One Syllable Names for Girls

Meg, perennially one of the Little Women, is a Margaret short form that manages to be neither quite in nor quite out of style. Meg is sleeker and more sophisticated than Maggie, more contemporary than Peg, more stylish than Megan, and still one of the best diminutives of Margaret.

Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne.

Ala is the Igbo earth goddess whose symbol is the crescent moon. In a very different vein, Ala can be a diminutive for Alicja or Alexandra or really any other name with an A at both ends and an L in the middle. Ala is also an Arabic name meaning "excellence, supremacy"; could be confused as a homonym for Allah, or as part of a phrase like a la mode.

Y is a very rare initial, and this feisty mini-name packs a double punch with its spiky final Z. Inez or Inez are the more familiar spellings of this chic name, which is related to Agnes and could be an interesting way to honor a relative with that name.

Kick is a word name that some parents might use for their baby in utero — akin to Bean or Booboo — but it's increasingly being heard as a word name especially used in the middle, a la Jeremy Sisto for son Bastien. The Kennedy family has historically called daughters Kathleen "Kick" for short, and Kick can work as a nickname for a whole range of names male and female, from Nicholas to Keturah.

Short, but still kind of a mouthful.

Aza is an excellent Arabic choice: elegant and simple. Too simple for you? Consider Aziza.

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.

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy name for girls here too. You may be surprised to know that Claude was in fairly regular use for American girls in the 1880's and nineties, reaching as high as 553 in 1880.

Anglicized variant of Niamh.

A multicultural unisex choice that peaked for girls at the same time as Amy. Ami is also the French word for "friend."

The tree, not the charred bit of soot in the fireplace, usually used for boys, but, as a short form of Ashley, works for girls too.

Less than ten percent of the babies named Rhys are girls, whereas Reese is given five times more often to girls than to boys, thanks to Ms. Witherspoon. It's a sleek and attractive name, but one that benefits from two accepted spellings that help clarify its gender identity.

The young male star Shia LaBeouf has given this name a male image, but many would consider its sound soft and feminine.

A traditional Arabic name with cool short form Khai, which was used as a standalone by Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik in 2020.

This regal French name is a descendant of the Latin Regina, as is the Spanish Reina. Reine is also a male name in Scandinavia.

Zoe is one of those popular names that's inspired many spelling variations, and Xoe is one of the new ones. A simple name sure to attract a lot of attention.

Although it's rarely given in its own right, Ale is a very common nickname for Latinate variations of Alexandra, including Alejandra and Alessandra.

Short and feminine, Ria has a rhythmic flow.

High-kicking cohort of Coco, Gigi, Fifi, Kiki, et al.