Two Syllable Names for Girls

Zara has multiple origins, but most notably is a variation of Zahrah, a name derived from the Arabic zahrah, meaning "blooming flower." Zara can also be a diminutive of the Bulgarian name Zaharina, a feminine form of the Hebrew Zechariah. Today, Zara is heavily associated with the Spanish fast-fashion empire of the same name.
 
Zara is an evocative name, often used in early movies and novels for a sultry character from the East — Greta Garbo played one in the 1932 film As You Desire Me. Britain's Princess Anne defied royal convention by giving her daughter the Arabic name in 1981, thus bestowing on Zara instant upper-class status.
 One of the first uses of Zara was by William Congreve in his 1697 play The Mourning Bride as the name of an African queen. Zara, Priestess of the Golden Flame, also was a Wonder Woman comic book villain.
 Zara can also be spelled Zarah or Zahra, as Chris Rock did for his daughter. The related Zahara is the name of Brad and Angelina's oldest daughter.
 
Possible downside:the Zara clothing stores now in many malls.

Zara

A growing number of high-profile (and other) parents are choosing to honor their musical idols, such as Hendrix, Presley, Jagger, and now Lennon, an <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/804/irish-names-for-girls">Irish name for girls</a> as well as boys with a wonderful meaning on many levels. Lennon first came to notice when Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit used it for their son in 1999, and singer-musician Adam Pascal followed their lead two years later. 
 Most recently, YouTube sensation and star of the hit television show Nashville, Lennon Stella, can be credited for this name's spike in popularity among girls. This may be why it entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2013.

Lennon

One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.
 In the Victorian language of flowers, Dahlia denotes elegance and dignity.
 In P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, Dahlia is Bertie Wooster's more sympathetic aunt, described as being constructed along the lines of Mae West. Reporter Dahlia Lithwick covers legal matters for the online magazine Slate.

Dahlia

The name is derived from the term commonly used in the Book of Psalms, which has a many Hebrew scholars in confusion over its meaning. Given its context in the Bible, Selah is likely to mean "to praise" or "pause and reflect upon what has just been said." Lauryn Hill used this name for her daughter. It is the last word in Anita Diamant's novel The Red Tent.

Selah

Currently in the US Top 300, Saylor finds the middle ground between the popular and unisex Taylor, and the more unexpected, wordier Sailor. In fact, it is currently used more often than either of its sound-alikes. 
 
For a name that feels like it could just be a creative spelling, Saylor has a surprisingly interesting etymology. On one hand, it is a variation of the English word sailor, relating it to the sea, to travel, and to boatmanship. 
 
On the other, it's a surname in its own right. In Medieval Germany, it was related to the word seil, meaning "rope" and was therefore used as an occupational surname for ropemakers. In Middle English, it was linked to the the Old French word sailleor meaning "to leap", and therefore used to describe a dancer, tumbler, or acrobat.
 
Ultimately, parents may choose this version because it feels less like a word and more like a name, and because including the letter Y makes it feel contemporary and on trend.

Saylor

Ada is one of the classic <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a> for girls that is suddenly super stylish again. A favorite at the end of the nineteenth century, Ada is an alternative to the over-popular Ava. Ada is also part of the trend toward simple, old-fashioned names beginning with a vowel, like Ivy and Ella.
 
Ada is derived from the German name Adelaide, which came from the ancient name Adalheidis. The root, adal, is a Germanic word meaning "noble." Ada can also be considered a variation of the biblical name Adah, pronounced AH-da, one of the first <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ names</a> mentioned in the Book of Genesis. 
 
A worthy namesake is Ada Lovelace, mathematician daughter of the poet Lord Byron, who worked with Charles Babbage on the forerunners to the calculator and the computer. In his poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Byron addresses her as "Ada! sole daughter of my house and heart."
 
Ada has a number of fictional references as well, appearing in Dickens's Bleak House and Nabokov's 1969 novel Ada; additional characters with the name were portrayed by Holly Hunter in The Piano and Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain.
 
Ada returned to the Top 1000 in 2004, after being off since 1992; by contrast, Ada was a Top 100 name in the 1880s.
 
The Turkish name Ada means "island" and is unrelated — though it makes an excellent option for parents looking for a name spanning two cultures.

Most of the notable Rivers have been male, but this nature name certainly flows as well for a girl. The name River is still rising for both genders, with about 3500 baby boys receiving the name last year vs. 1900 baby girls.

Kelly Clarkson's choice of River for her newborn daughter further raised the profile of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">name for girls</a>. Baseball great Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis used the same name as Clarkson for their daughter born in 2021, River Rose.

River

Brianna's popularity in the US came later than father name Brian's, peaking in the 1990s, two decades after Brian's Top 10 reign of the 1970s.

