Animal Names for Girls

Popular Portuguese and Spanish name that refers to "dulce nombre de Maria" -- the sweet name of the Virgin Mary. English variant Dulcie has a different pronunciation, and is significantly less popular in the US, given to 8 babies compared to the 438 girls called Dulce in 2024.

Dulce

Celia, splendidly sleek and feminine, is a name that was scattered throughout Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature, but still manages to feel totally modern. Derived from the Latin Caelius, it means "heavenly".
 Shakespeare has been credited with introducing Celia in As You Like It, and it was to Celia that the poet Ben Jonson penned the immortal line, "Drink to me only with thine eyes." Other literary Celias have appeared in works ranging from George Eliot's Middlemarch to T. S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party to Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin</em.>
 
While Celia has a similar sound to Cecilia, and may well be used as a short form of the longer name, the two have different roots. Cecilia comes from the Latin caecus meaning "blind", while Celia is from caelum meaning "heaven". 
 
Familiar but not overused, Celia has been in the US Top 1000 since records began in the 1880s, however, it has been outside the Top 500 since the 60s. Also in the England and Wales Top 1000, it is a favorite in Spain, France, and Belgium. Said as SEE-lee-uh or SEEL-yuh among English speakers, in Spanish, it may be pronounced THEHL-ya or SEHL-ya, depending on region. 
 
A bit of trivia: Celia is an anagram of Alice, meaning it could potentially work as an honor name.

Celia

A fast rising choice in the US, Belen is a name with two possible origins. On one hand, it could be a variation — or an anglicization — of Belén, the Spanish form of Bethlehem. This would make it a spiritual choice, connected to the birth place of Jesus. 
 
Alternatively, though more rarely, Belen can be a Turkish name meaning "mountainside" and appears in the name of a number of places in Turkey. 
 
Popular in Chile, Spain, and Uruguay, Belen (or Belén) has been on the charts in the US since the 2000s and peaked in a recent year when it first entered the Top 7000. Given to 430 girls, it could make an unexpected option for nickname Belle (or Bel), or a way to Benny, Bee, and Leni.

Belen

Familiar in the UK where it has featured just outside or towards the end of the Top 1000 since the late 90s, this spelling was once a well-used option in the US too, peaking in the 1920s and 30s, when it was in the Top 450. Now, it's making its way back to the American, mainstream, having re-entered the popularity charts in recent years.
 
While it is unlikely to reach the heights of popularity that sleeker Eloise has, it may well work it you're wanting to honor a Louise or a Louisa, or if you want to more easily access the unisex nickname Lou. This spelling was given to 266 girls in a recent year in the US, while Eloise was chosen for 3430.

Elouise

The enormous popularity of Emily and Emma means that parents will be looking further afield for substitutes -- and this is one of the prettiest.

Emiliana

One of the many liquid, vowel-heavy names that are so fashionable right now.

Alaiya

Like Araceli, Cielo is a heavenly name associated with the Virgin Mary. Cielo, the Spanish word for "sky," began being used as a name in honor of María del Cielo, a title for the Virgin Mary meaning "Mary of the Sky."
 
Cielo had a small peak in the US in 2001, when it was given to 258 baby girls. This was influenced by a character named Maria del Cielo on a Mexican telenovela called "Por tu amor."
 
However, it was Luisana Lopilato and Michael Bublé naming their daughter Cielo Yoli Rose in 2022 which really drummed up more interest in this lilting, lovely name, leading to Cielo cracking the Top 1000 for the first time in the 2022 charts.

Cielo

Bellamy is emerging as an up-and-coming <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' name</a>, an Irish surname-y riff on the super-popular Bella series of names. While the Bella connection makes Bellamy sound a little trendier and more popular than it really is, we see the name possibly rising through the ranks for both genders in the coming years.

Bellamy

A beautiful modern Cornish nature name that is rapidly picking up steam in the States: even spawning variant spellings like Elowyn and Elowynn. In its native region, it wasn't widely used as a name before the twentieth century, when the Cornish language was revived. A fresh and magical member of the fashionable El- family of names, it has a pleasant, evocative sound.

The traditional Cornish pronunciation is with stress on the middle syllable: eh-LOW-en. But most English speakers seem to pronounce it with first-syllable stress, perhaps on the example of more familiar names like Eleanor and Elodie.

 
Elowen has been in the Top 1000 in the UK since 2017 and is the preferred spelling there, while in the US, Elowyn is the favorite, currently in the Top 500. Elowen is also gaining attention however, and entered the Top 1000 in 2024 when it was chosen for 294 babies.

Elowen

Irish Aileen and Scottish Eileen may be pronounced the same way or Aileen can be pronounced with a long a at the beginning. While neither is particularly stylish, Aileen is slightly more popular and has reversed its downward slide to inch upward in the past few years, perhaps thanks to its stylish A beginning. Nicknames for Aileen include Isla, Ayla, Lee and Lena.

Aileen

Similar in sound to the flower name Dahlia, this gentle but distinctive name, heard in many cultures, hits that Golden Mean between too popular and too unusual. In Lithuanian mythology, Dalia is a goddess of weaving and of fate.

