Five Letter Girl Names

Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.

Likely boosted by its similarity to fast-rising names Rhea, Raya, and Freya, enough parents chose this sweet and simple name in 2023 to push it into the US Top 1000 for the first time.

A star in the constellation Triangulum Australe, also the name of a publishing imprint and an assisted living corporation, probably because it has that streamlined corporate I-could-be-a-car-name feel. Atria is the plural of the more familiar term for an entry hall or foyer, atrium.

The Rainy spelling puts this name firmly in word name territory, an appealing option following the rise of Stormi. Rainey is the most popular spelling of the name, given to about 50 girls last year, with half as many called Rainy and a quarter named Rainie, the spelling used by Andie MacDowell for her now-grown daughter.

Similar to Ivana but less personality-driven.

Both Karla and Carla are sliding down the ranks, though Karla remains far more popular in the USA than Carla.

This ancient Greek male name, well-used in Britain, also has an herbal quality that may explain its increasing use for girls. While as a name it rhymes with dazzle, the herb has a long a, making the pronunciation BAY-zel.

We'd opt for Fiona.

Glory sounds fresh and uplifting and a lot more modern than Gloria (which is definitely feeling the stirrings of a revival, though some might still view it as a terminal Old Lady name). Glory, as in "Glory Be" and "Old Glory," has both a religious and a patriotic flavor.

This obscure but simple name is related to a Latinized form of an ancient Greek appellation that receives a mention in both Plato's Dialogues and the New Testament. Timmea and Timmia have also been found.

Israeli-born singer Keren Ann introduced this traditional Hebrew name to this country, where it could well be mistaken for Karen.

Variant of Nyx or Nixie

Name of the Roman goddess of harvest and grain, appropriate for a fall baby. And a palindrome too!

A classic short form of Henrietta, also seen as a nickname for Mehetabel.

This simplified spelling is a bit too polyester, though this is also the authentic Slavic version of an Old Testament name that's being rediscovered.

Kyōka Izumi was a 19th-century surrealist author. He was a man, but a female character in the anime series Bungo Stray Dogs was named after him in full.

Term for a native-born Israeli, first brought to notice in Edna Ferber's 1929 novel Cimarron. Prickly pear has neen interpreted to mean tough on the outside, soft and sweet within.

Rayne is the unique name used for one of the girl sextuplets on the Sweet Home TV show.