Two Syllable Names for Girls

This sweet nickname name has seen a recent revival in the US, breaking the Top 1000 in 2019 for the first time in 40 years. By 2024, it became one of the fastest rising girl names, chasing sister name Eleanor up the charts, spurred on by the rise of other vintage gems like Margot, Millie, Willa, and Lottie. 
 
Nellie is an elaboration of Nell, a medieval diminutive of names starting with El, such as Eleanor and Ellen, though it equally works for Penelope, Antonella, and more. It may have arisen from the affectionate phrase "mine El" which was later reinterpreted as "my Nel", much like "mine Anne" became "my Nan" and then "Nancy". 

Nellie is an international choice, well-used throughout Europe. She is one of the top names in England and Wales and Sweden, while succinct spelling Nelly is also popular in Czechia and the UK. Over in the US, Nellie was given to around 590 girls, and featured in the Top 600.

Nellie

Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one appealing package.

The name Phoenix is associated with an immortal bird from Greek and Egyptian mythology, which having lifted for several centuries would catch fire, then rise from its own ashes. This cycle would endlessly repeat, and therefore, Phoenix is tied to fresh starts, rejuvenation and beginning again after loss. Phoenix is also linked to the US city in Arizona, named as such because the area was abandoned when settlers found it, and it was seen as a new city born from the ruins of another. 
Statistically, Phoenix does lean slightly to the boys' side with 1200 boys receiving the name in 2023 compared to 900 girls. Nevertheless, it shares sounds with the familiar Phoebe, Beatrix, and Fiona, as well as Phillip and Felix, and so it doesn't feel out of place on any gender. 
 A celebrity favorite, Scary Spice Mel B, rugby player Mat Rogers, fashion designer John Richmond, and actress Tammin Sursok all chose Phoenix for her daughters.

Phoenix

Oakley is one of the truest unisex names for babies, achieving a 56-44 gender distribution, favoring girls. Oaklee is 80% female and may serve as a clearer identification of sex, if that’s what you’re interested in.
 
Oakleigh is another variation that skews female.

Oaklee

The combined inspiration of reggae master Bob and the dog-loving romp "Marley and Me" catapulted this name up the chart in recent years.  But what goes up....

Marlee

A modern invention that's been in use since the 80s and in the charts since the 90s, which combines the sounds of Jasmine (or Jasper or just the word jazz) with the popular suffix, -lyn. Inspiration might also have come from Joslyn, Jocelyn, or Roslyn. Trendy but snazzy too, Jazlyn remains in the US Top 600.

Jazlyn

Abbreviated form of Zahara that was used by Chris Rock for his daughter and as a middle name by both Eddie Murphy and David Bowie.   Compared with the even-more-abbreviated Zara, Zahra may create more spelling problems but clarify pronunciation.

Zahra

A favorite back in the 70s and 80s when it ranked in the US Top 30, April has since been overtaken by the likes of June, May, August, and Winter. Nevertheless, it still holds appeal as a pretty-but-no-frills option, associated with the coming of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of the arrival of Autumn in the South.
 
Derived from the Latin aperio, meaning "to open, uncover", in reference to the opening of flowers and leaves, it could work as an option for those who want a name reflective of new chapters, new beginnings, and Spring. As a given name, it has been used in small numbers since at least 1917, though it wasn't until the 40s that it became a mainstream option.
 
Other April associations include: the birthstone diamond, the flowers sweetpeas and daisies, the Zodiac signs Aries and Taurus, April Food's Day, rainy weather, and sometimes Easter. 
 
Appearing in the books (and movies), Revolutionary Road andDustbin Baby, there have also been Aprils on Parks and Recreation, Glee, and The Vampire Diaries. 
 
A recent year saw April rank around the #500 mark in the US, while in England and Wales and in France, it was in the Top 400.

April

Among the children named Heaven are the daughters of TV personality Brooke Burke and rap singer Lil' Mo, who also has a daughter named God'iss Love. Some parents have taken to using Nevaeh instead—Heaven spelled backwards. 

