Updated May 2023
Across 2 pages
of 2
Botanical name
The quirky, offbeat and energetic botanical name Ivy is enjoying a deserved revival, propelled even higher by its choice by high-profile parents Beyonce and Jay-Z for daughter Blue Ivy. Ivy is also…
Flower name; Greek
"rainbow"
Iris has so much going for it. It's a fashionable flower name. It's a mythological name, from the Greek goddess of the rainbow. And it's a classic name, always ranking in the girls' Top 1000 but now…
Mayan
"rainbow lady"
This name, stemming from the Mayan mythological figure of the Rainbow Lady, is a surprising pop hit, primarily among Hispanic parents. Variation Alitzel was the second fastest-rising name in the US…
Word name
"hard, white material from the tusks and teeth of animals; pale, white"
Ivory was last popular a hundred years ago. In 2013, it finally began to regain some momentum in the female rankings, reentering the Top 1000, while 2024 saw it jump up the charts again by over 100…
Short form of India, Indigo etc
Indie is an independent-sounding nickname name that is in the Top 100 in Wales. As a diminutive, it's growing in popularity -- along with indie films, indie publishing -- and the reason some parents…
Greek
"peace"
Serene Irene, the name of the Greek goddess of peace and one of the most familiar Greek goddess names , was hugely popular in ancient Rome and again in the United States a hundred years ago. One of…
Short form of Indiana
Indie — as in indie films — is the more girlish version of the name, but earthy, gender-neutral Indy is catching up slowly and steadily. Indy entered the Top 1000 for girls for the first time in 2023…
"Indian dye"
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…
Italian, Portuguese, Slovene and Croatian variation of Agnes
"pure, virginal"
This form of Agnes, Ines has always been popular since the true story of the thwarted lovers Queen Ines of Castro and King Peter of Portugal. This has to be one of the most heartbreaking and bloody…
Celtic
"maiden"
Imogen has long been fashionable in England and is gaining favor in the US among stylish parents. Pronounced the British way — the initial i is short as in Kim, as is the final E as in Ken — Imogen…
German
"industrious one"
Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava. A century ago, Ida was considered "sweet as apple cider," and was Number 10 on…
Spanish variation of Agnes
Also spelled Ines, this name of the prudish mother of Don Juan in the Byron poem has a touch of mystery, but has also been fully integrated into the American name pool. Inez Milholland and Inez Hayes…
Germanic, Persian, or diminutive of Isabel
"ice; strong-willed; pledged to God"
Isa is a name unto itself as both a Persian name meaning "strong-willed" and as Germanic one derived from the element is meaning "ice". It can also be a short form of Isabel, Isabella, Isadora,…
Diminutive of Isabel and Isabella
The longer Isabella stays in the Top 10—and it's been there for more than a decade—the more we hear the nickname Izzy (especially if we watch Grey's Anatomy ). it's just a matter of time before it…
Jamaican
"positive and powerful"
A name used in the Caribbean, taken from the Rastafarian term that translates best to "positive and powerful." Rastas often greet each other by saying, "Are you feeling Irie today?"
Variation of Isa, German
"strong-willed"
Issa might make more sense if you're using it as a nickname for any one of the various names ending in -issa, but this spelling is also an Arabic and Hebrew boy name. The Isa spelling is almost…
"universal, whole, great"
A Top 200 choice in the US from the late 1880s to the early 1930s, Irma has nevertheless fallen out of favor with modern parents, and doesn't look set for the sort of comeback that some of her…
Sanskrit, Latvian
"possessing drops of rain; reed, water witch; estate ruler"
In Hindu tradition, Indra is the warrior god of sky and rain, whose name is often used as element of other names, such as Jaswinder or Rajendra. Its use as a feminine name may come from the Western…
Cherokee
"black fox"
One of three Cherokee names with the same meaning, along with Inali and Enoli, both male names.
Greek mythology name
Io may be one of the slightest names in the book, but there aren't many two-letter names with as much substance as this Greek mythological example. Io, a name used for the largest moon of Jupiter,…