Dalia

Adley made the Top 1000 at Number 735 in 2012 on the heels of sister name Hadley, only to vanish again in 2013. But now, with the popularity of Adelaide and Adeline, it has leaped upward and entered the Top 1000 once again. Adley feels in step with name trends of the moment, but will it survive the ages? Other such mashups have not.

Adley

A familiar name in India, Avani has a soft but spirited sound and an attractive meaning, perfect for lovers of nature and those looking for a name to celebrate the planet. Derived from the Sanskrit word for "earth", English speakers are likely to pronounce it with three syllables (UH-vah-nee), while in Hindi, it is said as AHV-nee and in Marathi as ah-VAH-nee. 
 V is currently one of the hottest letters a girl name can have — Olivia, Ava, Evelyn, and Ivy being notable examples — putting Avani right on trend. This gorgeous Hindi name first made the US Top 1000 back in 2023 and a recent year saw it in the latter end of the charts, given to around 260 girls.
 
A fast rising choice in England and Wales, ranking in the Top 600, Avani is notably borne by Paralympian Avani Lekhara, TikTok star and actress Avani Gregg, and one of India's first female combat pilots, Avani Chaturvedi. It rise in the UK also coincided with the introduction of the character Avani Nandra-Hart into the popular soap, Eastenders in 2023, which may have introduced the name to a wider audience.

Avani

A combination name and an English surname, Brynleigh has trendy sounds and two possible nature meanings. Less popular than its counterparts, Brinley and Brynlee, it is nevertheless still in the US Top 1000. 

Brynleigh

Boys' favorite retains more of its poetic, windswept quality when used for a girl, as Robin Wright and Sean Penn did. Alyssa Milano gave her daughter Elizabella Dylan as a middle name. 

Dylan

The popular -leigh suffix is clearly an attempt to feminize this traditionally boyish nickname — and it works. There were about 350 baby girls named Charleigh in the US last year — and zero baby boys.

That's in contrast to Charlee and Charli, which are mostly but not 100% female. And the traditional spelling Charlie, which is almost equally split between boys and girls.

Charleigh

Aura is a New Age-y word turned name turned contemporary slang for being cool, confident, and suave. Also associated with ancient mythology, the spiritual "essence" surrounding someone, with the atmosphere, light, or vibe something gives off, and with an oncoming migraine, Aura has a lot going for it — and against it too.
 
 In Greek and Roman mythology, Aura was the Titan of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning. But at odds with her peaceful meaning, the mythological Aura is a tragic figure, ultimately transformed into a fountain by Zeus. 
 
Similar in sound and appearance to popular Aurora and Aurelia, along with Cora, Nora, and Flora, Aura was not all that unusual in the 1800s. In fact, she reached Number 511 on the US chart in 1882. Today, Aura is coming back into style, popular in Puerto Rico, Spain, England and Wales, and the US.
 
2023 saw Aura make the Top 1000 for the first time in more than a century, and she has continued to rise: more than 300 girls were called Aura in a recent year, suggesting the slang term hasn't hurt her popularity too much.

Aura

Simpler and less tied to the singer in this form, Aliya is a feminine form of the Arabic name Ali, meaning "lofty, sublime, high" or "exalted." Boosted to fame by the ill-fated singer, Aaliyah, and used across the Middle East, the US and the UK, Aliya is a powerful and pretty choice with a concise spelling. 
It could also be linked to the Hebrew word "alah" meaning "to rise" or "to ascend" and refers to the migration of Jews to Israel. 
Do you prefer this sleeker spelling to the higher ranking Aaliyah? You might also enjoy Alia or Alya.

Aliya

Now that Isla Fisher has pushed her once-obscure name into the Top 150, some parents are looking for similar-sounding <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/472/scottish-names-for-girls">Scottish names for girls</a> that are further off the beaten path. This one is especially promising, with its cross-cultural appeal. Ayla, a common name in Turkey, is also worth considering.

Aila

Amelia meets Emily, gets a Bohemian spin and a French accent when it becomes Amelie. This favorite among <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/497/french-names-for-girls">French girl names</a> has been gaining notice here thanks to the charming 2001 French film Amelie and because of its similarity to the other popular choices, like the aforementioned Amelia and Emily, but also Aimee, Amber, Amari, and Allie. It entered the American popularity list in 2002 and is now solidly established in the latter end of the Top 1000. 
 
Despite their similarities, Amelie and Emily have different roots and meanings. The former is taken from the the Germanic element, amal, meaning "work, vigorous, unceasing", while the latter comes from the Latin aemulus meaning "rival". Neither are related to Emma (from the Germanic irmin meaning "whole") or Aimee (from the French Amée meaning "beloved") either. 
 Typically spelled as Amélie in France and Belgium, it's also popular in Austria, England and Wales, Australia, Italy, Czechia, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It would be pronounced as AH-MEH-LEE in French, AH-meh-lee in German, and A-muh-lee in English.
 Probably inspired by the name of French King Louis Philippe's consort Marie-Amelie, Balzac used the name for two of his prominent characters.