Iambic Girl Names

Estelle

French

"star"

Maybe it's because she shares that winning -elle sound with Isabel and Bella, but Estelle is no longer seen as a muumuu-wearing canasta player of a certain age (think George Costanza's mother on…

Marie

French variation of Mary

"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"

The ubiquitous French version of Mary came into the English-speaking world in the nineteenth century. In the United States, Marie was a huge hit at the turn of the last century and for the ensuing…

Selene

Greek

"moon"

While the Latin Selena is more familiar in the US these days, the sleek, Greek original has plenty to offer. Borne by the Greek Goddess of the moon, she is the sister of Helios the sun god. A recent…

Irene

Greek

"peace"

Serene Irene, the name of the Greek goddess of peace and one of the most familiar Greek goddess names , was hugely popular in ancient Rome and again in the United States a hundred years ago. One of…

Eileen

Anglicization of Eibhlín, Irish, German

"desired; or water, island"

The Gaelic Eileen was a mid-century darling that was on a long downward slide for decades. And then, in 2012, it took an unexpected pivot and has been inching upward in the US, perhaps inspired by…

Jolene

Invented name

While for some, it may feel stuck in the shadow of the Dolly Parton song, Jolene re-entered the charts in 2010 and has seen increased use in recent years, ranking in the US Top 700 in the latest…

Adele

French diminutive of Adelaide

"noble, nobility"

Credit the award-winning single-named British singer for taking the girls’ name Adele from a quiet semi-retirement back into currency. Adele reentered the US Top 1000 popular baby names in 2011 and…

Milan

Italian place name or Slavic

"the middle of the plain; gracious, dear; union"

In many Slavic and other European countries, Milan is purely a boys’ name , but in the US, it's also popular for girls – no doubt inspired by the fashionable Italian city. It entered the Top 1000 for…

Soleil

French

"sun"

An attractive French word name known here via former child TV star Soleil Moon Frye, aka Punky Brewster. It started to be lightly used in the U.S. in the 1920s and is now attracting some attention as…

Belen

Spanish place name and form of Bethlehem, Hebrew, Turkish

"house of bread; mountainside"

A fast rising choice in the US, Belen is a name with two possible origins. On one hand, it could be a variation — or an anglicization — of Belén, the Spanish form of Bethlehem. This would make it a…

Aileen

Irish variation of Helen

"bright, shining light"

Irish Aileen and Scottish Eileen may be pronounced the same way or Aileen can be pronounced with a long a at the beginning. While neither is particularly stylish, Aileen is slightly more popular and…

Janelle

American, modern elaboration of Jane

It's far cooler to drop the first syllable and go for Elle.

Odette

French, from German

"wealthy"

Odette is the good swan in Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake , a role for which Natalie Portman won an Oscar ---and it would make a particularly sophisticated yet upbeat choice. In fact, it charted in…

Cheyenne

Sioux

"people of a different language"

The name of a courageous tribe, Cheyenne became quite popular in the 1990s, inspiring a wide range of spelling variations—Shyanne is one example that's still on the rise.

Corinne

French variation of Greek Korinna

"maiden"

Corinne is one of the names that, it might surprise you to learn, ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names until 2020, when it fell off the charts after 140 years. Its most popular year was 1926, when…

Joelle

Feminine variation of Joel, Hebrew

"Jehovah is his God"

Joel is one of those boys’ names that's never been super-popular yet has never been UNpopular either -- it's been in the Top 400 in the US since we started keeping statistics in 1880. So it's…

Jolie

French

"pretty"

Jolie is as pretty as its literal meaning; nowadays it is also seen as a girls’ name , via Angelina for whom Jolie was originally her middle name. Although it is French, Jolie is rarely if ever used…

Lorraine

French

"from the province of Lorraine"

Sweet Lorraine might just be old enough to be ripe for reconsideration. This French place name has moved in and out of fashion in the few hundred years it's been used as a girls' first name, somewhat…

Renee

French from Latin

"reborn"

Chic in the fifties, now kept in the public eye mainly by actress Zellweger. Variations include Rene, Renae, and Renny.

Ines

Italian, Portuguese, Slovene and Croatian variation of Agnes

"pure, virginal"

This form of Agnes, Ines has always been popular since the true story of the thwarted lovers Queen Ines of Castro and King Peter of Portugal. This has to be one of the most heartbreaking and bloody…