Three Letter Girl Names

A moderately common surname in two of the world's most populous countries. Helen Pai is one of the main writer of the TV series Gilmore Girls.

The surname of enterprising journalist Nellie Bly and poet Robert Bly makes a simple, modern, and upbeat sounding choice for either a boy or a girl.

This nature name hasn't escaped the hippie dippy air of others like River or Sky.

Taj is a cool new name with ancient Eastern roots. While Taj can work for either sex, Taja might be a feminine alternative.

This unusual spelling of a simple name is notable as the name of dancer Cyd Charisse, whose given name was Tula Ellice but whose brother's mispronunciation of Sis begat Sid. Famed dance teacher Arthur Freed varied it to Cyd.

Lex is still used mostly for boys, but like Alex, may cross over with the rising popularity of all long forms of the name. Lexi is another, more feminine option.

Angliziced form of the Cornish name Ia. According to legend, the Cornish saint Ia was an Irish princess who sailed across the sea to Cornwall on a leaf. She was martyred and buried at the spot where the church of St Ives (called Porth Ia - "St Ia’s cove" - in Cornish) now stands. Ive may be an anglicized form of her name or a variant of the masculine Ivo or Yves, "yew".

Not one but two Spice Girls are named Mel, which led to it briefly being more popular for girls than boys in the 90s and early 00s, but it has now fallen out of favor for both sexes.

In Greek mythology, Sao was one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the sea god Nereus. A moon of Neptune is named in her honor.

Gry is becoming a popular name in Denmark where it is currently in the Top 50. Despite its beautiful meaning, the similarity of its sound to the English word gruel is unlikely to make this a winning choice for English-speakers.

An early and still quintessentially androgynous name, now supplanted by thousands of fresher options.

The rural Imo State in southeast Nigeria is named after the Imo River, which runs through it. An obscure but intriguing possibility as a first name.

If Caroline is too classic and Callie too cutesy, Cal might work as a cool alternative. Well established and currently in the Top 1000 for boys, it has potential as a gender neutral option too.

Peg is a nostalgic turn-of-the-last-century nickname, sociable but slight. Like near-identical twin Peggy, Peg is in mothballs.

One of several three-letter U-a names -- Uda, Ula, Uma, Una -- take your pick.

Sydney may be by far the more popular spelling of this name for girls, but it's also predominantly female. Over 1200 baby girls were named Sydney in 2021 vs. 37 baby boys. Contrast that with Sidney, a spelling used for about 150 babies of each gender. That makes Syd the more common spelling for girls of this cute short form.