminine form of Ali, one of the 99 attributes of Allah within Islam. Meaning "supreme, exalted, high, sublime", it is pretty, powerful and spirited. 
The name is also used by Christians and Jews as it can be derived from the Hebrew word "alah", meaning "ascending" or "to rise" and is associated with making a pilgrimage or migrating to Israel. 
Alia also given to the heroine of Frank Herbert's science fiction classic,Children of Dune and with the release of the new film adaptations of Dune, it may just gain more attention.
 While Alia is the sleekest version of the name, both the most ancient and the most modern-feeling, its most famous relative in the U.S. today is Aaliyah, a Top 100 name, associated with the singer.

Alia

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

This Anglicized spelling of Irish Aislinn or Aisling has enjoyed some popularity in the US as an updated Ashley.

Ashlynn

As Ashley becomes one of today's "mom names" thanks to its popularity amongst millennial-borns, Ashton is a fresh alternative. This particular spelling is nearly completely equally split between girls and boys in 2022.

Ashtyn

Sweet and sparky but maybe a little bit stuck in the 90s, Bria is a nickname-y style choice with various origins.
 
Unheard of until the 1970s, Bria only started to see substantial use in the 90s, when it rose up alongside its longer forms, Briana, Gabriella, and Sabrina. It fitted right in besides Brittany, Brooke, and Paige, and got a boost after comedian and actor Eddie Murphy used it for his daughter in 1989.
 
Peaking in 1993, Bria has been on the decline ever since, and, as of 2023, it is only just lingering in the US Top 1000. Given to 290 babies each year, Bria has been replaced by the likes of Mia, Bella, Blair, and Bridie.
 
Connected to poetry via its ties to the literary Briana, to the Bible through its link to Gabriel and Gabriella, to mythology through Brigid and Sabrina, Bria could holds an unexpected amount of meaning. It could also originate from the Italian word brio meaning "lively" or "confident" or from the Celtic Brigantī, meaning "high, exalted".
 
Namesakes such as basketball player, Bria Hartley, singer Bria Kelly, actress Bria Vinaite, and influencer Bria Myles help keep the name in the public eye - but what does the future hold for this short but punchy name? Only time will tell, but 2023 did see Briana, Brianna, and Sabrina move slightly up the charts, so perhaps Bria could see a resurgence one day, 





Feminine form of Brian. It appears in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene

Bria

This extra-N variation matches up with the current preferred spellings of Oaklynn, Raelynn, and Adalynn, however it has always been outranked by popular Brooklyn. Though both spellings have trended downwards since their peak in 2011, Brooklyn maintains its place in the US Top 100, while Brooklynn lags behind in the #300s.

A cool city name and a favorite of the late 2000s, Brooklyn's popularity is often credited to Victoria and David Beckham who chose it for their first son in 1999. They may well have started the trend, but parents took it in their own direction, and now, Brooklyn (and Brooklynn) are used predominantly on girls, around 98% of the time. 
 
The Brooklynn spelling was given to 821 girls in a recent year, while Brooklyn was used three times as often. When you add all these Brooklyns up, however, sound-wise, the name begins to sound like a Top 60 choice, equivalent to Lillian, Lainey, or Paisley. 
 
In 2020, the Brooklynn spelling was used for Jenna Ortega's character in the Jurassic Park TV spin off series, Camp Crustaceous, which might put it back in parent's minds in the future. .

Brooklynn

Brenyn

Brylin

Brynna

Brynyn

Cailyn

Cora is a lovely, old-fashioned girls' that has been recently rejuvenated by its contemporary-feeling simplicity. In fact, Cora seemed headed straight for the top of the popularity list when the coronavirus pandemic somewhat weakened its appeal.
 
Though she has never been completely out of favor, Cora has had her ups and downs. A Top 20 name in the 1880's, she had sunk to Number 876 in 1988 before reversing course yet again. A more recent inspiration is the appealing American-born Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey. 
 
In classical mythology, Cora—or Kore—was a euphemistic name of Persephone, goddess of fertility and the underworld. Kore was the name used when referencing her identity as the goddess of Spring, while Persephone referred to her role as queen of the Underworld. 
 
