Names That Mean Female

Orsola is chic in Italy in a way that Ursula is not in the U.S. And English speakers will inevitably hear this chic, sleek name as Ursula, condemned to purgatory as the name of the hideous sea-witch who terrorized Disney's Little Mermaid.

Sister is an old-timey nickname-name for girls, ranking in the Top 1000 as a proper name for girls until the beginning of the 20th century. But more often, Sister was used as a nickname in the truest sense of the word, not a short form ala Kathy but a nickname in the way that Chip and Bud are. Or maybe Junior is a more appropriate name analogy: Sister was sometimes the nickname given to the only girl in a family of boys, so literally a descriptive word name like Junior.

With its slightly cocky feel, this well-used surname is not often heard as a first.

Not as common as brother Sergio, but still quite frequently heard in the Hispanic community, as in Bolivian singer Sergia Llanos.

Fabia is one of several pleasant international-accented female versions of Fabian.

Aviator is equally appropriate for a girl, of course, but lovers of Beatrix and Bellatrix might appreciate the spiky sound of this unique occupational name.

Almost exclusively associated with opera diva Leontyne Price. If you want to use the suddenly-stylish Leontyne, we'd recommend the French Leontine spelling.

Vindemiatrix is the third-brightest star in Virgo. Located 110 lightyears away, it marks the eastern lip of the large semi-circular pattern known as the "Bowl of Virgo", which is visible in spring. First morning visibility was a sign that it the time to pick the grapes.

Asella is ultimately derived from the Latin word asinus, meaning "donkey." As a word, asella would have been used to refer to a small female donkey.

All the Taron-related names have various uncertain and perhaps-unrelated origins. The Irish girls' name Tara is the most widely-used of the bunch, sitting at the bottom of the Top 1000 after ranking in the Top 100 from 1970 through 1990. In its heyday, Tara was occasionally used for boys too: about 20 boys vs. more than 5000 girls in 1970. Taryn, which you might think of as a Tara-Karyn hybrid, was given to nearly 200 girls last year, placing it right below the Top 1000. Homonym Taron is actually more usually a boys' name, thanks to two notable modern bearers: Welsh actor Taron Egerton and South African-born filmmaker Taron Lexton. It may be a variation of Taran, which may be a shortening of Taranis, the name of the Celtic thunder god. Taron and Taran were both given to about 30 boys last year but no girls. But any of these variations or spellings could be used for either sex.

Slightly awkward girl's version of a straightforward male name.

Cheever has a nice, cheery sound, literary ties to novelist and short writer John Cheever and also, sideways, to the Edward Arlington Robinson narrative poem "Miniver Cheevy," as well as a subliminal association with the desirable word achiever: all strong pluses.

Authentic French spelling of Leontine.

You're probably better off using Shepherd or Shepard on a daughter rather than trying to feminize it.

Although it has no doubt been used as a name by someone somewhere, Girl likely appears on the US extended baby names list most years as a kind of holding term, where parents have not yet decided on the name so the baby is instead recorded as "Girl", "Boy" or "Unknown".

Born by Elisabeth Moss in Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch. Like many things in the Wes Anderson universe, this name just transcends reality.