UK Girl Names

Alexis, a one-time exclusively-<a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a>, was more popular than its sister Alexandra for quite a while, but in recent years Alexandra has overtaken it once again. Alexis was a Top 20 <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ name</a> from 1994-2010 but has experienced a decline in popularity in recent years, though now it's one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">top unisex names</a>.

 Alexis zoomed to popularity following the introduction of the Dynasty character Alexis Carrington in the 1980s – which gave it a sleek image – and was quite popular throughout the 90s and 2000s, peaking at the third most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ name</a> in 1999.

 One of the few notable female pre-Carrington Alexises was 1940s actress Alexis Smith, who had some minimal impact on the name, which entered the list in 1943. A current bearer is Alexis Bledel, who played Rory on Gilmore Girls and currently stars on The Handmaid's Tale.

Alexis

As a Top 600 name for girls for more than 20 years, Kamryn has become a widely-accepted version of the original Cameron. It also ranks just below the Top 1000 for boys too, though it is used three times more often on girls.
 Deriving from a Scottish surname made up of the Gaelic elements cam and sròn, Cameron means "crooked nose". This likely originated as a nickname, but if you were hoping for a different meaning, there is also the theory that the second part of the name may have come from the Gaelic abhainn meaning "river" or the Welsh bryn meaning "hill".
 
Given to 590 girls in a recent year, Kamryn is currently slightly less popular than classic Cameron and similar alternative Camryn. 
 
Dancers Kamryn Beck and Kamryn Smith, YouTuber Kamryn Renae, and crochet-Instagrammer Kamryn Cain are bearers of the name.

Kamryn

Lilian is the far less popular than the 'Lillian' spelling. To avoid a lifetime of mistakes and misspellings, we suggest you go with the Lillian spelling, which also looks more polished on paper. Whichever spelling you prefer, these names are benefitting from the fashion for <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/l">girls' names starting with L</a>.
 
In Sweden, Lilian is a royal name through Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, who was born Lillian Davies. In honor of her, it is also the middle name of two young Swedish princesses.

Lilian

Fresh, bright, and sunny, Della could be an alternative to Ella, Delilah, or Adeline. Familiar but not yet overused, it combines the elements of contemporary favorites with vintage charm.
 
With its noble meaning and associations with delight, Della was a popular choice in the 19th century and remained so up until the 1930s, when it slowly began to fall out of favor. It disappeared from the Top 1000 in 1978, but, after an absence of 40 years, it re-entered the charts in 2018.
 
This reappearance was perhaps partly inspired by actress and singer Della Reese, who died in 2017. This could have brought the name to the attention of a new generation of parents, and it has been climbing the US charts ever since. 
 
As a diminutive of Adela or Adelaide (or perhaps Delphine, Madeline, or Idella), Della fits into the trend of nicknames as proper names, blending well with the likes of Mila, Josie, and Nora.
 
Given to 518 girls it a recent year, it sits in the US Top 600. A small caution, however, is that della does mean "from the" in Italian.

Della

Allie is one short form that's gotten so popular it's often used as a name on its own. Cute, friendly, yet we'd recommend using one of the proper names such as Alice to give your daughter an option. 
 
As a given name, Allie peaked in 2010. These days, Ellie might be more fashionable.

Allie

A short form that is given on its own to a good number of baby girls each year — Cali has been on trend in recent years along with sister names Callie and Kali, as the popular 90s and early 2000s nickname Allie has felt less fresh.

The Cali spelling in particular also brings to mind the sunny state of California and all of the beachy imagery that follows.

Cali

Used quietly on boys in the US since the early 20th century, Mckenzie was abruptly overtaken by the Mackenzie spelling back in 1973 when actress Mackenzie Phillips introduced the name as a possibility for girls. While Mckenzie has never matched its sibling spelling in popularity, it nevertheless climbed the charts in its wake, peaking in 2000 at #133.
 