Cora gained popularity as a given name after James Fenimore Cooper used it as the name of his heroine, Cora Munro, in his 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans. 
 
While a complete name unto itself, some parents who love Cora may want to use it as a short form for such names as Cordelia or Coraline. Cora's fashionable sisters include Clara, Nora, Corinne, Corinna and Coralie.

Cora

Coralyn

Eden is an attractive, serene name with obvious intimations of Paradise, one of several place names drawn from the Bible by the Puritans in the seventeenth century.
 Eden entered the Top 1000 in 1989, and got a real bump in visibility when Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross used it for one of her twin girls. There have been also Edens on the old soap opera Santa Barbara and the shows Heroes and Extras.
 Pronounced ED-en, Eden is also a Hebrew name for boys, though as EE-den it's gaining ground in the US for boys, now given to one boy for every four girls.

Eden

Emelyn

The combination of Emily and Emma's popularity -- and the fact that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher's daughter is named Emerson -- have put this formerly strictly <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a>, embodying the gravitas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the limelight for girls. 
 Shonda Rhimes, creator/producer/writer/director of Grey's Anatomy, has a daughter named Emerson Pearl. Emerson is now one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/unisex-names/e">unisex names starting with E</a>.

Emerson

After decades of disuse, soft and feminine Evelyn has returned to the baby name stage in a huge way. It reached the Top 10 for the first time in 2017. Evelyn has now surpassed its former heights, joining a legion of contemporary little Evas, Avas, Eves, Evies, and Evelines. 
 
Evelyn derives from the French feminine given name Aveline, which is from an obscure Germanic root which may mean "desired, wished for" or "water, island". The name Aveline was brought over to England by the Normans, but it first became popular as a masculine name – a transferred use of the surname Evelyn, which comes from the same source. Variations include Evaline, Evalyn, Evelin, and Eveline.
 
Formerly a predominantly masculine name, its most famous bearer is writer Evelyn (EEV-lin) Waugh. (Trivia note: Evelyn Waugh was married to a woman named Evelyn, and they were known as 'He-velyn" and "She-velyn'.) Its quiet persona was reversed with the character Evelyn Salt, played by Angelina Jolie. Bruce Willis chose it for his fifth daughter and Carey Mulligan used it for hers.

Evelyn

This was a 100 percent <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a> until celebs Jason Sehorn and Angie Harmon bestowed it on their daughter, recently followed by Lisa Marie Presley, who used it for one of her (female) twins. Finlay is also now among the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">popular unisex names</a>. 
At the most recent count, Finley was given 57 percent of the time to girls and 43 percent to boys, close enough to make it one of the truly gender neutral names.

Finley

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

A newly successful name for girls, which, like Brayden and Caden, used to be strictly for the boys. Young Heroes and now Nashville star Hayden Panettiere planted it in the girls' camp.

Hayden

This variation of Jordan entered the Top 1000 in 1989. Jordyn as well as Jordan trended throughout the 90s and early 2000s, but are beginning to fall slightly on the girls' side. While the Jordan spelling reached the highest point in popularity out of the 2, making it into the Top 50 in the late 90s and early 2000s, today Jordyn has taken the lead.

Jordyn

The new Maia, the next Kayla, Kaia has been on the charts since the year 2000. You might see it as a female form of the also-rising Kai, which means sea in Hawaiian and is sometimes used for girls as well, or as a Kardashianization of the ancient goddess name Caia.
 Kaia's star has been floating upwards for the past few decades, along with Kai's. And it still has some distance to go, though we don't anticipate it making the Top 10.
 
Kaia Gerber, daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, is now a supermodel in her own right.

Kaia

Kollins

One of those names that's suddenly on the map because of a celebrity's influence, Leighton Meester of the TV show Gossip Girl. She pronounces it LAY-ton but some will intuitively say LEE-ton.

Leighton

Laurilyn

Nora is a lovely, refined name that conjures up images of Belle Epoch ladies in fur-trimmed coats skating in Central Park. Long seen as a quintessentially Irish name though its roots are not in Ireland, Nora is a quietly stylish favorite that's tiptoed to the top of the popularity ladder.
 
