Surname Names for Baby Girls

Sisley may look like a modern coinage, building on the fashionable -ley ending, but it's actually a medieval English variant of Cicely or Cecily, which in turn is a variation of Cecilia. Also found as an English surname, from the same root.

An Irish surname choice that could very well make its way into first name territory.

Yardley, a surname redolent of British soaps and perfume, was used for her daughter by Megyn Kelly.

Upbeat Scottish surname reminiscent of Kenzie. Kedzie Avenue is a major North-South street in Chicago, named after real estate developer John Hume Kedzie.

Larimer is an occupational surname that originally denoted someone who made and sold spur bits, along with other equine hardware. It could be a fitting choice for a child of a horse-enthusiast.

An intriguing Cornish place name and surname derived from the Cornish name Sulien.

The 'ley' ending makes this British surname name ripe for consideration as a feminine girls' name. Brinsley joins such sisters as Kinsley and Tinsley.

McCarthy is one of the most common Irish surnames, all fair game as first names for American babies, especially baby girls!

The origins of the nom de plume Voltaire are obscure - it is believed that it is an anagram of Arovetli (the Latin form of his surname Arouet). But the name was also chosen for its connotations of speed and daring (think volts and vaulting). American anarchist Voltairine de Cleyre was named after the French philosopher - giving this feminisation a double punch of intellectualism.

In Greek mythology, a surname of Athena and an epithet of Europa.

A dashing French surname name most famously borne by Henry David Thoreau, an American naturalist, writer and philosopher who influenced such notable figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. The most common modern American pronunciation is "thor-OH", with emphasis on the final syllable, although Thoreau himself pronounced it "THOR-oh".

This rare English surname's most famous bearers are Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie: the four siblings who are the protagonists of C. S. Lewis' Narnia books. It probably derives from Pevensey, the name of the bay in East Sussex, England where William the Conqueror landed in 1066.

A unique form of the already-rare name Leontine. Leotine has been recorded as a name a handful of times throughout history, both as a given name and a surname.

Ballet dancer Misty Copeland may draw more parents to consider her surname for a baby girl — which at last count was 29% female.

Faraday is a whimsical Scottish surname that works equally well as a first name for girls or boys.

A truly gender-neutral surname name used equally between the sexes.

With a fun, lively sound and a great namesake in programming pioneer, computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper, this is one of the coolest new surname names for girls.

Brand-new surname-name rising for both genders.

Most often heard as an Italian surname, this might be an unusual yet musical option. While it's not among the traditional Italian names for girls, it can fill that role.

Along with Brenley, a rising surname-style name for girls.