Frilly and Edgy Girl Names

Pomona

Latin

"apple"

This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.

Raleigh

English

"meadow of deer"

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Roxanne

Persian

"dawn"

Best known as the beautiful heroine to whom Cyrano de Bergerac says, "Your name is like a golden bell". After peaking in 1954, the name dipped out of the Top 1000 in 2012. It returned at Number 986…

Suzie

Short form of Suzanne, Hebrew

"lily"

Suzie (and Susie) was the one of the It Nicknames of midcentury America, right up there with Debbie and Kathy. Suzie and all her sisters are off their popularity peak now, but not forever. Look for…

Maple

English tree name from Latin

"maple tree; tree of the Acer genus"

Maple is one of those sweet-spot word names that sounds so almost name-like that it doesn't feel outlandish or strange, despite its relative newness as a given name. Just as Juniper is adjacent to…

Este

Diminutive of Esther, Persian

"star"

Este -- think Esme with a t -- comes to us via one of the rocking sisters in the musical group Haim. For long best known as the Esther diminutive used by cosmetics queen Estee Lauder, Este is a…

Florens

Variant of Florence, “flourishing”

The name of the lead character in Toni Morrison's novella A Mercy , an enslaved woman who is sent in search of medicine for her sick master. Flora and Florence will both be less likely to create…

Basil

Greek

"royal"

This ancient Greek male name, well-used in Britain, also has an herbal quality that may explain its increasing use for girls. While as a name it rhymes with dazzle, the herb has a long a, making the…