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Nerdy Girl Names: Geek Chic Cool

  1. Nell
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Helen, Eleanor, et al
    • Meaning:

      "bright, shining one"
    • Description:

      Nell, once a nickname for Helen, Ellen, or Eleanor, is a sweet old-fashioned charmer that is fashionably used today in its own right. While Nell is perfectly in tune with contemporary vintage name style, it hasn't taken off the way some of its sisters have and so maintains an air of distinction. Use Nell or Nellie as a short for any name from Eleanor to Penelope or just name her Nell.
  2. Agnes
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "pure, virginal"
    • Description:

      Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos, meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl's name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne Brontë.
  3. Florence
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "flourishing, prosperous"
    • Description:

      Florence is back, returning to the US Top 1000 girl names in 2017 after a nearly 40 year absence. Other English-speaking countries have been quicker to welcome Florence back into fashion.
  4. Winifred
    • Origin:

      Welsh
    • Meaning:

      "blessed peacemaking"
    • Description:

      One of the few remaining unrestored vintage gems, with a choice of two winning nicknames--the girlish Winnie and the tomboyish Freddie. Winifred, the name of a legendary Welsh saint, was a Top 200 name into the mid-1920's.
  5. Bridget
    • Origin:

      Anglicized variation of Gaelic Brighid
    • Meaning:

      "strength or exalted one"
    • Description:

      Bridget is the Anglicized form of Brigid, an Irish-Gaelic name that was derived from the word brígh, which means "strength."
  6. Isadora
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "gift of Isis"
    • Description:

      For a long time, Isadora has been overlooked in favor of Isabella, owing perhaps to its association with the tragic modern dancer, Isadora Duncan, or because parents would rather their daughter be a Bella than a Dora. Now, with Theodora back in the charts and vintage names in vogue, Isadora has been slowly gaining more attention over the last decade.
  7. 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.
  8. Ramona
    • Origin:

      Spanish, feminine variation of Ramon
    • Meaning:

      "wise protector"
    • Description:

      Ramona is a sweet spot name – neither too trendy nor too eccentric. Kids will associate it with the clever Ramona Quimby character in the series of books by Beverly Cleary, also seen on TV. It was chosen by starcouple Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard for their little girl, who would be joined by sister Gloria.
  9. Ruth
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "compassionate friend"
    • Description:

      Ruth, with its air of calm and compassion, was the third most popular name in the 1890s, remaining in the Top 10 through the 1920s. It's still in use today as some parents tiring of Rachel and Rebecca are giving Ruth a second thought. Some see such Old Testament girls’ names as Ruth and Esther rising on the heels of boy equivalents Abel and Moses.
  10. Edith
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "prosperous in war"
    • Description:

      Edith was a hugely popular name a hundred years ago that's being revived among stylish parents in Stockholm and London. It's currently beginning to gain traction in the US among those with a taste for old-fashioned names with a soft but strong image.
  11. Greta
    • Origin:

      German, diminutive of Margarethe
    • Meaning:

      "pearl"
    • Description:

      Greta is an Old World name long tied to the iconic Garbo, but now synonymous with environmental activism.
  12. Sylvia
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "from the forest"
    • Description:

      The musical, sylvan Sylvia seems poised to join former friends Frances and Beatrice and Dorothy back in the nursery.
  13. Olive
    • Origin:

      English, from Latin, nature name
    • Meaning:

      "olive tree"
    • Description:

      Though greatly overshadowed by the trendy Olivia, Olive has a quiet, subtle appeal of its own -- and is now enjoying a remarkable comeback. Olive is one of only four girl names starting with O on the US Top 1000. Cool couple Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen chose it for their daughter, reviving the name to stylishness, and now Drew Barrymore has a little Olive too, as has country singer Jake Owen.
  14. Mavis
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "songbird"
    • Description:

      Mavis, another word for the song thrush, is also a relative of the Welsh word for strawberries, mefus. Mavis has something of a British World War II feel, a friend of Beryl and Doris, but it was quite popular in the U.S. a couple of decades earlier, peaking in the Roaring Twenties.
  15. Ingrid
    • Origin:

      Norse
    • Meaning:

      "fair; Ing is beautiful"
    • Description:

      The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid would be assumed to be of Scandinavian ancestry, signaling the name has never been fully integrated into the English lexicon the way other European choices from the same era like Danielle or Kathleen have.
  16. Esther
    • Origin:

      Persian
    • Meaning:

      "star"
    • Description:

      Esther was derived from the Old Persian word stāra, meaning "star." In the Old Testament, Esther, originally named Hadassah, was the captured Jewish wife of the King of Persia who risked her life to save her exiled people from annihilation. This story is celebrated by Jews on the holiday of Purim, so that it has traditionally been given to girls around that time.
  17. Emmeline
    • Origin:

      Old French form of archaic German Amal
    • Meaning:

      "work"
    • Description:

      Emmeline is an Emma relative and Emily cousin that is destined for greater use in the wake of the megapopularity of those two names. A recommended Nameberry fave, Emmeline hopped onto the US Top 1000 in 2014 for the first time ever. While it is genuinely an old name, it was rarely used a century ago; only 17 baby girls were named Emmeline in 1915, the same number as were named Ernie!
  18. Marigold
    • Origin:

      Flower name, from English
    • Meaning:

      "golden flower"
    • Description:

      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.
  19. Maxine
    • Origin:

      English, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "greatest"
    • Description:

      Sleek and stylish with a touch of quirkiness about it too, Maxine is a popular choice in Belgium and France, and has been climbing up the US charts too. Following a two decade absence, it re-entered the Top 1000 in 2016 and a recent year saw it rank just outside the Top 500.
  20. Lavinia
    • Origin:

      Latin, from ancient place name Lavinium
    • Description:

      Lavinia is a charmingly prim and proper Victorian-sounding name which actually dates back to classical mythology, where it was the name of the wife of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was considered the mother of the Roman people.

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