Three Syllable Girl Names

An underused Biblical name, probably because it's so tightly identified with the Queen of gospel singers, Mahalia Jackson. Other variations include Mahalah, Mahayla, Mahila, Mahilia, Mehalia, Mahali, and Mahalya.

A nouveau elaboration of Arya that may have also been influenced by the rise of -ani ending names such as Leilani.

There are so many variations of this name in circulation, it makes it hard for any of them to feel as special as they might.

Albertine and Alberta are old-fashioned feminizations ala Geraldine and Roberta. This is the kind of name that sounds very dowdy until a hip celebrity chooses it, at which point we don't know how we missed its coolness all this time.

New name in the pool of international names, added by lovely supermodel Alyona Osmanova.

This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.

The ancient German name Adelheidis gave rise to both Adelaide and Adelheid. While Adelaide is more popular and better known internationally, Adelheid is still used occasionally in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. The German pronunciation is not that different from Adelaide, with a soft h and a long I sound instead of a long A in the last syllable.

Malayah first appeared on the charts in 1994 and has steadily climbed its way into the Top 1000. It's a spelling variation of Malaya, which derives from the same root as Malaysia — which in addition to being a country name, is a baby name that ranks in the Top 600.

Dayana is an Hispanic variant of Diana, notably belonging to Venezuelan actress, model and producer Dayana Mendoza. It also belongs to a South American orchid whose name derives from the surname of English botanist John Day. Its use can be partly attributed to the popularity of Diana, the Princess of Wales.

In Sikhism, ajooni is the concept of divine formlessness — a tenet of the religion as Sikhs do not worship idols.

This obscure antiquated name is finding new life thanks to The Witcher series, whose heroine is named Princess Cirilla, nickname Ciri. The feminine form of Cyril, Cirilla has now surpassed the original Cyrilla in usage, given to 40 baby girls in the US in 2021 vs. only 10 called Cyrilla. We eonder how many parents will call their daughters Ciri.

Rather than confusing things with Elexis, we'd stick with the original Alexis version.

Darina comes from the Slavic element "dar" which means gift; the name is found in Czech, Bulgarian, and Slovak cultures and translates easily for English speakers. Darina may also be an Anglicization of the Irish Dairine, which means "fruitful."

Meilani may sound like a Hawaiian name, kind of a mashup of Leilani and Melanie, but it's actually an invention by that style-maven JWoww, AKA Jenni Farley of Jersey Shore, who used it for her daughter. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Antares is a star in the Scorpio constellation, making it one of the perfect names for Scorpio babies . It is the fifteenth-brightest star in the night sky, appearing as a reddish star when viewed with the naked eye. This reddish tint is what lent the star its name, which means "equal to Ares". As the God of War, Ares is associated with the red planet Mars.The sky's other name is Alpha Scorpii, but Antares is a far more romantic choice.

Clarimond is related to the Occitan name Esclarmonde, and is probably the more wearable of the two variations.

Andromache is a name found scattered throughout ancient literature. She was Hector's long-suffering wife in The Iliad and The Odyssey, featured in The Trojan Women and Andromache by Euripides, then later appeared in Shakepeare's Troilus and Cressida, and Jean Racine's 1667 play Andromaque. It is not likely to make many appearances in the modern world.

Has a gemlike glow, as in Sapphire.

This Anglo-Saxon gem was borne by a few medieval women including Saint Merewen, Abbess of Romsey Abbey. It has also been used in literature, for example in Kit Berry's Stonewylde series. Merewen has the mellifluous vowels and Celtic charm of other current favorites like Elowen and Meredith.

South African musician Unathi Msengana brings this unusual choice to a wider audience.