But Brianna is more popular than Brian now, along with sister name Briana even taking a slight upward turn recently. That fresh sheen might be credited to Brienne of Tarth, a warrior-heroine of Game of Thrones.

Though it sounds like it might be a modern invention, the name actually appeared as far back as the sixteenth century in Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queen. And Brian goes back a lot further, to Irish high king Brian Boru's reign around the year 1000.

Brianna

Elise is one of those golden names that stylish but not TOO popular. Its appeal is due in large part to its French flair and to the love for El-names in general.
 
Elise originated as French diminutive of Elizabeth but is now most commonly used as self-contained name. In English and French speaking countries, Elise is pronounced with two syllables, but in countries with Germanic or Scandinavian languages it is pronounced with three syllables, closer to Elisa. 
 Elise was introduced into the English-speaking world in the late nineteenth century. Today, it can make an original, modern honor name for an ancestral Elizabeth.
Emily Blunt played a character named Elise in The Adjustment Bureau. Fur Elise is one of Beethoven's most popular piano pieces. Piers Morgan named his daughter Elise.

Elise

Presley is a much more popular name for little girls than you might think, entering the charts as a girls' name in 1998 and hovering around Number 200 for the last decade. 

Presley is one of a large cohort of surnames ending in -ley that are now trending as girl names, from Paisley to Hadley to Finley.

Country singer Tanya Tucker started the Presley-for-girls trend when she chose the name for her now-grown daughter, Presley Tanita.

Presley

This Old Testament name has been one of the most popular girls names in Israel over the last decade and is also a favorite in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. First appearing in the US charts back in the 2010s, it now sits in the Top 300, and while it may feel like an attempt to make Noah unisex, it is in fact a separate, feminine name.
 Borne by a female figure in the Old Testament named Noa (or Noah), this form of the name derives from the Hebrew No'ah, meaning "motion". The popular Biblical male name Noah is derived from a different Hebrew origin: Noach, meaning "rest, repose".
 Noa is the established, modern Hebrew spelling of the female name, but it may also be found as a variant spelling of the male name Noah – popular in countries including France, Wales, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. As such, Noa is still a unisex choice. 
 
Additionally, Noa also has roots in Japanese, in which it means "my love, my affection", adding to the versatility of this short moniker. In this case, it would be pronounced NO-A, with emphasis on both syllables.

Cute Gracie is one of the more recently revived nickname names by parents who chose it over the more formal Grace--or variations like Graziella or Grania. Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw cut straight to the nickname when they called one of their daughters Gracie, and actors Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt named their newborn daughter Gracie James. Gracie Gold is a popular young figure skater.
 There have been several (mostly young) Gracies in such vehicles as The Nanny, Friday Night Lights, CSI and Miss Congeniality.

Gracie

Kiara can be considered a variation of both the Italian name Chiara and the Irish name Ciara. Chiara is the Italian form of Clara, meaning "bright" or "clear," while Ciara is the feminine form of male given name Ciar, derived from the old Irish cíar, meaning "dark." 
 
Kiara is also an Australian name derived from an Aboriginal word for the white cockatoo, and has roots as a Korean name meaning "first ray of sun".
 
Simba's daughter in The Lion King, Kiara fits in with stylish modern names like Keira and Kaia.

Kiara

Rory is a buoyant, spirited name for a redhead with Celtic roots. The name Rory is getting more popular overall, but for the past few years has been trending decidedly toward the boys' side -- however, it's been rising to new heights for girls in recent years. 
 It's worth noting, however, that while Rory is used a third of the time for girls in the US, in Britain it's never used as a girls' name. In London or Liverpool, naming your daughter Rory is like naming her....Roger.
 Rory (or Rori) might also be a nickname for Aurora. In the TV series Gilmore Girls, Rory was the nickname of Lorelai Leigh, the daughter character played by Alexis Biedel whose mother, played by Lauren Graham, was also named (and called) Lorelai.
 Robert Kennedy's youngest daughter, born after his assassination and now a respected documentary filmmaker, is named Rory. Actress Melora Hardin named her daughter Rory Melora.

Rory

With a soft sound, a preppy feel, and a unisex style, Palmer is a last name that's been climbing up the charts for girls in the US. Having entered the Top 1000 in 2018, more recent stats place it in the Top 300. More than four times as many girls received the name than boys in 2023, though Palmer is a name on the rise all round. 
 
An English surname that derives from the Latinpalma, the literal meaning of the name is "one who carries the palm (trees)". On a more symbolic level, it means "pilgrim", because Christian Pilgrims traditionally brought palms with them when they visited the Holy Land. Alternatively, it is linked to Palm Sunday, the week before Easter, when new palms are brought to churches so the old ones may be burnt in time for Ash Wednesday.
 
