Three Letter Girl Names

Homophonous with Mae and May, the beautiful (literally) Mei is poised to climb the charts. The hero of the 2022 Disney/Pixar film Turning Red is a Chinese-Canadian teen named Meilin "Mei" Lee, which may boost the name ever further.

Iga is virtually unknown in the US but ranks among the Top 1000 girls' names in the UK, undoubtedly because of the number of Polish immigrants there. It is one of those nickname-names, like Isa and Ella, that can stand in for a wide range of proper names such as Jadwiga or Hedviga.

Uma is a sweet, strong name for a Hindu goddess... and a Hollywood one. But as popular as Uma Thurman is, other parents have not yet picked up on her name, making it a rarity.

A short and sweet Spanish and Portuguese name, meaning "sun". Sol has been used on its own for centuries (it belongs to one of the daughters in the 10th-11th century Spanish epic poem "El Cantar de mio Cid"), and it is also found as a short form of the Marian names María del Sol and María de la Soledad, and of the related names Marisol and Soledad. A famous bearer is Argentine TV presenter (María) Sol Perez.

We've seen Beatrice and Beatrix climb in popularity, along with traditional nickname Bea. And now there's Bee, giving it a buzzy nature world spin, plus a tie to popular late night TV''s Samantha Bee, not to mention Aunt Bee on the old The Andy Griffith Show TV show. Bee can theoretically be short for any girl names starting with B.

In 2010, baby boys named Ari outnumbered baby girls 4 to 1; today, there are nearly equal numbers of boys and girls named Ari. And that's only counting the babies who receive Ari as a full name. Ari can also be short for not only Ariel but Aria, Arya, Ariana, and any other name starting with Ari. Ari entered the US Top 1000 for girls in 2016.

This suffix is used as an independent name, but doesn't your little girl deserve more?

Eos -- that's pronounced with a short e like eros without the r -- is the Greek Titan of the dawn. Any ancient name with a sleek modern feel has definite revival possibilities. Eos could be an inventive way to honor grandma Dawn.

While traditionally pronounced as a homonym for Lee, Glee actress Lea Michele pronounces her name like Leah, and it may also rhyme with Freya. Regardless of your preferred pronunciation, it's interesting to note that Lea has always charted in the US Top 1000, despite coming close to the bottom a few times, making it one of the girl names starting with L that both fits in and stands out.

In Japan the lotus is the Buddhist symbol of purity and perfection. In the US, Ren can also be short for Lauren or Renee, but it could be misspelt as the more popular Wren.

Sky may be a bit hippie-ish, but it's bright and sunny nonetheless. Sky rejoined the Top 1000 in 2013 after spending many years off the list. Sky was the choice of magician David Copperfield for his daughter, born in 2010.

Kay, a cigarette-smoking, nightclubbing name of the 1930's, could be ready for a comeback along with cousins May/Mae and Ray/Rae.

Kia is a sweet, simple name that is now, unfortunately, associated with a Korean car label. Better today: Nia, Thea, or Keira.

Ula is among the unusual U names that may have a range of origins and meanings, from the Celtic one given here to its possibilities as a short form of Eulalia or Ursula. Ulla is a Scandinavian name usually an abbreviation of Ursula or Ulrika.

Now that Faye is back on the Top 1000 after a decades-long absence, its spelling variations are being revived as well. Fae was given to nearly as many baby girls last year as Fay and may be especially attractive as a middle name option.

A lovely name with many possible meanings depending on the characters used. A common feature of Chinese names for both sexes.

Nox was the Roman goddess of the night, equivalent to the Greek Nyx, from which her name was derived. Although identical in sound, Nox is unrelated to the Scottish masculine name Knox.

Simple and yet distinctive, Ara is a mythological name of a famously handsome king. Although it originated as a boys' name, in the contemporary US, it's now much more commonly used for girls.

Most female Rays used to spell their names Rae, but now the Ray Charles, ray-of-sunshine way is cool for both genders.

Jia might be considered a spelling variation of Gia, an Italian feminine form of John as a shortening of Gianna or Giovanna. Jia might also be the anglicized form of many Chinese names, which have different meanings including home or family. If you're looking for girl names starting with J that sound unusual yet familiar, this might be one possibility, though many Americans will think it's spelled Gia.