Originally a Scottish surname, Mckenzie is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Coinnich, Coinnich being one Gaelic form Kenneth. As a feminine name, it didn't appear in the US stats until 1975 and it first entered nearly 10 years later, in 1984. 
 
Given to around 710 girls in a recent year, Mckenzie is less than half as popular as Mackenzie, however when they are considered together with Makenzie and Kenzie too, nearly 3500 girls receive these sound-alike names, which could make them feel as popular as Top 100 names, such as Sophie, Addison, Leilani, or Josephine.

Mckenzie

Cleo, one of the few girls' names to boast the cool-yet-lively o ending, is of course short for Cleopatra, the name of one of the most powerful women in history.
 Cleo was most popular in the early decades of the twentieth century--when it was also used for boys. The opening of the Egyptian tombs along with the 1917 silent film starring Theda Bara popularized a range of now-obscure Cleopatra diminutives, including Cleora, and Cleola. 
 A distinguished bearer is the British jazz singer Cleo Laine, and there have been Cleos on two TV dramas: ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Maybe the fact that Cleo was recently chosen by Friends' David Schwimmer will ignite a welcome revival.
 Sound-alike Clio is the name of the ancient Greek mythological muse of history and heroic poetry, one that is rich with modern charm and would also make an intriguing choice,

Cleo

Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. As such, it is connected to the queen of Arthurian legend, and sharees the same meaning of "white shadow", "white wave", or "white phantom".
 
It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th, after playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor's Dilemma in 1906. It took a little more time to catch on in the US, but by the 1940s it was on the up and remained so until its heyday in the 70s.
 
But how did this Cornish name, originally used only among Cornish immigrants to the US, become such a star? One possibility is that parents were inspired by its similarity of other longstanding popular choices, such as Janet, Jane, Jenny, Jean, and Josephine, but another factor is pop culture. It was likely propelled on by actress Jennifer Jones and the use of the name in a variety of films, including I Married A Witch (1942), Portrait of Jennie (1948), Jennifer (1953), and Valley of the Dolls ( (1967). The songs Jenny Rebecca, Jennifer Eccles and Jennifer "Juniper" might also have got the name in people's heads. 
 
Jennifer became the girl top name of the 1970s in the US, when there were close to 800,000 Jennifers born, meaning 3.5% of girls born were called Jennifer. To put it in perspective, the second most popular name of the decade, Amy, was given to 1.6% of girls in the same time period, while 90s favorites Ashley and Jessica were chosen for 1.5% in they own heyday.
 
Jennifer began to really fall back down the charts in the 2000s and by 2010 it was out of the Top 100. Currently, it sits just outside the Top 500 in the US and just within it in the UK. 
 
While Jennifer might be out of style then (and perhaps even slightly unexpected these days), a number of names with similar sounds have taken over. These include Genevieve, Imogen, Josephine, and Genesis, while the more modern Cornish fave is probably Elowen (or Elowyn).

Jennifer

Marigold, once found almost exclusively in English novels and aristocratic nurseries, is beginning to be talked about and considered here. It has a sweet, sunny, quirky feel. The marigold was the symbol of the Virgin Mary.

 Marigold appears in several children's book titles, such as Magic for Marigold, Once Upon a Marigold and Marigold in Godmother's House, and in the adult Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym. On the TV show 1600 Penn, Marigold was the President's young daughter. 

 The name got a big boost from its use in the period drama Downton Abbey, in which it belongs to a sweet little girl – which no doubt helped to endear parents to the name! It has risen dramatically since then, and recently entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022. It was also one of the fastest rising names in 2023. We expect Marigold to be one to look out for as parents are looking for unique botanical names now that the previously offbeat Magnolia and Juniper are feeling less fresh.

Marigold

This variation of Aviana adds a second n, possibly to make the connection to Anna clearer. On the popularity charts, it first entered the US Top 1000 in 2011 and was one of the fastest-rising girls' names of 2016, entering the Top 500 for the first time. Its rising popularity could be attributed to the recent success of similar names Eliana/Elliana/Elianna and Ariana/Arianna. Whereas those two names shorten to Ellie and Ari, Avianna provides the trendy nickname Avi.

