1798 Four Letter Girl Names

Jack for a girl: could it go the way of James and become a trendy new thing? There's something smart and understatedly cool about Jack for either gender, although long forms Jacqueline or Jacquetta aren't quite ready for a revival just yet.

A goddess of childbirth in Latvian mythology. She is known to be the patroness of all feminine duties as well as economic activity, like money and markets.

In Greek mythology, the river Styx separates the Earth and the Underworld, named for the goddess who gave it its power. Today Styx is also associated with the 1970s rock band of the same name.

For years there was only one Cher, and then along came the charming heroine of the movie "Clueless." The world now officially has enough Chers in it.

Although very rarely used for girls, its soft, gentle sound makes it a perfect candidate for crossing over to the female camp.

Musical choice that may be a short form of Jasmine or Jazlyn, or might stand on its own like this or as Jaz, the spelling used by tennis duo Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.

Pema is related to the more familiar Hindu name Padma and means lotus flower. This delightful name was given to only 14 girls in the USA last year, so it's guaranteed to be a unique choice. Pema is probably most familiar to Westerners through Buddhist nun Pema Chodron and through Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama's sister.

Ylva may look like it belongs with the Eva family of names, but it actually derives from Ulf, a name meaning "wolf." It's not a very intuitive name to English-speakers, and likely won't get picked up in the US anytime soon. At last count, it was only given to five American baby girls.

Sean may be off its peak for boys, but there were still 1300 baby boys named Sean in the US in the most recent year counted, versus only five baby girls. In fact, there were fewer than 30 baby girls given the spellings Sean, Shaun, and Shawn combined. So while this name has been long used for girls, it remains in only occasional use as a feminine name and is not truly unisex in the way that names such as Rory and River are.

One of the cute and bouncy nicknames so popular in the 1960s and 70s, but that hasn't made a comeback in the way Eames chairs and miniskirts have. Think of it as one of the original but now old-school unisex names starting with J, ala Jamie and Jessie.

Beautiful African name with a nevertheless mournful meaning.

This simple and pretty name means "goddess" in Brazilian Portuguese, and was given to a few dozen girls in 2022.

As Ryan quickly becomes a plausible option for a girl, some parents may be interested in the spelling Rian — the more authentic and original form of the name.

Somewhat flat-footed form; go for the original.

While god of mischief Loki is usually depicted as a male -- sometimes in animal form -- he gives birth as a mare to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir and also appears in some stories as an elderly woman. The name Loki, in contemporary American, will feel more feminine based solely on its sound.

What a lovely name for the much-longed for daughter - no wonder Aino is in the Top 5 in Finland, whence the name originates. Like other popular Finnish names, Aino is short and avoids the ubiquitous "a" ending we usually see in feminine names, which gives it a fresh feel and sound.

Now that the midcentury sound-alike name Gail for girls is sailing out to sea, Gael is becoming an increasingly popular name for boys -- and could make the gender switch in the opposite direction again.

Not to be confused with the Aria/Arya name family, Arja is a variation of Irja, which ultimately is derived from Irene.

Idra is one of the less obvious botanical names. In ancient times, a fig tree was a symbol of learning, peace, and prosperity.