Girl Names for Adopted Daughter

Annika is a surprise hit of recent years, inspired by golfer Sorenstam; for Trekkies, it was also the name of a 'Star Trek:Voyager' character. Some people's first memory of it might be as Pippi Longstocking's friend. A nice namesake for an ancestral Ann.

The e-addition takes the name from slightly hippie-ish nature name to the place name of a picturesque island off the coast of Scotland, and for baby namers it's by far the more popular spelling.

Though it sounds like a variation of the Irish Maeve, Maeva actually hails from Tahiti, and is currently enjoying a wave of popularity in France, where it ranks in the Top 100, possibly via popular French folk singer and actress Maeva Meline.

Ezra is a biblical favorite for boys that's been making inroads into the girls' Top 1000 since 2018 and it's easy to see why. With its soft sounds and -a ending, it holds the same appeal as Noa, Sasha, Micah, and Luka do: short, sweet, and solid. 2024 saw Ezra climb 61 places up the US charts, placing it just outside the Top 700.

The smooth, attractive Ariana is on the rise along with the fame of pop princess Ariana Grande. Also famous is twin spelling Arianna, which is associated with Greek-born online presence Arianna Huffington. Both Ariana and Arianna are widely used names and are equally acceptable spellings.

Because of Gwyneth Paltrow, this has almost become a one-person name, but not in the prohibitive there's-only-one-Oprah sense. Also seen as Gwenyth and Gweneth, this mellifluous appellation is definitely becoming more and more appreciated by American parents-- enough to land it on this year's Top 1000.

While Michael is better known as one of the most popular boy names of the last century, you might be surprised to learn that it featured in the Top 1000 names for girls in the US, from 1938 until 1994. In the late 1970s and early 80s, during the heyday of The Waltons, which starred actress Michael Learned, it reached as high as the 300s

Haven is a recently invented safe-harbor name that appeals to an increasing number of parents who don't want to voyage quite as far as Heaven.

Bryony is an unusually strong plant name --the bryony is a wild climbing vine with green flowers --that caught on in the U.K. before sprouting here. The name of the young character in the Ian McEwan novel Atonement is spelled Briony, which is the variation and Bryony the original.

Scottish Marjorie and her English twin Margery were early twentieth century favorites that date back to medieval times, when it was popular among the royals. They were at their height in the 1920s, when they were seen as more lively versions of the old standard. Marjorie was always the preferred spelling, in the Top 25 from 1920 to 1927.

Through all the years when Betty, Betsy, Beth, Liz, and Lizzie were the Elizabethan nicknames of choice, the bubblier Libby was set aside, but today it may be the most modern of all—it has already made a strong comeback in England and Wales, where it ranks Number 139.

Hollis is a surname-name used quietly for both genders. At last count, it was given to over 200 baby boys and 160 baby girls in the US. Now a Top 1000 name for boys, it could well break into the charts for girls too in the coming years.

A place name with plenty of history, Memphis is associated with the place in Ancient Egypt where many of the pyramids were built, and with the bluesy US city that was named after it. With its lovely meaning and cool, musical vibe, it is currently in the US Top 500 names for boys.

Deriving from the Greek form of the Egyptian name Men-nefer, Memphis has been notably borne by rapper Memphis Bleek and by Dutch footballer, known mononymously as Memphis (who likely inspired its brief appearance in The Netherlands Top 1000 in 2015). In the US, it is a unisex name, however, it is used three times more often for boys, with 484 receiving the name in 2024.

This name of a tragic figure in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Minos, sister of Ariadne and wife of Theseus, has a mysterious and intriguing appeal, and would make a dramatic choice.

An attractive and now underused nature name belonging to a tree whose wood is prized for its dark color and dense texture, which shines when polished. Ebony joined the most popular girl names list in the US in the early 1970s, peaked in 1982 at #132, and dropped back below the Top 1000 in 2006.

This a-ending feminine form of Adrian, from the northern Italian city of Adria, is a soft and lovely Italian choice. It appears as a character in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

This appealing multi-cultural name, pronounced KYE, is beginning to be used for girls as well as boys. Among its many derivations and meanings: "sea" in Hawaiian, "forgiveness" in Japanese, "willow tree" in Navajo, "food" in Maori, and "earth" in Scandinavian. For girls, it debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2010.

While Micah is traditionally a boy name, it is now increasingly used for girls too, likely because it works as an alternative to Michaela, Maia, and McKenna. Still, Micaiah, the name from which Micah is derived, is a unisex name in the Bible, so it seems plausible that its contracted form might be used as such too.

Taryn is an offshoot of Tara that has a variety of meanings in a variety of cultures. In 1953, Taryn was presented to the public as an invention by actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian for their daughter's name, at which point it gained a short spurt of popularity. Taryn returned to the Top 1000 in 1974, peaked in the 1980s, then disappeared from the charts back in the 2010s.

A short, breezy name with a sophisticated yet upbeat image, that doesn't betray its Irish roots. Bree first came to notice here in 1971 via the complex prostitute character in the movie Klute, which earned Jane Fonda an Oscar. More recently, it was tied to the character of Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives.