1798 Four Letter Girl Names

Arke was the twin sister of the Greek rainbow goddess Iris. Arke is often associated with the seldom-seen, faded second rainbow. She had iridescent wings, which Zeus eventually took off her after she betrayed the Gods of Olympus. Arke can also be spelled Arce, but given the unfortunate mispronunciation that the 'c' spelling could lead to, we recommend you stick with this spelling.

Your teenager will either love you or hate you for choosing this name. Better: Fox.

Itza is a rare Itzel variant that shares its colorful meaning. Itza also connects to the Itza people of Guatemala and their language of the same name. Chichen Itza was a city built by the Mayans in what is now the Yucatán of Mexico.

An old-fashioned Slovene nickname for Gertruda — the Jerca variation is considered more stylish.

The short O variation of Tomi (homophonous with Tommy) was used for dozens of daughters in midcentury America, putting it firmly in grandma name territory.

The name recently given to their daughter by Susan and Robert Downey, Jr. is pronounced like Avery and may be seen as a kree8tiv spelling variation of that popular unisex name or a girlish short form of Avraham, the Biblical Hebrew form of Abraham.

Unlike Pamela and Melanie, Mela feels fresh and unusual.

Alda's brother name Aldo has been a mainstay of the U.S. popularity chart for decades now, and the related Alden is soaring up as well. This version has never really caught on. (Maybe it's the association with Alan Alda: great actor, unlikely namesake for a little girl.) However, there is possible hope now that Alba and Alma are on the rise. Aida and Arden are more familiar alternatives.

Many C forms of this name are becoming more popular, from Cassia for girls to Cassian, Cassius, and Caspian for boys, so Kass feels more possible today too. And Kassia and Kassiani are both intriguing longer forms.

One of the top Icelandic girl names. It's very pretty — if you know how to pronounce it.

Troy shot to popularity as a first name in tandem with that of 1960s heartthrob Troy (born Merle) Donahue; its image has now, thanks in part to the Brad Pitt-starring epic, Troy, receded back to conjuring up the ancient site of the Trojan wars. A handful of baby girls also receive the name each year, down from a peak of 119 births in 1961.