Three Syllable Names for Girls

Along with Daniela, Michelle, Nicole, and Denise, Danielle was a big hit from the 1960s to the nineties, sitting comfortably in the Top 20 for several years. Parents then responded to its chic, sophisticated Gallic image, and though it has lost some of its sheen, it's still a widely used choice. Novelist Danielle Steele is its most well-known bearer; it's also the actual first name of Elvis's granddaughter, actress (Danielle) Riley Keough.

Danielle

Fernanda is very popular in the Latino community, with a lot more charm than its male counterpart. 
The standard nickname is Nanda, and variations include Ferdinanda and Fernandina.
 Oscar-nominated Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro was born Arlette, but has said she chose Fernanda because of its 'sonority.' Fernanda Eberstadt is an American novelist and journalist; Brazil-born Fernanda Rocha is one of The Housewives of Orange County.

Fernanda

Parents of female Emerie's would argue the suffix -ie makes it more feminine. It may also add a feeling of French flair. Clearly, there are enough thinking this to popularize it—the name entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013.

Emerie

Alexis, a one-time exclusively-<a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a>, was more popular than its sister Alexandra for quite a while, but in recent years Alexandra has overtaken it once again. Alexis was a Top 20 <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ name</a> from 1994-2010 but has experienced a decline in popularity in recent years, though now it's one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">top unisex names</a>.

 Alexis zoomed to popularity following the introduction of the Dynasty character Alexis Carrington in the 1980s – which gave it a sleek image – and was quite popular throughout the 90s and 2000s, peaking at the third most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ name</a> in 1999.

 One of the few notable female pre-Carrington Alexises was 1940s actress Alexis Smith, who had some minimal impact on the name, which entered the list in 1943. A current bearer is Alexis Bledel, who played Rory on Gilmore Girls and currently stars on The Handmaid's Tale.

Alexis

This pretty and uncommon Basque name is all but unheard of in this country. Amaya is a spelling variation as well as a similar Japanese name meaning "night rain." With the newfound popularity of Amara and Amora, Amaia and Amaya are among the <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/495/spanish-names-for-girls">Spanish names for girls</a> we'll be hearing a lot more of in the US.

Amaia

Stephanie is the feminine form of Stephen, derived from the Greek name Stephanos, associated with crowns and garlands It's been the name of several royal women throughout history, including the medieval Stephanie, Queen of Navarre, and Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, the daughter of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. International variations of Stephanie include the German Stefanie, Italian Stefania, and Spanish Estefanía.
 
Stephanie has had more staying power than most female forms of masculine names, managing to be feminine without being frilly, and having had a long run of popularity. In the 1970s and 1980s, Stephanie was Top 20 name.
 The variantly spelled Stephenie Meyer gained fame as the author of the Twilight franchise, the tennis player Steffi Graf was born Stefanie, so there are obviously lots of variations on this name. Singer Stevie Nicks has the conventional spelling of Stephanie on her birth certificate. Stephanie Plum is the protagonist of the eponymous books by Janet Evanovich.
Stephanie has been trending downward in recent years, falling out of the charts in France, Ireland, Australia, and Canada, and to the latter end of the England and Wales Top 1000. In the US, Stephanie dropped from the Top 500 for the first time since 1936 back in 2024.
 
These days, Stevie is the favored Stephanie variant, more than twice as popular as its long form.

Stephanie

Jacqueline originated as a feminine form of Jacques, the French variation of James, and therefore Jacob. Jacob was ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Ya’aqov, and gets its meaning, "supplanter" from the story of Jacob supplanting his brother Esau as the first-born son in the Bible. Jacqueline was first used in France in the Middle Ages.
 
To most Americans, the French Jacqueline still recalls the Kennedy era and its elegant First Lady, although it's lost a good measure of its glamorous image and Gallic gloss. Jacqueline and Jackie peaked as names in 1961, the age of Camelot, reaching a high of Number 37. 
 The name was imported into England by a French sister-in-law of Henry V (known as Dame Jack) and had reached the Top 50 in this country by the 1920s. It's one of those names with a bunch of different spellings, the most common of which is Jacqueline.
 Barbara Walters named her only child Jacqueline.