Nora has two separate origin stories, as a derivative of both Honora and Eleanor. The Irish and Anglo-Norman version derives from Honora, based on the Latin word honor. The Hungarians spawned Nora as a short form of Eleonora, a variation of Eleanor.
 One of Nora's most prominent contemporary namesakes is the late witty writer Nora Ephron. Other notable Noras are the independent Ibsen heroine of A Doll's House, and the female half of the witty Nick and Nora Charles duo, adding up to a most desirable choice. 
 It can also be spelled Norah, as in Norah Jones.

Nora

For a name related to a Scottish town, a patterned Indian fabric, and a country singer named Brad, Paisley has seen remarkable success. After appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, it is now an American favorite. 
Deriving from a Scottish surname and town near Glasglow, Paisley means “church” or “cemetery.” It has been given to a tiny handful of girls each year since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the late 2000s that it had any significant usage. 
 
Then, between 2010 and 2015, the number of girls named Paisley quadrupled, and it entered the US Top 50. 
 
So what did make Paisley so popular? Perhaps parents drew inspiration from the American country singer, Brad Paisley, who’s dueted with Dolly. Maybe the 2009 appearance of ‘Peppermint Paisley’ on the controversial TV show “Toddlers and Tiaras” turned some heads?
 
Or perhaps it simply emerged as a fresh spin on both Ashley and Paige, the once popular choices that were falling rapidly out of style?
 
However it made its way to the charts, Paisley remains in the US Top 100 and is given to over 4000 girls each year. Athlete Jennie Finch, The Guns ‘n’ Roses musician Richard Fortus, and the actress Gabrielle Anwar are among those who have chosen Paisley for their daughters. 
 
Nameberry users tend not to share this love of Paisley and it ranks outside the <a href=“https://nameberry.com/popular-names/nameberry/girls/allNameberry Top 1000”> Nameberry Top 1000.</a> For more ‘Berry-style’ choices, you could try Maisie, Daisy, Astrid, Romy, Blair or Marlowe.

Paisley

Payton and Peyton are both very <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names</a> for girls as well as boys, but Paityn is a spelling variations used almost exclusively for girls.

Paityn

What do you get when you cross two out-of-style, mid-century favorites together? 
Something new and cool and one-of-a-kind? A monstrous, stitched-together creation? 
No, you get Raelynn, a popular choice in the US. 
Raelynn has had an impressive climb up the charts in the last decade, trebling in usage, and transforming from a rarity into an on-trend choice. In tune with the Aiden, Jaden and Brayden trend and following in the footsteps of Evelyn, Madelyn, and Brooklyn, Raelynn is in the spotlight, and currently given to over 2000 babies each year. 
A combination of Rae and Lynn, Raelynn has several possible meanings. Lynn could be derived from the Welsh word llyn, meaning “lake” but it could also be a diminutive for Linda, meaning “pretty” in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Alternatively, it could mean “soft and tender”, from the Germanic “lind.” 
Rae, meanwhile, can be a short form of the Hebrew name Rachel, meaning “ewe”, or a feminine form of Ray meaning “advice and counsel” or “beam of light.” 
Put them together and you can have some fun with the meaning: tender ewe, pretty light, soft and tender counsel, ewe by the lake, pretty ewe, and so on. 
Whether Raelynn will grow further in popularity or whether it’s a name of the moment is yet to be seen, but it joins (and outranks) the new wave of smoosh-names in the charts, including Oaklynn, Gracelynn, Jazlyn, Braelyn and Emberlynn. 
If you enjoy the sounds or style of Raelynn but want something less popular, you could consider Layton, Romilly, Brighton, Wrenley, Avianna, Baylor, or Raven.

Raelynn

A unisex name, Rylan plays on many <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular baby names</a>, including Ryan and Riley. For boys, the trendy Rylan rose from its entry to the US Top 1000 in 1997 all the way up to Number 146 in 2011, though it has since declined. For girls, the name is a more recent entrant, debuting on the list in 2009.

Rylan

The third-most-popular spelling of this name, after Shea and Shay, is notable mostly for its connection to Game of Thrones. Shae is a "camp follower" -- AKA prostitute -- who becomes the loyal mistress to Tyrion Lannister while he is serving as Hand of the King.

Shae

Shaelyn

Momofgirls's list "4th Girl - List of names" of 32 great name ideas: Alia - Shaelyn!