Heaven

Angel is one of those names that has a very different trajectory for girls and boys. As a female name, it was most popular in the US from the 1970s until the turn of this century, almost breaking into the Top 100 at its peak in 2001 but then beginning a long slide down the list.
This may be partly because other forms of Angel -- Angela, Angie, Angelica, Angelina -- have dropped from favor too. Or it may be because of the crossover popularity of Angel for boys, partially inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
As a boys' name, Angel entered the Top 100 in 1997 and remains there today.
Spice Girl Melanie Brown named her daughter Angel Iris.

Angel

Chosen by the late Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa for their youngest daughter, Capri is the name of an Italian island, lending it a light, bright and sunny feel. Derived from either the Greek kapros meaning "wild boar" or from the Latin capri meaning "goats", it has a contemporary feel to it, especially with that -i ending. 
 
Carpi first entered the US stats back in the 1960s, but it wasn't until 2020 that it entered the Top 1000 for the first time, following the boy of the Bryants' daughter. Given to 528 girls (and 9 boys) in a more recent year, it was also chosen by model Chanel Iman and NFL player Davon Godchaux for their daughter, Capri Summer, in 2023.
 
While some may view this as a destination name, others may only think of Capri pants or Capri Sun drinks.

Capri

More traditionally transliterated as Kiyomi, this Japanese name shares the appeal of names like Naomi, Kenzo, and Emi, but also of Kaia, Kyra, and Kyaire, giving it cross-cultural possibilities. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2025 when it was given to 551 girls: nearly double the number the year prior
 
As with many Japanese names, it has multiple meanings depending on which characters are used, but possibilities include: "pure and beautiful", "record (of the) era's beauty", or "sacred, holy and beautiful". Pronounced as KEE-YO-MEE in Japanese, it may also be heard as kie-O-mee among English speakers.

Also the name of a type of citrus fruit and a village in Japan, the Kiyomi spelling also entered the US Top 1000 in 2025. Parents may have been inspired by the Death Note character, by TikTok star Kiyomi Vining, and by writer and content creator Kiyomi Leslie.

Kyomi

Holland is one of the coolest geographical names, unadorned and elegant, evocative of fine Rembrandt portraits and fields of pink and yellow tulips. It first entered the US Top 1000 for girls in 2014, but fell out of the Top 1000 for boys a century earlier.
 Holland Taylor is the Emmy award-winning actress most recognized for her work on Two and a Half Men; she wrote and appeared in a one-woman play on Broadway.
 Holland, like most place names, is theoretically gender-neutral, but it's one of those names that has reversed its gender identity, going from all-male a century ago to nearly equal in 1980 to about 85 percent female today, with five baby girls named Holland for every boy.

Holland

Frankie is a vintage nickname name for girls, with a down-to-earth country feel. It's one of the hottest boyish nicknames for girls, in the forefront of that trend. 

This renewed interest placed Frankie back in the US Top 1000 for girls in 2015 after a 41-year hiatus. It's still rising in the US for girls, now given to more than twice as many baby girls as boys. In England and Wales, Australia, and New Zealand, it's popular for both sexes but still slightly ahead for boys.

Drew Barrymore, who helped popularize and glamorize boyish names for girls, has a daughter named Frankie. On TV's Better Things, Pamela Adlon's middle daughter is named Frankie (sister to Max and Duke, both girls).

Frankie

As a Top 600 name for girls for more than 20 years, Kamryn has become a widely-accepted version of the original Cameron. It also ranks just below the Top 1000 for boys too, though it is used three times more often on girls.
 Deriving from a Scottish surname made up of the Gaelic elements cam and sròn, Cameron means "crooked nose". This likely originated as a nickname, but if you were hoping for a different meaning, there is also the theory that the second part of the name may have come from the Gaelic abhainn meaning "river" or the Welsh bryn meaning "hill".
 
Given to 590 girls in a recent year, Kamryn is currently slightly less popular than classic Cameron and similar alternative Camryn. 
 
Dancers Kamryn Beck and Kamryn Smith, YouTuber Kamryn Renae, and crochet-Instagrammer Kamryn Cain are bearers of the name.

Kamryn

Margo and Margot sound exactly the same, so why has the Margot spelling hopped back onto the Top 1000, outpacing Margo in numbers more than two to one? (Over 350 baby girls were named Margot in the most recent year, versus 150 named Margo.)