Palmer might work then for Christian parents wanting a modern sounding name that still reflects their faith, but it could also make a very modern honor name for grandma Pamela. Or, given its long history as a last name and its contemporary style, it could work for anyone who likes it, or for those looking for an alternative to Piper or Harper.

Palmer

Sweet and sparky, youthful yet long-established, this Scottish nickname for Margaret, Mairead, or Mary, entered the US Top 1000 back in 2014 and has been on the rise ever since, replacing the once popular Macy which peaked back in the 2000s. Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams helped propel the name back into the limelight, along with the that of her character, Arya, while singer Maisie Peters has helped keep it in the charts. 

In literature, Maisie is the name of the precocious young title character in the Henry James novel What Maisie Knew, and is also the main female character in Rudyard Kipling's The Light That Failed. Spelled Maisy, it's a popular children's book series.
 
When Maisie entered the US Top 1000 in 2014 at 658, it was one of the fastest rising names of that year and more recently ranked in at #233. Alternative spellings Maisy and Maizie ranked at #745 and #898 in the same year. 
 
Maisie is a big favorite in England and Wales, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, where it ranked in the Top 100 in recent years, while in Northern Ireland and Scotland, it's an even bigger love, featuring in the Top 20.

Maisie

Andrea — a feminine form of Andrew (and a male name in several European cultures) — comes with a good selection of pronunciations — ANN-dree-a, AHN-dree-a, or ahn-DRAY-a — each with a slightly different image: girl next door/slightly affected/downright mysterious
 
Andrea's popularity, while never huge, remained surprisingly steady for many years — until 2013, it hadn't been knocked out of the Top 100 since 1962. There have been countless featured on-screen characters named Andrea, on vehicles from the original Beverly Hills 90210 to The West Wing to The Devil Wears Prada.
 Originally the Italian male form of Andrew, Andrea is found across many European cultures — for one sex or the other.

Andrea

Bright, spirited, and playful, Nyla shares sounds with the popular Isla, Lila, Layla, and Delilah, making it feel fresh and in style. A name with a number of possible origins, it made a brief, anomalous appearance on the US charts in 1941, before disappearing again for the next 60 years. It has been back in the US Top 1000 since 2001, and is currently on the rise, given to around 1230 girls each year.
 
One theory around Nyla's origin is that it derives from the Arabic name Naila - also spelled Nayla, Neyla, and Na'ila - giving it a meaning associated with ambition and success. While the traditional pronunciation would be na-EE-luh, Nyla could be an Anglicized interpretation. Another possibility is that Nyla is a feminine form of Niles, Neil, or Niall, meaning either "cloud" from the Old Irish nél or "hero; champion" from the Old Irish nia.
 
 Anlla and Nila might provide another source of inspiration: both are Sanskrit and Hindi names meaning "wind, air" and "dark blue" respectively. Alternatively, Nyla may just be a modern creation, inspired by Kyla, Tyler, and Skyler.
 
Wherever it comes from, Nyla is now a well-established choice in the US and is equally on the rise in the UK, where it is in the Top 250. 
 Famous bearers of the name include Indian actress Nyla Usha and New Zealand long-distance runner Nyla Carroll.

Nyla

Lucille is a name that had long been overpowered by its link to Lucille Ball, with an image of tangerine-colored hair, big, round eyes, and a tendency to stage daffy and desperate stunts. But with the newfound craze for double-L names like Lily and Lila, Lulu and Luna, and as the choice of Lucille by hipster parents Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson, Lucille is breaking free from its old clownish image, moving rapidly up the charts over the past decade after a long nap.
 Lucille has a history that far predates Lucille Ball and the 1950s. It was well used by Christians of the Roman Empire and began to be used in the U.K. and the U.S. in the nineteenth century, making it one of the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/322/classic-baby-names-for-girls">classic names for girls</a>. Reaching as high as Number 27 on the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names</a> list of 1919—when there was a vogue for French sounding names like Marguerite and Genevieve—Lucille stayed in the Top 40 from 1906 to 1924. This was followed by an almost thirty-year slump starting in 1977, when it fell off the list completely, only to return in 2003.

Lucille

At one time just the sound of the name Camille could start people coughing, recalling the tragic Lady of the Camellias, the heroine played by Greta Garbo in the vintage film based on a Dumas story, but that image has faded, replaced by a sleek, chic, highly attractive one. 
 Among its namesakes are Camille Claudel, a French sculptor and Camille Paglia, a feminist writer and critic. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is the mother of a Camille, and it is the middle name of both Nicole Richie and Willow Smith.
 Camille is a unisex name in France, where distinguished male bearers include the composer Saint-Saens and the painter Pissarro.

Camille

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 7)

15,000+ Two-Syllable Girl Names