1798 Four Letter Girl Names

Ties to the unfortunate Mama are now unraveling, leaving Cass or Cassie to stand on its own as a fresher sounding Cathy or Kate. But with so many lovely long forms, we'd advise keeping this as a nickname.

Many variations of Jessica, including Jessie and Jessa, are used on their own, but Jess is an exception, given to only a handful of baby girls last year. But Jess is certainly the name that many Jessicas are called.

A name with something for everyone: for romantics, it's a beautiful Indonesian island; for teckies, it's a computer programming language.

Like many single-syllable R names right now, Raye is on the rise.

A nickname for names such as Nina, Nicole, and any others containing the "ni" element. Olivia Rodrigo's character Nina "Nini" Salazar-Roberts in the High School Musical series has made it fresh for a new generation.

Isla is a contemporary gem, so why not Isle? As an English word name, it takes you straight to the literal definition — a small island — which could have an appealing, aspirational ring to it, for those wanting to raise independent children.

Eire was a mythological goddess who named Ireland after herself. Rarely used today, even in Eire.

Asya has dual origins: it is both the Turkish word for Asia (the continent), and a short form of Anastasia in Russian and Bulgarian. Beyond that, it is a beautiful example of a "travelling light" name, in the style of Aria: short, elegant, and usable across different cultures.

A bit masculine in feel.

Ames is that jewel of a name that's simple and familiar while at the same time being unusual and rare. With gender neutral surname names ending in S trending today -- think Brooks, Wells, Oakes -- Ames can make a perfect update on Amy or Amanda.

Sleek, unisex surname rarely heard for girls -- which could be seen as an asset.

Simple yet meaningful Iranian name that would make an excellent import to the English-speaking world.

Bean is a unisex word name with a cute and quirky feel. Early reader series Ivy and Bean features a young girl named Bean, short for Bernice Blue. It has appeal as a casual nickname or middle name, but it's harder to imagine as a given name.

Sleek and sophisticated single-syllable choice that has NEVER been in the Top 1000, though sister name Paige has ranked since the mid 1950s. Though off her peak, Paige is still in the Top 200. Along with Poppy, Patience, and Plum, Page is one of the girl names that start with P that are also words.

Occasionally heard in the 1920s and 30s, along with siblings Bina and Mina; Vienna would be a more modern choice.

Originally a short form of names beginning with either of the elements gêr "spear" or gisil "pledge, hostage". Now usually a short form of Gertrud.

Saar is a very popular girls' name in The Netherlands, where it's an abbreviated form of Sarah. The Dutch feminine Saar, pronounced sahr, is distinct from the Hebrew place-name Saar used for boys in Israel.

This extremely unusual homonym of Leo might prove both confusing and intriguing. The Welsh double L fascinates English speakers.