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Girl Names More Popular Than You Think

Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Thu May 22 2025
Girl Names More Popular Than You Think

It's many a baby namers' nightmare: You pick a name that you think is original, undiscovered, only to find out that every other girl in the playground seems to be named Sevyn, Cielo, or Marjorie.

But unless you've been hanging out in hospital nurseries or toddler daycares recently, it's understandable how you might think a name is unique and rare only to discover it's given to hundreds of babies every year.

The names on this list were given to at least 200 baby girls in the US in the last year counted, and many of them surprised us by their popularity. These names include modern names like Bexley, vintage choices like Wendy, and word names and surnames like Halo and Kimber.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with these names, but if you're looking for a name for your daughter that's off the beaten track, you might want to keep looking. Or re-evaluate how much popularity matters to you really.

Names on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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Girl Names

Popular Names

  1. Seraphina

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "ardent; fiery"

    • Description:

      Seraphina is one of the most-searched name on Nameberry, destined for even greater popularity. The highest-ranking angels, the six-winged seraphim, inspired the lovely name Seraphina.
  2. Cleo

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "glory"

    • Description:

      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.
  3. Bonnie

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "beautiful, cheerful"

    • Description:

      Bonnie is an adorable nickname name, heading back up the popularity list after a 50-year nap. A Top 100 girls' name throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, Americans are later to jump on the Bonnie bandwagon but now it's trending here too.
  4. Elowyn

    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Elowen, Cornish

    • Meaning:

      "elm"

    • Description:

      The -en ending is the authentically female one and the traditional Cornish spelling, but more and more Americans are turning to the y as a feminizing element in the final syllable of this name. As such, the name begins to feel more in tune with the likes of Brooklyn or Evelyn while still maintaining its more magical qualities.
  5. Celia

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "heavenly"

    • Description:

      Celia, splendidly sleek and feminine, is a name that was scattered throughout Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature, but still manages to feel totally modern.
  6. Clover

    • Origin:

      Flower name, from Old English

    • Meaning:

      "key"

    • Description:

      Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.
  7. Simone

    • Origin:

      French, feminine variation of Hebrew Simon

    • Meaning:

      "listening, hearkening"

    • Description:

      Simone, the elegant French feminization of Simon, strikes that all-important balance between unusual and familiar, and it's oozing with Gallic sophistication. A dated choice in its native France, gymnast Simone Biles brings new bounce and spark to name.
  8. Persephone

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "bringer of destruction"

    • Description:

      Persephone is the esoteric name of the Greek mythological daughter of Zeus by Demeter, the queen of the harvest. After she was kidnapped by Hades to be Queen of the Underworld, it was decreed by Zeus that she would spend six months of the year with her mother, allowing crops to grow, and six in mourning, thus accounting for the seasons.
  9. Marceline

    • Origin:

      Feminization of Marcel, French

    • Meaning:

      "little warrior"

    • Description:

      Balancing femininity, vintage charm, and fantasy nerdiness, Marceline is one to watch. Marceline the Vampire Queen from the 2010-2018 animated TV series Adventure Time brought her elaborate French name back into public consciousness. It re-entered the Top 1000 in 2020, after an 86 year hiatus, and rose into the 700s in 2021. Nicknames Marcie and Marcy are rising in popularity as well. Marceline may appeal to parents who like frilly, traditional, and sophisticated names such as Josephine and Genevieve.
  10. Billie

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Wilhelmina, Wilma

    • Meaning:

      "resolute protection"

    • Description:

      Billie is a tomboy nickname name, part of the growing trend for using boyish nicknames for girls and now destined for stardom along with its most famous contemporary bearer, music sensation Billie Eilish.
  11. Nellie

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Helen, Ellen, and Eleanor, English, Swedish

    • Meaning:

      "light, shining torch"

    • Description:

      This sweet nickname name has seen a recent revival in the US, breaking the Top 1000 in 2019 for the first time in 40 years. By 2023, Nellie became one of the fastest rising girl names, chasing sister name Eleanor up the charts. Nellie is an elaboration of Nell, a medieval diminutive of names starting with El, such as Eleanor and Ellen. It may have arisen from the affectionate phrase "mine El" which was later reinterpreted as "my Nel".
  12. Ailany

    • Origin:

      Variation of Ailani, Ailyn, Aileen, or Aylin, Hispanic, Hawaiian, Irish, Turkish

    • Meaning:

      "high chief; shining light; of the moon"

    • Description:

      Fun, bright, and melodic, Ailany is a modern Hispanic name, with multicultural influences. It broke into the US top 1000 for the first time in 2023 and, then in 2024, it had an incredible journey up the charts. Eight times more popular than it was the previous year, it leapt 754 places up the chats, and was given to nearly 2600 babies.
  13. Guinevere

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "white shadow, white wave"

    • Description:

      Guinevere was the name of the beautiful but ill-fated queen of Camelot, for so many years eclipsed by its modern Cornish form Jennifer. Today, Guinevere could be a cool possibility for adventurous parents intrigued by this richly evocative and romantic choice.
  14. Octavia

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "eighth"

    • Description:

      Octavia began as the Latin, then Victorian name for an eighth child. While there aren't many eighth children anymore, this ancient Roman name has real possibilities as a substitute for the overused Olivia; recommended for its combination of classical and musical overtones. It was chosen for his daughter by Kevin Sorbo.
  15. Opal

    • Origin:

      Sanskrit

    • Meaning:

      "gem"

    • Description:

      Opal is on the verge of a repolishing, following other jewel names like Ruby and Pearl. A Top 100 name during the first two decades of the twentieth century, the opalescent Opal has a good chance of coming back as another O-initial option.
  16. Gaia

    • Origin:

      Greek and Latin

    • Meaning:

      "earth mother; rejoicing"

    • Description:

      Floral, bright, and subtly powerful, Gaia is a name with two separate origins. In Greek mythology, it is the name of the earth goddess and the universal mother, who takes her epithet from the Ancient Greek word for land or ground. It was this ecological element that led actress Emma Thompson to choose it for her daughter back in 1999, and it could hold similar appeal to green minded parents today.
  17. Nancy

    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Ann or Agnes, Hebrew; Greek

    • Meaning:

      "grace; pure"

    • Description:

      To some, Nancy is a sweet, sparkly, vintage choice with plenty of energy and style. For it strays too much into '"old-lady" territory to be cool again yet. It's out of fashion in France, New Zealand, and Canada; it lingers towards to bottom of the US charts. In the UK however, Nancy has been a Top 100 name for nearly a decade where it fits right in with Evie, Mabel, and Pippa.
  18. Zora

    • Origin:

      Serbo-Croatian

    • Meaning:

      "dawn"

    • Description:

      Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.
  19. Wendy

    • Origin:

      English, Celtic, Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "friend or white"

    • Description:

      It is popularly claimed that the name Wendy was invented by Sir James Barrie in 1904 for the big sister character in his play Peter Pan, which was followed by the classic novel in 1911. Barrie supposedly took it from the nickname "fwendy-wendy", that he was called by a young girl acquaintance.
  20. Saoirse

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "liberty"

    • Description:

      Before the young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan made her mark in the films Ladybird and The Lovely Bones, few of us had heard this name, let alone known how to pronounce it. But now it is slowly way edging its way into the mainstream, particularly, of course, with parents who have Irish roots. It made its first appearance in the US Top 1000 in 2016, when it was the third-fastest-rising girls' name.