By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 27 pages
of 27
English word name
Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.
"cotton cloth imported from India; a blotched or spotted animal"
A word name with fashionable o -ending that has associations with both the homespun fabric and the mottled cat. Alice Cooper named his daughter Calico decades ago, while it was selected more recently…
English occupational name
"wool carder"
Unusual, serious, no-nonsense occupational surname that could be borrowed from the boys.
Variation of Carlisle, English
"from the walled city"
Might Carlyle (or Carlisle) be the next Carly, which of course was the update on Carla? In 2015, 14 girls were given the Carlisle spelling (vs. 35 boys) but the Carlyle version did not make the SSA…
Short form of Cecilia or Celia
"blind or heavenly"
With the growing popularity of Celia and Cecilia, this vintage canasta-playing nickname name could be due for a comeback. Ceil had a few years of recorded popularity in the first decade of the…
English
"camp on the meadow"
Chelsea with dyslexia.
Christmas is a day name long and quietly used as a name for babies born at Christmas . Prettier and more modern than Noel or Noelle.
English feminine variation of Clement, Latin
"mild, merciful"
One of the rarest of virtue names, Clemency could come back along with the more familiar Puritan virtue names such as Hope and Faith. It has a rhythmic three-syllable sound, and offers a more…
Latin
"dove"
A beautiful English and French flower name deriving from the Latin word for dove. Sadly, in America this name is now forever linked with a tragic terrorist attack on a Colorado high school.
English, elaborated form of Cora
Famous as the name of the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"carefree person"
Corliss, eccentric yet well-established, has an independent and artistic air.
"from Denmark"
This rarely heard name pares down all the ultrafeminine Dan names to one that's much more powerful, for both boys and girls.
French
"warhorse"
Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930…
English diminutive of Dorothy
"gift of god"
Sweet old-fashioned nickname name that could make a comeback in the wake of Sadie, Edie et al. Famous bearers include author Dodie Smith, who wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians and I Capture the…
"a female deer"
Doe is a soft and gentle-eyed middle name possibility and, like Fawn, one of the few animal names open to girls. The Ballad of Baby Doe is a modern American opera based on the story of Elizabeth…
English from French
"from Orsay"
Big Band-ish name could easily be confused with Darcy.
English, feminine variation of Earl
If there's an ancestral Earl you want to honor, consider Early instead.
"earth"
Used by the Puritans but off the US charts completely since the mid-1990s, Eartha is best known today as the name of American singer Eartha Kitt, as well as of the philanthropist and humanitarian…
English, from German
Easter has been used as a name for several hundred years, as part of the day-naming tradition; now, this rarely heard holiday celebration name would make a novel choice for a springtime baby.…
"small, noble one"
Feels like a hybrid. Better go for Edith or Evelyn.