Avianna

Most famous as a Dracula victim (where Mina is short for Wilhelmina), Mina is a name that can stand on its own or be a diminutive of any name ending in -mina, most usually Wilhelmina.
This Old World German nickname name was popular in the US in the 19th century, then dropped from sight after World War II along with many other German names. That's turned around in the last 20 years, and Mina is now heading up the charts again.
Mina is also a nickname name that has its own nickname, Minka, used in many European countries and occasionally in the US, though usually identified as Polish.
Mina Loy was a modernist artist and writer who associated with the likes of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein.

Mina

A pretty princess-connected choice, with a compact, no-frills appearance, Tiana's debut in the US charts was likely thanks to actress Tiana Alexandra-Silliphant making her own debut in the 1975 movie The Killer Elite. Given to just 50 girls in 1974, but the following year, 247 babies received the name.
 
Familiarly used in the 80s and 90s, it was boosted up the charts again in 2010, after Disney bestowed the pretty name upon its first African-American princess in The Princess and the Frog. It nearly doubled in use in the US, while in France, Slovenia, England and Wales, New Zealand, and Australia it also saw a surge in popularity.
 
Usually considered a diminutive form of Tatiana (meaning unknown), it may also come from Christiana ("Christian"), or Bastiana ("venerable, from Sebaste"). It may be pronounced as tee-AHN-uh or as tee-ANN-uh, while spelling variations included Tianna, Tianah, and Tiyana.
 
In recent years, Tiana has declined in popularity, however, it's not in anyway out of style: the latest count saw it given to 490 babies, placing it in the US Top 700.

Tiana

While Elliott and Elliot are well-established for boys, parents are now considering both these <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy names for girls</a>, too. 
 
Credit the possibility of nickname Ellie, as well as literary associations with writer George Eliot - born Mary Ann Evans.
 
Elliott is the spelling used by the lead character in the Aubrey Plaza movie My Old Ass.

Elliott

The uber-popular nickname-name Ellie has led to the surge of all names that can be shortened as such. This includes Eliana, a current go-to for parents seeking a frilly name that shortens to a cuter option. Aliana is riding a similar wave, though this time the presumed nickname is Ali/Allie.
 Aliana Lohan is the younger sister of Lindsay. She goes by Ali.

Aliana

Though Loretta has long ago lost its Latin flair, fashionable Sarah Jessica Parker's choice of it as the middle name of one of her twin daughters freshens it up a bit. It's one of several such names, like Anita and Rita that we can envision making a comeback.
 It's a name that was once strongly associated with the glamorous, long popular movie and then TV star Loretta Young (born Gretchen), as well as country singer Loretta Lynn--who was named after Loretta Young.

Loretta

Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names that's making a big comeback. Short and sweet, it joins Cora, Florence, Iris, and Ivy in the charts. 
 
Also the name of a saint, Flora has long been a favorite in Scotland where it was the name of the young heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie make his way to the Isle of Skye. In Gaelic, her name was Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill, but the Anglicized Flora caught on with the Scots, who used it disproportionately compared to the rest of the UK until the 20th century.
 
Flora was a Top 100 name in the 1880s and 1890s but gradually descended until it finally fell off the list in 1972, but 2019 saw it return to the US charts in a big way. Now in the Top 700, it was given to 450 girls in recent year. Across the pond in Europe, it's even more popular: it ranks in the Top 300 in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and England and Wales, while in Hungary and Austria, it makes the Top 50. 

There have been a number of memorable Floras in literature, including the angelic yet eerie little girl in Henry James's Turn of the Screw, the exasperating but charming Flora Poste in Stella Gibson's Cold Comfort Farm, Flora MacIvor in Walter Scott's Waverly, and one of the three Good Fairies in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Flora is also the name of the eighth child and fifth daughter of Ballerina Farm Instastar Hannah Neeleman. 
 
