Arlo, an unexpectedly popular name for boys these days, is also finding new life as a girls' name. The first name Arlo may be rooted in the surname Arlow or the place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands". As a surname, it also has roots in a place name meaning "rocky hill".

 Arlo is a name with several unexpected lives thanks to celebrity associations. It was first known as the name of folksinger Arlo Guthrie, son of Woody; then it was revived by television's "Justified" character Arlo Givens. Now it's been spun again as a girl's name first by actor Johnny Knoxville and then by celebrity couple Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, who chose it for their daughters, no doubt inspired by soundalike girl names like Harlow and Marlowe.

 Arlo Parks (born Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho) is an up-and-coming British singer-songwriter, winner of the Brit Award for best new artist and the Mercury Prize for album of the year in 2021. 

 A growing number of girls are named Arlo in the US each year, with a handful more babies of both sexes receiving the Arlow and Arlowe spellings, which take this cool retro name more into sleek surname territory.

Arlo

This tiny but punchy name has multiple origins. It stands strong alone, but could be short for numerous names including Bonnie and Bodhi.
In Mandarin Chinese, Bo means "wave".

Model Beverly Peele put the international place name Cairo on the map when she chose it for her daughter; it's much less faddish sounding than closer place names like Dallas and Dakota.
 
The name of the ancient city was derived from the Arabic term al-Kahira, meaning "the strong."

Cairo

This hyper-rhythmic name has two evocative references. In Greek mythology, she was an island nymph, a daughter of Atlas, who delayed Odysseus from returning home. It is also a genre of West Indian music, originating in Trinidad and Tobago and largely popularized in the States by Harry Belafonte. 
 Calypso was the name of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's research ship--and would make a highly dramatic, musical choice.

Calypso

Upper-crusty nickname occasionally used in Britain, particularly in 1930s novels featuring significant garden party scenes, but eclipsed here by Carrie et al. 

Caro

Like Araceli, Cielo is a heavenly name associated with the Virgin Mary. Cielo, the Spanish word for "sky," began being used as a name in honor of María del Cielo, a title for the Virgin Mary meaning "Mary of the Sky."
 
Cielo had a small peak in the US in 2001, when it was given to 258 baby girls. This was influenced by a character named Maria del Cielo on a Mexican telenovela called "Por tu amor."
 
However, it was Luisana Lopilato and Michael Bublé naming their daughter Cielo Yoli Rose in 2022 which really drummed up more interest in this lilting, lovely name, leading to Cielo cracking the Top 1000 for the first time in the 2022 charts.

Cielo

Cleo, one of the few girls' names to boast the cool-yet-lively o ending, is of course short for Cleopatra, the name of one of the most powerful women in history.
 Cleo was most popular in the early decades of the twentieth century--when it was also used for boys. The opening of the Egyptian tombs along with the 1917 silent film starring Theda Bara popularized a range of now-obscure Cleopatra diminutives, including Cleora, and Cleola. 
 A distinguished bearer is the British jazz singer Cleo Laine, and there have been Cleos on two TV dramas: ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Maybe the fact that Cleo was recently chosen by Friends' David Schwimmer will ignite a welcome revival.
 Sound-alike Clio is the name of the ancient Greek mythological muse of history and heroic poetry, one that is rich with modern charm and would also make an intriguing choice,

Cleo

Coco came to prominence as the nickname of the legendary French designer Chanel (born Gabrielle) and has lately become a starbaby favorite, initially chosen by Courteney Cox for her daughter Coco Riley in 2004. At first it was the kind of name that the press loves to ridicule, but we predict Coco's heading for more broad acceptance and even popularity.

Coco

Consuelo is a chic, highly sophisticated Spanish name that works well with Anglo surnames. It was regularly on the U.S. popularity list through 1983, reaching as high as Number 339 in 1930.
 The name is a reference to the Virgin Mary, as Nuestra Senora del Consuelo--our lady of consolation.
 Its most noted namesake in this country is Consuelo Vanderbilt, the beautiful only daughter of railroad millionaire William K. Vanderbilt. She was given the Spanish name in honor of her half-Cuban godmother. Another fashionable Consuelo was the American-born Italian countess Consuelo Crespi, the editor of Italian Vogue. In literature, Consuelo was used by George Sand for the title character of a novel about a beautiful Venetian singer. There have also been Consuelos in West Side Storyand Precious.
 Consuelo is still well-used in Spanish-speaking countries, and is especially popular in Chile. The unusual o-ending for a girl's baby name adds to her appeal.

Consuelo

One of those ultimate cool-girl names, played by Keira Knightley in a movie about a supermodel-turned-bounty hunter, but kids might associate it with the game. High profile British designer India Hicks used it for her daughter. As a <a href="https://nameberry.com/girl-names">girls' name</a>it's still very rare, used in 2015 in the US for only seven baby girls.

Domino

Enyo is the Greek goddess of war, the female counterpart to the god Ares. Enyo's Roman equivalent in Bellona.

Enyo

Victoria's Secret model Devon Windsor welcomed a daughter named Enzo Elodie Barbara in 2021. It hasn't yet inspired many parents to use Enzo for their baby girls — there were only 6 in 2022 — but we could see this becoming as unisex as Ezra someday.

Enzo

Flo is an antiquated nickname not often used these days, possibly because "Aunt Flo" is a euphemism for a period. 

Gio is a cute, more androgynous variation of Gia that could work well as a nickname for names such as Giovanna, Giordana, or Giorgia. It was chosen by Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo for their daughter in 2018. 

Giovanna is of course the Italian feminine form of John, so Gio could be a very dashing way to honor a familial John.