Credit the Gwyneth Paltrow character Margot in The Royal Tennenbaums and hot Australian star Margot Robbie. And maybe to some parents, the Margot spelling seems more like a complete name.
But it may also create some pronunciation confusion. And Margo gives you the same blend of fashionable o-ending and classic feel.

Margo

Lilian is the far less popular than the 'Lillian' spelling. To avoid a lifetime of mistakes and misspellings, we suggest you go with the Lillian spelling, which also looks more polished on paper. Whichever spelling you prefer, these names are benefitting from the fashion for <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/l">girls' names starting with L</a>.
 
In Sweden, Lilian is a royal name through Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, who was born Lillian Davies. In honor of her, it is also the middle name of two young Swedish princesses.

Lilian

Mavis, another word for the song thrush, is also a relative of the Welsh word for strawberries, mefus. Mavis has something of a British World War II feel, a friend of Beryl and Doris, but it was quite popular in the U.S. a couple of decades earlier, peaking in the Roaring Twenties.
 With the renewed interest in names ending in 's' — and in bird names and vintage names — Mavis could make a return, especially with the new interest in Maeve. In fact, the cosy Mavis re-entered the US Top 1000 after a 50-year absence in 2016 and has since risen to the Top 600.
 
Some noted bearers of the name are R&B singer Mavis Staples, a member of the Staple Singers, Canadian writer Mavis Gallant and the feminist activist Mavis Leno. Mavis Gary was the name of the Charlize Theron character in the film Young Adult. And — trivia tidbit — in her short-running eponymous sitcom, Whoopi Goldberg's character was named Mavis.
 
A younger generation may well associate it with animated character Mavis Dracula from Hotel Transylvania.

Mavis

Fresh, bright, and sunny, Della could be an alternative to Ella, Delilah, or Adeline. Familiar but not yet overused, it combines the elements of contemporary favorites with vintage charm.
 
With its noble meaning and associations with delight, Della was a popular choice in the 19th century and remained so up until the 1930s, when it slowly began to fall out of favor. It disappeared from the Top 1000 in 1978, but, after an absence of 40 years, it re-entered the charts in 2018.
 
This reappearance was perhaps partly inspired by actress and singer Della Reese, who died in 2017. This could have brought the name to the attention of a new generation of parents, and it has been climbing the US charts ever since. 
 
As a diminutive of Adela or Adelaide (or perhaps Delphine, Madeline, or Idella), Della fits into the trend of nicknames as proper names, blending well with the likes of Mila, Josie, and Nora.
 
Given to 518 girls it a recent year, it sits in the US Top 600. A small caution, however, is that della does mean "from the" in Italian.

Della

Nadia, an accessible Slavic favorite, has a strong run of popularity in the US in the early 2000s, partially thanks to the character on Lost called Nadia but actually named Noor, but it's since slumped down the rankings. An earlier inspiration was Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who won the 1976 Olympics. Nadia is actually a short form of Nadezhda, the name of Lenin's wife, though more Westerners will relate it to the familiar Natalya or Natasha.

 Nadia is also a traditional Arabic name, popular in the Muslim community and also spelled Nadiyya or Nadya. It means "moist, tender, delicate" in Arabic.

 Octomom Suleman spells her first name Nadya, as in the Queen Nadya character in Noel Coward's play The Queen was in the Parlour.

Nadia

Allie is one short form that's gotten so popular it's often used as a name on its own. Cute, friendly, yet we'd recommend using one of the proper names such as Alice to give your daughter an option. 
 
As a given name, Allie peaked in 2010. These days, Ellie might be more fashionable.

Allie

Two-syllable girl names dominate the English lexicon, with over 15,000 two-syllable names for girls on Nameberry.

 such as the Sanskrit Malti and the Welsh Arwen, the elegant French Celine and the multi-cultural gender neutral name Peri.

 complete list of two-syllable female names

 is too daunting, you can consult our hand-picked list of the 150+ 

Note that this list is automatically generated from the full list of names on Nameberry, and the machine sometimes 

 in English names. Eloise obviously has three syllables rather than two, while Hayes has only one.

Wade through our entire collection of two-syllable female names here, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

Two-syllable girl names including top two-syllable names for girls such as Emma and Ava and unique two-syllable girl names such as the Sanskrit Malti and the Welsh Glynis. (Page 16)

15,000+ Two-Syllable Girl Names