Five Letter Girl Names

Save this for your next run to Starbucks.

Dynamic and creative; common in Africa, challenging here. Pronunciation isn't as difficult as you'd guess, but everyone will have to ask. Many favor n-GO-zee, but a native speaker tells us that it is closer to n-GAW-zee, and we've found at least one n-GAH-zee, too.

Possibility for a girl born under one of the water signs -- Cancer, Pisces, or Scorpio.

Tashi is a Tibetan word meaning "good fortune," and is also used as a given name and surname in Tibet and Bhutan.

This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, played on screen by Cate Blanchett.

Shawn is one name that's become less unisex and more distinctly male over time in all its spellings, given to only 14 baby girls and over 500 boys in the US in the most recent year counted. But at its peak in the early 1970s, it was a Top 200 baby name for girls in the US, given to nearly 2000 baby girls... and 12,000 boys in this spelling alone.

Alair is a lighter, more unusual form of Hilary.

Halia is one of Hawaii's top baby names, in the Top 50 for girls in 2021. But it's rare outside its native Hawaii, given to only 57 baby girls in the US last year.

This affectionate nickname was historically used for children with strong pink undertones, and was given as a first name several times throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. We prefer it as a pet name these days, or perhaps as a nickname for the stronger and more striking name Pink.

Currently gender-neutral in the US, although boys have the edge, as they do with Lane. The Y spelling makes it a bit more feminine.

This name of the final service on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is sometimes given symbolically to girls born on that day.

Though every Spanish student knows that the male classic is pronounced HY-me, for girls this is a straight homonym for Jamie, a favorite ambisexual 1970s nickname name. Another way to think of it is as a variation of the French "J'aime" (I love).

Ilene might be a phonetic way to spell Aileen or Eileen, though in the end people may have more luck pronouncing the original.

A Finnish word name for the lily of the valley flower.

The Indian name Saran is used primarily in Punjab among the Sikh population. As a West African name, Saran has its origins in the Jula language, spoken in Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, and Mali.

Traditionally a male name, Leith now can make a highly unusual, strong but soft, and intriguing girls' possibility.

Semaj is part of a special club of names created by spelling other names backward (meet the president, Nevaeh). Semaj is a reversal of James and is used primarily for boys. But ever since James became fair game for girls, so did Semaj — it's now unisex in usage.

Similar to the floral name Aster, this spelling derives separately from Old Provençal astur "hawk") and from the Icelandic name elements as ("god") and þor ("thunder").

Takes the priss out of Priscilla.

A rarely used Slavic name until the Czech-born ex-Mrs. Trump took it over the top. Daughter's name Ivanka adds a dollop of charm.