Indigo is one of the most appealing and evocative of the new generation of color names. Color names have joined flower and jewel names -- in a big way -- and Indigo, a deep blue-purple dye from plants native to India, is particularly striking for both girls and boys. Although most people don't think of it like this, Indigo might also be considered among the most stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/167/greek-names">Greek baby names</a> in use today.

Some cultural references: The Indigo Girls are a folk duo, 'Mood Indigo' is a classic Duke Ellington jazz composition, and there is a 1970's New Age theory that Indigo children possess special, sometimes supernatural abilities. Indigo is the name of a character in the Ntozake Shange novel Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, and was used for his daughter by Lou Diamond Phillips.

Indigo

A biblical place name with trumpeting verve and strength.
 Though rarely heard as a first name, Jericho has appeared in the titles of films, TV series, songs, bands, comics, and video games (Clive Barker's Jericho). It's perhaps these references that helped it enter the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013 -- as one of the year's fastest-rising names.

Jericho

Still evokes the spunky image of the character in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. 

Jojo

Juno

Contrary to popular belief, the name Kahlo has German origins, rather than Spanish. It derives from kahl, a German word meaning "bald." Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo was born to a German father, photographer Guillermo Kahlo. 
 
Kahlo is given to baby girls and boys in roughly equal numbers each year. It's a modern hero name — the names of virtually all baby Kahlos were inspired by Frida.

Kahlo

Kallisto

Leo is of course a very popular name for boys and an equally rare one for girls. But32 baby girls were named Leo in the US last year, and as feminine leonine names such as Leonora and Leonia find more widespread popularity, Leo is popping up as an adorable short form for girls as well as boys.

Lilo is the name of the spunky little Hawaiian girl character in the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch-- and is also Lindsay Lohan's nickname. Multi-cultural, it can be found in Hawaiian, German and Hebrew nomenclature.

Lilo

A peppy nickname name associated with Lolo (born Lori) Jones, American track and field champ.

Lolo

Lirico

Mako is a name used for both genders in Japan, most notably for the granddaughter of the emperor who chose to leave the Royal Family to marry a commoner. It's a simple name that translates easily to English-speaking cultures, though many will try to pronounce the first syllable with a long a.
Mako also means "shark" in Maori, and is the name of two shark species.

Mako

Perky, pretty nickname name that seems to have been invented by or for Marlo Thomas, who was born Margaret. Hipster mommy blogger Dooce named her newborn daughter Marlo Iris and comedian Rob Corddry named his daughter Marlo Stevenson.

Marlo

Milan is one of the hottest place names in recent years for both girls and boys — why not the Italian name for the beautiful city, Milano. Also a delicious brand of cookies.

Milano

Momo

Neo, indeed--though it was a male character in "The Matrix."

 In the Southern African language of Tswana, it is a unisex name meaning "gift".

A much more dynamic nickname than Nicky for any of the Nic-names. Nico was chosen by Thandiwe Newton for her daughter. 
 The single-named German Nico (born Christa) was the iconic 1960s singer with Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground.

Nico

Riko is a hugely popular name for baby girls in contemporary Japan, and one that easily translates to the West.

Riko

Rio is one of Japan's most popular girls names, constantly sitting in that country's Top 10. Of course, Rio may also stem from the Portuguese and Spanish word for river, and the Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro. A truly international name for a cosmopolitan baby!

Ro is a casual short form that doesn't usually appear on the birth certificate on its own. But it makes a friendly nickname for any girls' name starting with Ro-.

Rock-and-roll version of Coco — definitely a possibility for girls.

Rocco

This name, which refers to Mary as the Virgin of the Dew, is all but unknown in the Anglo community, but popular enough in Hispanic families to put it in the U. S. Top 1000, at least until 2006. 

Rocio

Sisko is the Finnish word for "sister." It was most popular in Finland from the 1930s-1970s.

Sisko

Two similarly delicate names, Tamako and Tamaki, can be found in the Japanese community. 

Tamako

Tao (rhymes with cow) is the Chinese concept of the harmony that governs the universe. The religion stemming from this notion is called Taoism, putting Tao in the category of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/254/spiritual-baby-names">spiritual baby names</a>, fitting in with Bodhi and Zen.

Thallo, the Greek goddess of spring, buds, and blooms has a decidedly less flowery name than her Roman counterpart, Flora. Thallo is one of the Horae in Greek mythology: goddesses associated with the cycle of life, growth and the seasons.

 Thallo is one of the more unusual <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/624/gorgeous-greek-goddess-names-for-babies">Greek goddess names</a>. A variant form is Thalatte (thah-LAH- tee).

Thallo

Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.

 Not so in the half century from 1880 till 1930, when Theo was in the Top 1000 for girls. Nicknames given as full names were stylish then, as were boyish nicknames such as Billie and Tommie for girls. Theo fits this old-school trend, but these days, Theo – on its own and as a nickname for Theodore – is much more popular for boys.

Theo


Valo, an unusual entry in the o-ending category, can work for girls in the US. On Nameberry, it's especially popular among visitors from Bangladesh.

Valo

An energetic Spanish surname with serious first name potential, thanks to its trendy initial V and -o ending. A famous bearer is Spanish surrealist artist Remedios Varo (1908-1963).

Varo

A striking French and Spanish short form of Veronica or Véronique.

Vero

Willo

There are many in Japan, but for most Americans there's only one Yoko.
 
Yoko Ono writes her name with characters meaning "ocean" and "child".

Yoko

Yoriko

Arcane 's list "Names ending in O " of 48 great name ideas: Arlo - Yoriko!

Names ending in O 

A collection of (mostly unisex/feminine, since masculine names ending in 'o' can be found in any spanish/italian name list, really) names ending in 'o'. I find that having similar sounds/letters in common throughout the name makes for an interesting alternative to matching the initial in regards to family/sibling themes