Variations of the lovely Flora include the Italian Fiorella and Fiore, Spanish and Portuguese Florinda, Dutch Floor and Flortje, French Fleur, and English Floretta, Floy, and Flower.

Flora

Brinley was a surprise entrant to the US Top 1000 in 2009, however, in 2023, it doesn't feel surprising at all. In fact, alternative spellings Brynleigh and Brynlee also rank in the Top 1000, with Brynley not too far behind.
 
Combining the sounds of Brynn with popular suffix -lee, Brinley can also be an English surname. Either way, you get a contemporary sounding choice, in tune with Oakley and Everly, plus two possible nature-inspired meanings. 
 
Currently in the US Top 500, Brinley has declined in use in recent years, though it is still given to around 600 girls each year, while favored spelling Brynlee is given to double that. 
 
American wrestler Brinley Reece and social media and YouTube star Brinley Rich are notable bearers.

Brinley

The seventh most popular surname in Scotland and an alternative to Camryn, Cameron, and Camila, Campbell is a cool, contemporary unisex choice — a no-frills sort of name that nevertheless offers feminine nicknames like Cammie and Belle. It was one of the fastest rising choices in 2025, rising 338 places up the charts for girls, and 159 for boys.
 
Traditionally used for as a masculine (given) name — and still used as such in the UK — it first started appearing in the US stats for girls in the late-80s. By the 2000s, it began to lean more feminine, perhaps owing to the journalist and TV news correspondent Campbell Brown (born Alma), who began appearing on TV around the same period. 
 As a surname, Campbell is connected to philosopher-writer Joseph, singer Glen, actress Neve, model Naomi, GB Shaw muse Mrs. Patrick, and to Andy Warhol's soup cans — and the soup company more generally. 
 Derived from a Scottish nickname, it means "crooked or wry mouth", though if you strongly dislike this meaning, it has additionally been written as de bello campo in Latin documents, giving it the more pleasant meaning "of the fair field".
 
Occasionally spelled as Cambell too, Campbell ranked as a gender neutral choice in a recent year, featuring in the Top 1000 for both boys and girls. Given to 337 boys and 474 girls, it is split 42:58.

Campbell

The name of the sainted mother of the Virgin Mary was among the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls’ names</a> for centuries, in both the original English Ann spelling and the French Anne. Both left the Top 100 around 1970 but Anne is still among the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/322/classic-baby-names-for-girls">classic names for girls</a>, although others are more likely to choose the original Hannah, the Anna variation, or even Annabel or Annabella.
Anne was on a long slide from the early 1980s until about 2010, when its popularity in the US stabilized around the middle of the Top 1000.
 Anne was the name of six queens of England, two of them wives of Henry VIII, as well as the name of the present Queen Elizabeth's only daughter plus French and Russian royalty. More recently, Mindy Kaling chose Anne for her second daughter.
 Anne has too many distinguished namesakes to enumerate--but among them are Anne Hathaway, (both Shakespeare's wife and the contemporary actress), Anne of Green Gables, Anne Bronte, Anne Frank, and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Anne

UK names for baby girls originate from all the languages and cultures of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with Cornwall and the Isle of Man. UK girl names range from the top female names in the English-speaking world, such as Ann, Ella, and Kate to thousands of unique girls' names like Lettice, Myfanwy, and Pixie.

Browse this list of UK girl names from the Nameberry database that originate in the English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish and Manx languages and cultures. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.

UK names for baby girls originate from all the languages and cultures of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with Cornwall and the Isle of Man. UK girl names range from the top female names in the English-speaking world, such as Ann, Ella, and Kate to thousands of unique girls' names like Lettice, Myfanwy, and Pixie. Browse this list of UK girl names from the Nameberry database that originate in the English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish and Manx languages and cultures. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically. (Page 9)