Five Letter Girl Names

Phonetic spelling of Esme, popular in the UK.

This once-cool nickname-y name now belongs to the grandma generation.

Although this is a legitimate name, most people would associate it with a line of Volkswagens -- you'd be better off choosing a Mercedes.

Faine is a very unusual one-syllable option.

Croia is an unusual name with a loving meaning that jumped into the limelight when an Irish celebrity chose it for his daughter. Virtually unknown before, it's now among the most popular names in Ireland.

Rhett has never been more popular for boys, and it soon may be discovered by parents of girls. It shares a sound with such stylish girl names as Scarlett, Colette, and Juliette, making Rhett a viable option for a daughter.

The German name for girls Wylda was introduced to the world by British filmmaker/artist, director of Fifty Shades of Gray Sam Taylor-Wood and her actor husband, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who named their daughter Wylda Rae. Is that Wylda, which rhymes with Hilda, and might be found inhabiting a sod hut on the Kansas prairie in 1901? Or Wylda, sister of Wilder, destined for a future as a hell-raising singer in a rock band?

Moria was a nymph, sister of Tylus, who played a role in a very complicated story involving a serpent and a life-giving plant. It sounds like and will often be mistaken for the name Mariah, as in Carey.

Appropriate for a girl born between late September and late October, Libra suggests both balance and freedom.

With male version Leon taking off all over Europe, the female variations, from Leona to Leonie to Leone, are coming back into style too.

All baby names can be made more "creative" by putting a Z at the beginning instead of what's conventionally there: B or C or H, for instance. Zaley is an adorable entry in this group, also spelled Zailey or Zayley or Zalee. The Zaley spelling attains a measure of authenticity when seen as a feminine form of Zale, a Greek name with an ocean-related meaning.

Not, in fact, a spelling variation of Hazel (although it could be used as such). But Hazal is also a nature name — it refers to the dried, fallen leaves of Autumn.

Sounds just like its cognate Estelle, but with a more streamlined spelling.

Prune is a fruit name loved by the French, for whom it's a Plum equivalent. In the U.S., Plum works, but Prune is not a name we'd want to inflict on a child. Prunella is slightly more plausible.

Offbeat name sometimes heard in the African-American community.