Softer Sounding Names

While Irish Gaelic spellings add intrigue to a name, they'll prove endlessly confusing. Ailbhe is pronounced like the less intriguing but infinitely simpler Alva.

Irish Aileen and Scottish Eileen may be pronounced the same way or Aileen can be pronounced with a long a at the beginning. While neither is particularly stylish, Aileen is slightly more popular and has reversed its downward slide to inch upward in the past few years, perhaps thanks to its stylish A beginning. Nicknames for Aileen include Isla, Ayla, Lee and Lena.

Amy was a 1970s favorite, and French spelling Aimee peaked in the same decade.

This nature name hasn't escaped the hippie dippy air of others like River or Sky.

Aire is a poetic spelling of the word "air", once widely used in Middle English. Today, it's a brand new baby name, introduced to wider audiences when Kylie Jenner revealed it as the new name of her son (the baby previously known as Wolf). Aire is an exciting new choice in nature names and unisex names — one that is decidedly less materialistic than the homophone name Heir.

Old Irish name that's taken off in its Anglicized forms, mainly Ashlyn or Ashlynn. Nonetheless, this more traditional version debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Alaia, a fast riser in the US, sounds just like several other popular stylish names, many of them with different origins and meanings. There's Arabic Aaliyah, like the late singer, and the Hebrew Aliya and the Sanskrit Alaya. Azzedine Alaia is a high-fashion Parisian designer of Tunisian origin.

Alana, in all its various spellings, was at one time reserved for daughters of dads named Alan, but is now much more widespread. It came into prominence via model/actress/celeb spouse Alana Hamilton Stewart.

One of those names you may not even be aware of if you haven't been paying attention to recent naming trends, Alani was given to more than 700 baby girls in the US in one recent year, to be the second most popular feminization of Alan after Alana. It's certainly the most modern-sounding female version of Alan.

The name of a beautiful water fairy in Turkish mythology, who has the power to grant wishes and mend broken hearts. Alara is also a popular name in Armenia.

One of the many, many ways to spell Aliya. The "leia" component gives Aleia an extra pronunciation option, like Leia with an extra syllable.

Alena is a modern variant of Helen. Alena might also be a spelling twist on the Slavic Alina or a long form of Lena.

Alia is the most classic and feminine form of Ali, one of the 99 attributes of Allah within Islam. Meaning "supreme, exalted, high, sublime", it is pretty, powerful and spirited.

Alice is a classic literary name that's both strong and sweet, ranking in the US Top 100 and popular throughout the western world. Alice is derived from the Old French name Aalis, a diminutive of Adelais that itself came from the Germanic name Adalhaidis, which is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements aþala, meaning "noble," and haidu, "kind, appearance, type."

Also seen as Alyenor and Eleonore, this is an old French name dating back to the Arthurian romances and still heard today.

A short form of Alexandra and Alice used everywhere from Russia to Spain. A fresh alternative to Allie.