Animal Names for Girls

Though associated traditionally (and fashionably) with boys, it has been used occasionally for girls as well – by Garth Brooks, Nicolas Cage, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, for example. But August is used significantly more often for girls these days than traditional feminine variations Augusta and Augustina, and makes for a fresh twist on traditional month names like April and May, as well as an updated spin on season name Autumn.

August

The name of an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and a section of Greater London, Bexley is increasingly being coopted by parents looking for a novel name in the Kinsley/AInsley/Paisley family. Bexley debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016 and is definitely one of the trendiest <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/b">girl names starting with B</a>. Think of it as a 21st century Becky.

Bexley, along with Bexlee and Bexleigh as well as nickname Bex, is used for several hundred baby girls each year in the US.

Bexley

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

Though it relates to the Irish original, Ashlyn and its next most popular form, Ashlynn, owe more of their popularity as baby names in the US to the megastar Ashley, though all three have been dropping on the charts lately.

Ashlyn

Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 49 percent girls and 51 percent boys.

 A locational surname name deriving from several places in England, there are multiple legitimate derivations for this name. One is from Old English earn "eagle" + denu "valley", while another is from the Celtic ard meaning "high".

 As a girl name, Arden has been flirting with the bottom of the Top 1000 for a number of years, just missing out in a recent count when it was given to 237 girls. A solid Nameberry favorite, it currently ranks in the UK Top 800 for boys, where is leans notably more masculine (15:85)

 Arden is more familiar as a surname, as in cosmetics entrepreneur Elizabeth and actress Eve, and the narrative poem by Tennyson, Enoch Arden, along with Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden. 
 
A notable first name bearer is Arden Cho, actress and singer, and the voice of a lead character in hit movie, KPOP Demon Hunters, while social media influencer Lacey Douthat (of The Glitter Gospel) named her daughter Arden Laine in 2025.

Arden

This Anglicized spelling of Irish Aislinn or Aisling has enjoyed some popularity in the US as an updated Ashley.

Ashlynn

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

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

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

Blending the sounds of Bryce, Brian, Riley and Kylie, Brylee is a modern invention that ranked in the US Top 1000 from 2005 to 2022. It peaked back in 2012 when it was given to around 770 babies, but has since been in decline. Given to around 230 girls in a recent year, Brynlee and Oakley are now preferred. 
 
Possible meanings include "speckled meadow", "hill by the meadow", or " thorny woodland clearing", depending on what roots you follow.

Brylee

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

Corinne is one of the names that, it might surprise you to learn, ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names until 2020, when it fell off the charts after 140 years. Its most popular year was 1926, when it ranked Number 249. Corinna is another pretty ancient form of the name, technically a diminutive.

Corinne

A charming multicultural choice with a daring yet grounded sound, Adara is a both a Hebrew name with a noble meaning, and an Arabic name with ties to astronomy. Popular in Puerto Rico and Spain, it is also on the rise in the US.
 
Also spelled as Adhara, it is the name of the second brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, making it a possible choice for anyone who wants a space-related choice or to honor someone with a love of astronomy. From its Arabic roots, it also means "maidens", making it a possible idea for a Virgo baby too. 
 
With possible nicknames Addie, Dara, Ari, and Ada possible and the Adhara form already in the Top 1000, Adara may be one to watch out for in coming years.

Adara

This Bailey variation is the second most popular spelling for girls, and while the -ee ending does make it more feminine, it feels more substantial in the original form. Bailee and Bayley are two other, less common alternatives.

Baylee

Though a couple of its more "creative" spellings—Carli and Karlee, for example—are still on the rise, this feminine form of Carl, popularized by singer Carly Simon in the 1970s, could by no stretch be considered fashionable. Despite its decline, the name has still seen some use in the entertainment industry, from Nickelodeon's iCarly to Canadian pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen.