Three Syllable Girl Names

Rosaline, which can be pronounced to rhyme with mine or mean in its final syllable, has a deeper, richer pedigree than it might seem. Rosaline was used twice by Shakespeare and was also used in the poetry of Edmund Spenser. While we prefer the stronger-sounding Rosalind or Rosamund, Rosaline deserves another contemporary look.

Likely a feminised form of Areli (one of Gad’s sons according to Genesis), Arely is a Spanish girls’ name with Hebrew roots meaning "the voice of God." Most common among Spanish-speakers (and a fairly popular name in Spain), Arely might be a great choice for parents looking for a name with Biblical roots that still sounds trendy and feminine and wears well across cultures.

An English innovation based on Latin solaris "of the sun", or on its English cognate "solar". Toyota used it for one of its cars, and Mila Kunis played a character by the name in the 2010 post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli.

This could make a hauntingly evocative name for an American child, striking the perfect balance of the unusual and the familiar. Imara's meaning adds further appeal placing it among the special class of girl names that mean strong, brave, or powerful.

Marilla is a names that's familiar via its resemblance to Mary and variations, but also distinctive: It hasn't been on the Top 1000 since the 1800s and was given to only 27 baby girls last year.

Though this is a popular name for men in the Bible, today it's used with this spelling for nearly equal numbers of girls and boys. The Azaria variation is much more often given to girls.

Enola was a precursor of Nevaeh: It's "alone" spelled backwards. But the name Enola is newly in the spotlight thanks to a Netflix film.

Charity is one of the Big Three abstract virtue names, along with Hope and Faith, though far less widely used than the others. But as Faith, Grace and Hope grow more common, some parents are beginning to look at the more unusual three-syllable choices like Verity, Amity, Clarity and Charity, which sound much fresher and also have that pleasingly rhythmic 'y'-ending sound.

The menu of usable month names seems to expand every, well, month, with such choices as November, October, and January joining more established names like April, May, June and August. Logical November nicknames include Nova, Novi, or Ember, making this a natural (if adventurous) choice for a baby girl. November is also, obviously, one of the perfect names for November babies.

A royal name in ancient Egypt that's never quite made it to the modern world, though nickname Cleo is widely used. Other now-extinct Cleopatra diminutives, including Cleora and Cleola, achieved some popularity in the early 20th century when there was a crazy for all things Egypt-related as the ancient tombs were opened and artifacts displayed. In the US, Cleopatra became a popular silent film in 1917 starring Theda Bara.

Fernanda is very popular in the Latino community, with a lot more charm than its male counterpart. The standard nickname is Nanda, and variations include Ferdinanda and Fernandina.

Ainara is among the Top 100 girls' names in Spain and is just starting to take off in the US.

Hildegard is an ancient name that sounds it, but it does have sweet short forms Hildie and Hilda to recommend it, as well as several illustrious historical bearers.

Though most Buttercups are of the bovine persuasian, this humble flower name was given to the lovely princess in "The Princess Bride." If Buttercup still feels too lowly for you, you might consider Clover, Daffodil, or Daisy.

Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman. It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer.

Also an Arabic boy name, Inayat feels fashionable for a girl because of the similarity to rising girl name Inaya.

Intriguing Old Welsh name being revived there, but would have major pronunciation problems here.

Bell-like and original.

Pre-Thomasina female form of Thomas, now seen as more literary and upscale British. In Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native, a leading character is Thomasin Yeobright.

Tennis-related name popular throughout Europe that's never caught fire here.