1798 Four Letter Girl Names

An appealing, usable Japanese choice, since there are so many familiar ori/ory-ending Western names.

A Roman name that's unused by English speakers today, but might appeal as a shorter, lighter alternative to Aurelia. The Latin vocabulary word aula also meant "hall".

Dodo is one of the few names of the cute repeating-sounds genre that is not alas so cute, being a slang word for someone brainless as well as the name of the infamous extinct bird. Dot, Dottie, Dory, or Thea are all preferable.

While in Armenia, Italy and Nigeria Saro is regarded as a masculine name, in English Saro is a rare feminine name, familiar because of the old English folk song Pretty Saro, which was rediscovered in the 20th century, having been preserved through Appalachian oral tradition. In the song, Saro is a girl whom the singer has had to leave behind in his home country after emigrating, which might give an indication as to how it came to be found in North America. Saro in this case is generally thought to be a diminutive of Sarah.

Nabisco has never revealed the origins of their sandwich cookie brand name, but the prevailing theory is that it was derived from Oreodaphne, a genus in the laurel family.

A heroic figure in Exodus, Puah was a midwife during the Egyptian captivity who disobeyed Pharaoh's order to kill all male Jews at birth.

Featured in several anime series.

Time was, even C-starting Catherines who called themselves Kate spelled it with a K, but Cate Blanchett changed all. Cate is now as acceptable as (but not as well used as) Kate. Cait might be short for Caitlin.

Pronounced 'breed', this is among the common Irish names for girls in the Emerald Isle, but would have major pronunciation problems in the US. Better to stick with Bridget.

One of the boys' names that sounds fresher today for a girl. Second-best-spelling for boys, Neal, may work even better for girls.

Probably intended as a variant spelling of Kyle, this German word (meaning "wedge") is not used as a name there.

Concise Nada is a cross-cultural choice with pleasant meanings. In Arabic, it is derived from nadan meaning "dew, moisture", though other possible translations include "caller" and "goodness". As a Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian name, it means "hope".

Jaxx (and Jax, Jaxson, Jaxsen, Jaxton et all) is now on the Top 1000 for boys, and while we don't foresee this becoming anywhere near as popular for girls, it was also found on the female side of the ledger. Jaxxie, anyone?

While we still can't see Hilda coming back any time soon, it's conceivable that this Italian version could ride the coattails of Ella, Elena and Ellery to broader popularity.