By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 119 pages
of 119
Arabic, Turkish
"returning visitor; moon"
Ada and Ida soundalike that has two wonderful potential meanings. A famous bearer is American model and actress Ayda Field.
Variation of Xenia, Greek
"guest, hospitality"
Familiar through the similarly pronounced TV Warrior Princess, Xena, this name ultimately derives from the Greek Xenia, meaning "guest, foreigner, hospitality". Familiar in the early 19th century in…
Variation of Ava
Ayva is a new entry in the popular Ava and Eva cluster. Its only advantage over the original is that it clarifies pronunciation....but that's not much of a problem if you simply spell it Ava.
Hebrew
"rejuvenation, delight"
Edna is one of those names that, until what it seemed like a few minutes ago, felt so terminally frumpy that no one could imagine a parent choosing it for an innocent modern baby girl. But with the…
Japanese place name or Celtic
"happy"
Soft, simple, and far more unusual than Tara or Farrah. As a Japanese place name, it's been used occasionally as a surname and is beginning to be used as a first. Nara is also the name of a Hindu…
Diminutive of Roxanne, Persian
"dawn"
Roxy, also spelled Roxie, is one of those high-stepping showgal names with plenty of moxie, among the many sassy nickname names on the U.K. popularity list--currently Number 398. The fictional…
Diminutive of Alexandra or Alexis
"defending men"
One of the most evenly divided unisex names these days; strong and energetic, if overused, for both genders.
Irish, English
"between two hills"
Arlo, an unexpectedly popular name for boys these days, is also finding new life as a girls' name. Its roots are primarily as an Irish or English surname, but it might also be a short form of the…
Russian and Slavic feminine form of Galina
Festive name of the wife of Salvador Dali. In Spanish, Gala comes from the Roman name Galla, a feminine form of Gallus meaning "rooster" or "a person from Gaul".
Scandinavian
"June"
Juni is the Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish form of the month name June. While Juni feels cute and fresh, most Americans would assume it was a nickname or a Joni variation. We prefer Juna or…
"joined, attached"
Levi was given to about 10,000 baby boys in the US last year, along with 67 baby girls.
Viha is a feminine name with multicultural significance. In Finnish, the word means "green" or "verdant," connecting the name to nature and growth. Contrastingly, in Hindi and Sanskrit, "viha" means…
Punjabi, Sikh
"life, soul"
This short and distinct unisex Indian name is one to add to the appealing list of lively names meaning "life". It was a fast rising choice in Canada and the UK in recent years, perhaps owing to the…
Irish
"golden princess"
Orla is an Irish name closely associated with the high king Brian Boru, as it was the name of his sister, daughter and niece. It was very popular in the Middle Ages – the fourth most popular name in…
Short form of Oscar or Osborn, English or Irish
"deer; divine"
This grandpa-esque nickname, traditionally short for masculine names like Osmond, Oscar, or Oswald, is starting to get traction on its own, thanks to its cool, zippy sound. In the Top 1000 for boys…
Ania is a feminine name with Slavic origins, particularly popular in Poland and other Eastern European countries. It functions as a diminutive form of Anna, which ultimately derives from the Hebrew…
Drue as a feminine name is a modern spelling variation of Drew, which itself began as a shortened form of the masculine Andrew, meaning "manly" or "brave" from Greek origins. This particular spelling…
Variation of Indie, English
"independent"
A true maverick of a girls' name — even more so with this spelling, the least common between Indie, Indy, and Indi.
Diminutive of Linda, English, Welsh
"pretty, soft, tender; lake"
Lynn arrived in the 1940s, spinning off from the wildly popular Linda to become a top mid-century middle (and first) name, ranking at #58 during its 1956 peak. Now, however, Lynn is out of the…
Variation of Nova, Latin
"new"
This Nova-offshoot is hot in the Netherlands, where it was recently one of the fastest-rising names of the year. It could eventually see great success in the US as well, and was given to 46 American…
