Three Syllable Names for Girls

Sweet but spiky, Anika is a multicultural choice with broad appeal. Familiar in the UK, Czechia, Poland, and the US, it is in the Top 100 in Slovenia. It is additionally popular in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the Netherlands.
 
From its Dutch, German, Slovene, Polish, Danish, and English roots, Anika is a diminutive of Anne or Ana, lending it the meaning "grace" or "gracious". Pronounced as AH-nee-kah in Dutch and German, A-nee-kah in Slovene, and as ANN-ih-kuh, AHN-ih-kuh, or ONN-ih-kuh in English, it could work across multiple languages, though the exact pronunciation might need prompting sometimes. An alternative spelling is Annika, the ore popular choice in Estonia 
 
From its Hindi and Sanskrit roots, it can mean "army, troops" and "splendour" and would likely be pronounced as uh-nee-kah, without emphasis on any of the syllables. Additionally, the name is used as a Hawaiian form of Anita (said a-NI-ka, and another variation of Anne); a Japanese name meaning "second, Asia + new + song" (said AH-NEE-KAH); and a spelling variant of the Arabic Aniqah, meaning "stylish, neat".

Anika

This evocative place-name is rising in popularity -- despite (or perhaps because of) the unfortunate association with an airplane that went missing in March 2014. 

Malaysia

The fastest-rising boy name of 2021 is now among the fastest-rising girl names of 2022, both thanks to the rise of luxury fashion brand AMIRI. A commonly used name in Māori culture, Amiri refers to the wind that blows from east to west. In the US, it's more often seen as a variation of the Arabic and Hebrew name Amir and Amira. 

Amiri

Simple and melodic, this spelling offers an alternative to the more-popular Aliyah or Aaliyah -- the name of the late R&B singer who propelled the name into the US Top 100. 

Aleah

Barbara is back and among the fastest-rising names of recent years! Credit goes to 2023's breakout movie Barbie, which gave a new stylish feel to the classic Barbara and set it up to rank alongside clunky, retro choices like Deborah, Marjorie, Marilyn, and Dorothy. 
 
 Rooted in ancient Greek and ranking in the Top 10 in the US throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, Barbara has the same root as the word barbarian, meaning stranger or foreigner. There is the popular third century St. Barbara, who was reputed to have been imprisoned in a tower and may have been the inspiration for Rapunzel. She became the patron of architects, stonemasons, fortifications, and geologists, and protects against fire and lightning. 
 
the name has appeared in works by Dickens, Ellen Wood, and Thackeray and, most notably, as the idealistic protagonist of the George Bernard Shaw play Major Barbara. Noteworthy bearers include real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, actress Barbara Stanwyck (born Ruby), novelist Barbara Pym, TV's Barbara Walters, and "My Name is Barbra" Streisand. Barbara Gordon was the original Batgirl in the comic books.
 And the of course there's Barbie, though today, Bebe, Bobbie, or even Babs might make a cuter retro nickname.

Barbara

Though the most famous Elia, screenwriter Kazan, was male, this name sounds like a spin on many popular girls' names, from Ella to Ellie to Isla and Leah. While the Italian pronunciation has the middle syllable as LEE, making it closer to the original Elijah would give the middle syllable a long I sound — eh-LYE-ah.

Elia

With the melodic Leilani in the US Top 100, and gaining traction across the pond in the UK too, alternative spellings have naturally come into use. Leilany and Laylani are currently the more popular variations, with both ranking in the Top 1000 and each given to around 300 babies in a recent year. Leylani currently lags slightly behind, but is nevertheless becoming increasingly familiar, particularly among Spanish speakers.
 
Dancer, model and TV host Leylani Leyton rose to fame in 2023 when she was crowned Miss International Nicaragua and her subsequent social media popularity may draw more people's attention to this spelling in coming years.

Leylani

Jianna was one of the fastest-rising names of 2020 after the deaths of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. It continued to rise in 2021.

Jianna

Can be shortened to Nova, which has seen a meteoric rise into the Top 50 in recent years. Novalee appeared on the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2016 and continues to drift gently upward.

Novalee

Roselyn was a frequent member of the US Top 1000 in the early twentieth century until it dropped off the charts in 1954. It didn't return until 2003.
 This name takes Rosalind and makes it rosier. As with any creative variation, expect to spell the name anytime you meet someone new.

