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Three Letter Girl Names

Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Wed Nov 22 2023

Three letter girl names boast two representatives on the US Top 10, Ava and Mia.

Along with Ava and Mia, other girls' names with three letters popular in the US include Zoe, Eva, Ivy, Mya, Amy, Ana, and Lia.

The classics Ann and Eve are two of the most enduring baby girl names with three letters. Other classic three letter girls names include Ada, Ida, Fay, Kay, and May.

Unique three letter names for girls on our recommended list include Bay, Bee, Fia, Kit, Liv, Lou, Paz, Poe, Sky, Taj, Una, and Zen.

Our full collection of three letter names for girls follows, organized by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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Girl Names

Search Names by Number of Letters

  1. Mae

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Mary or Margaret, Hebrew, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "beloved, bitter, drop of the sea; pearl"

    • Description:

      Mae, a sweet and springlike old-fashioned name, hadn't been on the national charts in forty years, but finally made it back in 2010. Mae is derived from May, the month name that was chosen for its connection to Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and motherhood.
  2. Ava

    • Origin:

      Hebrew, Latin or Germanic

    • Meaning:

      "life; bird; water, island"

    • Description:

      Ava is one of the prime examples of a modern classic name, rising thought the course of a generation into the Top 10, where it has lingered for nearly 20 years.
  3. Mia

    • Origin:

      Italian word name or Scandinavian short form of Maria

    • Meaning:

      "mine or bitter"

    • Description:

      Mia is an appealingly unfussy multicultural name that has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the charts and is now firmly among the ten top girl names. Mia has surpassed its mother name Maria as the Number 1 girls' name starting with M.
  4. Ivy

    • Origin:

      Botanical name

    • Description:

      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 traditionally used at Christmas, make this one of the perfect names for December babies.
  5. Ada

    • Origin:

      German or Turkish

    • Meaning:

      "noble, nobility, or island"

    • Description:

      Ada is one of the classic baby names for girls that is suddenly super stylish again. A favorite at the end of the nineteenth century, Ada is an alternative to the over-popular Ava. Ada is also part of the trend toward simple, old-fashioned names beginning with a vowel, like Ivy and Ella.
  6. Eva

    • Origin:

      Latin form of Eve, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "life"

    • Description:

      Eva is a simple, classic Hebrew name for girls that recently slipped out of the US Top 100 for the first time in more than a decade. Pronounced either like her more popular sister Ava or less popular sister Eve, Eva is one of the elite group of girl names that mean life.
  7. Rue

    • Origin:

      Botanical names or word name

    • Meaning:

      "herb; regret"

    • Description:

      Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine to a fresh alternative to beloved middle name Rose. This botanical name is also a coincidental double word name, meaning "regret" in English and "street" in French. Despite these unfortunate secondary meanings, Rue has real potential to be one of the most popular new middle names for girls.
  8. Noa

    • Origin:

      Hebrew, Japanese

    • Meaning:

      "motion; my love, affection"

    • Description:

      This Old Testament name has been one of the most popular girls names in Israel over the last decade and is also a favorite in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. First appearing in the US charts back in the 2010s, it now sits in the Top 300, and while it may feel like an attempt to make Noah unisex, it is in fact a separate, feminine name.
  9. Amy

    • Origin:

      French

    • Meaning:

      "beloved"

    • Description:

      Amy is the English variation of the Old French name Amée—Aimée in modern French. Amée was a translation of the Latin name Amata, which derived from amatus, meaning "beloved." Other spelling variations include Amie and Ami.
  10. Zoe

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "life"

    • Description:

      Zoe is one of those surprising names that has been on the Top 1000 nearly every year since 1880, but it's only since the turn of this century that it's ranked in the Top 100.
  11. Ida

    • Origin:

      German

    • Meaning:

      "industrious one"

    • Description:

      Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava.
  12. Kit

    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Katherine, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "pure"

    • Description:

      Kit is a crisp, old-time nickname with plenty of spirit and style. In the UK it's a rising star for boys, while in the US, it is trending upwards for girls too.
  13. Eve

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "life"

    • Description:

      Eve, the oldest name in the Book, is now coming back into style, having the virtues of simplicity and purity, yet with more strength and resonance than other single-syllable names like Ann. British actor Clive Owen chose Eve for his daughter, as did Jessica Capshaw.
  14. Gia

    • Origin:

      Italian

    • Meaning:

      "God is gracious"

    • Description:

      Gia is a cute if slight name that calls to mind stylish sisters Mia, Lea, Pia, Tia, and Nia. One of the most familiar Italian baby names in the US, Gia is a short form of Gianna, which in turn is a diminutive of Giovanna, the feminine form of Giovanni, the Italian equivalent of John—all of them meaning "God is gracious."
  15. Ann

    • Origin:

      English variation of Hebrew Hannah

    • Meaning:

      "grace"

    • Description:

      Ann, the name of the sainted mother of the Virgin Mary, was among the top girls’ names for centuries, in both the original English Ann spelling and the French Anne. Both left the Top 100 around 1970 and show no signs of returning, with Anne is the middle of the US Top 1000 and Ann dropped out of sight.
  16. Liv

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Olivia, English, Norse

    • Meaning:

      "olive tree; life, protection"

    • Description:

      Liv combines the succinct charm of a nickname—people might assume it's short for Olivia—with the solidity of being a classic stand-alone Scandinavian name with a life-force meaning. It was brought into the public eye (in the English speaking world that is) due to the fame of actress and Aerosmith daughter Liv Tyler.
  17. Lia

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of names ending in -lia or Italian, Portuguese and Greek variation of Leah

    • Meaning:

      "weary"

    • Description:

      Short, sweet, and clear, Lia is used throughout Europe, across America, and in some areas of Asia and Africa, making it a truly international and versatile choice.
  18. Rae

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Rachel, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "ewe"

    • Description:

      All the old ae/ay middle names for girls are back--Kay, Fay, Mae/May, --and Rae is one of the coolest, used as such by celebrities as Mark Wahlberg and Daniel Baldwin.
  19. Fia

    • Origin:

      Irish, Portuguese, Italian

    • Meaning:

      "wild, weaver"

    • Description:

      Fia may be most notable at this moment as the Anglicized version of the Irish Fiadh, one of the fastest-rising names in the Republic of Ireland. The meaning of Fia or Fiadh is sometimes given as "deer" but that's in the sense of a wild deer, as the name relates to the ancient word for wild.
  20. Pia

    • Origin:

      Latin or diminutive of Olympia

    • Meaning:

      "pious; from Mount Olympus"

    • Description:

      Soft name in the Mia-Nia-Tia family, Pia is heard in both European and Hindi languages.