Jacqueline

A designer baby name that has appeared alongside Gucci, Dior, Chanel, and Fendi in this era of branding everything from your purse to your offspring, Armani is an Italian surname, associated with the fashion designer Giorgio. First appearing in the US stats back in 1989 for girls, it has ranked in the Top 1000 since the late 90s.
 
Literally meaning "son of Ermanno", Ermanno being the Italian form of Herman, it could be interpreted as meaning "child of the army man" or "child of the soldier". Alternatively, some may be using it as a variation of Amani, an Arabic name meaning "wishes".
 
Used as a gender neutral option in the US, the name was given to around 530 girls and 600 boys in recent year, making the split 47:53. Similar in sound to the likes of Amari, Amani, Marnie, and Ari, it may feel just a little less tied to a brand than other designer options do.

Armani

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

Originally popularized in eighteenth century Europe due to the fame of Anna Amalia, a Duchess who was a great patron of the arts, Amalia is now a widely cross-cultural name, heard from Italy to Romania, Germany to Scandinavia. Popular in the Netherlands, Chile, France, and Puerto Rico, it can be pronounced as ah-MAH-lee-ah or ah-MAIL-ya or ah-mah-LEE-ah, to name a few options.

Like Amelia, this name comes from the Germanic amal meaning "vigorous, unceasing, work", and while it may not be quite so popular in the English speaking work as its sibling, it has been on the rise in the US since 2011, when it re-joined the Top 1000 after an 80 year absence. Given to 550 American babies in a recent year, it is considerably less popular than Amelia — 23 times less popular, in fact. 
 
Amalia might appeal to those wanting nickname Mali or Mollie over Millie.

Amalia

Ivanna / Ivana both come out of the name "John" by way of the Russian variant Ivan. Whereas Joanna feels dated, Ivanna feels cosmopolitan and fresh. Ivanka (of Trump fame) is a diminutive version of Ivanna.

Ivanna

Now the best-selling version of this infinitely varied name, Makayla incorporates the also-popular Kayla. Makayla and Mikayla have now left the original Michaela far behind. 

Makayla

This Hebrew name of Queen Esther is well used in Israel (especially for girls born around the holiday of Purim), and in the US is the name of a Zionist women's philanthropic organization. Formerly shunned as hyper-religious, this name entered the Top 1000 in 2007 and has since climbed into the Top 700. Nickname Haddie feels like a natural companion for Addie and Maddie.

Hadassah

Maybe it's because she shares that winning -elle sound with Isabel and Bella, but Estelle is no longer seen as a muumuu-wearing canasta player of a certain age (think George Costanza's mother on Seinfeld or Joey Tribbiani's talent agent in Friends). This could be in part thanks to the young Royal Couple of Sweden, who chose it for their firstborn daughter, or the single-named British R&B singer. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2012 after a nearly fifty-year absence.
 Latin version Estella, introduced in Great Expectations, also has energy and charm, while Estrella is another stylish member of this star-related club. Ali Landry has a daughter named Estela. Este and Estee are also in the wind.

Estelle

Used quietly on boys in the US since the early 20th century, Mckenzie was abruptly overtaken by the Mackenzie spelling back in 1973 when actress Mackenzie Phillips introduced the name as a possibility for girls. While Mckenzie has never matched its sibling spelling in popularity, it nevertheless climbed the charts in its wake, peaking in 2000 at #133.
 
Originally a Scottish surname, Mckenzie is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Coinnich, Coinnich being one Gaelic form Kenneth. As a feminine name, it didn't appear in the US stats until 1975 and it first entered nearly 10 years later, in 1984. 
 
Given to around 710 girls in a recent year, Mckenzie is less than half as popular as Mackenzie, however when they are considered together with Makenzie and Kenzie too, nearly 3500 girls receive these sound-alike names, which could make them feel as popular as Top 100 names, such as Sophie, Addison, Leilani, or Josephine.