Roselyn

Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both style and substance along with its Shakespearean pedigree.
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Cordelia is a Nameberry favorite—Number 106 on the site—and it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2014 after a 60+ year absence. By 2016 it sank below that line again, must to the relief of many Cordelia fans who feared the name would get too popular.
 
If you're torn between Cordelia and the equally lovely Cora, you can always choose Cordelia for long and then call her Cora for short—or Delia, Lia, Del, or even the extremely different Cordie.
 Cordelia also appeared in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, as detective Cordelia Gray in P.D. James's mystery novels, and was promoted by a character on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.
 And then there's that quote from the heroine of Anne of Green Gables: "I would love to be called Cordelia. It's such a perfectly elegant name."

Cordelia

The Prophet Muhammad's first wife and the first convert to Islam, and a very popular name in the Muslim community. It ranks in the Top 200 girls' names in France, Italy and England & Wales (alongside variant Khadijah just below the Top 200).

Khadija

A popular Japanese name for both sexes that's migrated to the West because of its appearance in manga and video games and because of its international feel. It was a fast rising choice in 2024, when it entered the Top 1000.

Akira

Appearing in the US Top 1000 and popular among Spanish speaking families, Arely may be one of two things: a twist on the Hebrew masculine name, Areli, or a shortened form of the Spanish Araceli. 
 
If you choose to relate it to its Hebrew origins, Arely means "lion of God" and appears in the Bible on a minor character. Pronounced as ah-REE-lye, it is reminiscent of Eli, Ariel, and Malachi.
 
If you choose to see it as a contracted form of Araceli, then it has the celestial meaning "sky altar" and it is likely this origin that Hispanic parents had in mind when choosing it. In this case, the pronunciation would be ah-reh-LEE. 
 
Also spelled as Areli, it is the Arely spelling that currently makes the charts in the US, given to around 260 babies in a recent year.

Arely

A newcomer to the US popularity charts, likely influenced by the popularity of similar names Camila and Camilla.

Kamiyah

Adalee's rise into the Top 1000 is thanks to the current fashion for all names ada-related, including the similar Adeline and Adelaide. It does have a sweet melodic charm, but given the thousands of baby girls getting similar names in the US each year, it may not feel as original as you might like.

Adalee

Another spin on the mega-popular Adeline names, this form could stop any confusion about whether the ending is said lin, line, or leen, though with Adeline, Adaline, Adelyn, Adalyn, Adelina, and Adalynn all ranking above it, it may well be one of the last spellings people assume.
 
Ultimately from the Germanic element adal, via the French Adele and Adeline, Addilyn means "noble" or "nobility". It peaked in 2016 when it nearly made the US Top 300, however, recent years have seen it fall quite rapidly, and in a recent year, it was one of the least popular Adeline names in the Top 1000, only outranking Adalee and (the rising) Adele. 
 
Given to 364 girls, it is still substantially used however, and when combined with all its sister spellings, it is borne by a combined number of around 11760 babies, making it at least feel like a Top 10 choice

Addilyn

Annika is a surprise hit of recent years, inspired by golfer Sorenstam; for Trekkies, it was also the name of a 'Star Trek:Voyager' character. Some people's first memory of it might be as Pippi Longstocking's friend. A nice namesake for an ancestral Ann.

Annika

Simone, the elegant French feminization of Simon, strikes that all-important balance between unusual and familiar, and it's oozing with Gallic sophistication. A dated choice in its native France, gymnast Simone Biles brings new bounce and spark to name. 
 
Meaning "to listen, to hear, to hearken", it is a sophisticated choice, though depending on where you are, the pronunciation may vary. English speakers may say it with a long O sound in the second syllable, whereas in French, it is more like the sound in "bought". In Dutch and German, however, it is pronounced with three syllables. 
 Two French philosophers are notable bearers of the name: feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir, author of the influential The Second Sex, and Simone Weil. There are also two notable young athletes with the name: the aforementioned Simone Biles, who set a US record high of four medals in a single Olympics, and Simone Manuel, who became the first African-American female swimmer to bring home a gold.
 The actress who played the lead in the iconic French horror movie Cat People is Simone Simon, while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has a daughter named Simone; Chris Rock used it in the middle place for his daughter, as did Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates

Simone

With Harmony on the rise, this spelling variation is getting some attention as well. It was a newcomer to the US Top 1000 in 2015 and has remained in the latter end of the charts ever since. 

Harmoni

 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 22)

Three Syllable Girl Names