Mckenzie

A popular choice in Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico, Jimena has also appears in the Top 600 in the US. It was historically borne by Jimena Díaz, the wife of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (better known by the honorific El Cid), an 11th century ruler and warlord. 
 
The exact meaning of the name is unknown, however, theories are that it comes from the classic Simon (or Simona), meaning "hearing, listening", though other sources suggest it comes from the Basque seme meaning "son". As such, this could meaning "daughter".
 
While the Jimena spelling is preferred in Spain, Ximena is the current preference in Mexico and the US (appearing in the Mexican Top 10 and the US Top 200 in a recent year, making it three times more popular).
 
Pronounced as hee-MEH-na or khee-MEH-na, masculine forms include Jimeno and Ximeno.

Jimena

Another strong Arabic name, related to Iman. Imani one is popular throughout the Muslim world but especially East Africa. It was chosen for her daughter by actress Jasmine Guy. 

Imani

Used in Puerto Rico, Brazil, and the US, this variation of the Hawaiian Kailani follows the pattern among Portuguese and Spanish speakers of using -y endings over -i endings, as in the case of Ailany or Melany. With its bright, melodic sound and K initial, Kailany has been a fast rising choice of the 2020s and made its debut to the US Top 1000 in 2024, having climbed more than 200 places up the charts.
 
Meaning "sea and sky" or "heaven and ocean" from the Hawaiian elements, kai and lani, a recent year saw Kailany climb another 315 ranks up the charts when it was given to 511 girls. Kailani by contrast was given to 1215 babies and Kaylani to 1675, but when you view them collectively, they begin to feel like Top 70 choices, ranking alongside Zoey, Claire, and Eden in the same year.

Kailany

Noemi is a charming Latin spin on Naomi; another twist is Neomi. A quiet mainstay on the US Top 1000 since 1957, Noemi was one of the fastest rising names in 2023. 

Noemi

Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. As such, it is connected to the queen of Arthurian legend, and sharees the same meaning of "white shadow", "white wave", or "white phantom".
 
It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th, after playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor's Dilemma in 1906. It took a little more time to catch on in the US, but by the 1940s it was on the up and remained so until its heyday in the 70s.
 
But how did this Cornish name, originally used only among Cornish immigrants to the US, become such a star? One possibility is that parents were inspired by its similarity of other longstanding popular choices, such as Janet, Jane, Jenny, Jean, and Josephine, but another factor is pop culture. It was likely propelled on by actress Jennifer Jones and the use of the name in a variety of films, including I Married A Witch (1942), Portrait of Jennie (1948), Jennifer (1953), and Valley of the Dolls ( (1967). The songs Jenny Rebecca, Jennifer Eccles and Jennifer "Juniper" might also have got the name in people's heads. 
 
Jennifer became the girl top name of the 1970s in the US, when there were close to 800,000 Jennifers born, meaning 3.5% of girls born were called Jennifer. To put it in perspective, the second most popular name of the decade, Amy, was given to 1.6% of girls in the same time period, while 90s favorites Ashley and Jessica were chosen for 1.5% in they own heyday.
 
Jennifer began to really fall back down the charts in the 2000s and by 2010 it was out of the Top 100. Currently, it sits just outside the Top 500 in the US and just within it in the UK. 
 
While Jennifer might be out of style then (and perhaps even slightly unexpected these days), a number of names with similar sounds have taken over. These include Genevieve, Imogen, Josephine, and Genesis, while the more modern Cornish fave is probably Elowen (or Elowyn).

Jennifer

 abound on Nameberry, with over 10,000 names on this list containing three syllables.

That's an overwhelming number of choices of names for baby girls with three syllables, which provide a good balance for shorter surnames.

To help narrow down your choice, see our list of The Best 

The full list of over 10,000 three syllable names for baby girls, with meanings, origins, and popularity, including top 3 syllable girl names and unique girl names with three syllables. (Page 13)

Three Syllable Girl Names