Trending Girl Names

Hawaiian names have officially made their way to the mainland, with Leilani, Kehlani, Alani, Kailani, and Kaylani all ranking within the Top 300. Now Kahlani — one of several pseudo-Hawaiian names popping up across the country — has entered the US Top 1000 in 2023.

Kahlani

Anais is an unusual, alluring name forever attached to the daring French-born American novelist and diarist Anais Nin (born Angela, with Anais as one of her middle names), who became the inspiration for the naming of the daughter of musician Noel Gallagher. Anais is also the name of a popular perfume.
 Anais can be found as a character in Balzac's "Lost Illusions", and in Colette's 'Claudine' books.
 Anais would make a creative and distinctive <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle name</a>.

Anais

In the US, nearly 300 baby girls were named Chandler in the US last year, which first appeared on the girls' Top 1000 in the heyday of Friends. While the TV character was masculine, today the name is 43 percent female and climbing, making it one of the trendiest <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy names for girls</a>.

Chandler

While Micah is traditionally a boy name, it is now increasingly used for girls too, likely because it works as an alternative to Michaela, Maia, and McKenna. Still, Micaiah, the name from which Micah is derived, is a unisex name in the Bible, so it seems plausible that its contracted form might be used as such too. 
 
Micah had been in the US Top 1000 since the 1980s, dropped off in 2022, only to return in 2024 when it was one of the fastest rising names of the year. While it was used 12 times more often on boys in the States, more than 320 girls received the name that year.
 Notable namesakes include Canadian ice hockey player Micah Zandee-Hart, singer Micah Marah, and Olympic swimmer Micah Lawrence Sumrall. TV personality, actress, and social media star Micah Lussier may also have helped to bring this name back into the public eye.
 
If you like Micah but would prefer something more established as a feminine name, you could try the original, Biblical Micaiah, the German variant of Mary, Meike, which is pronounced the same, or perhaps on-trend Myla, a feminine form of Miles.

Micah

This evocative place-name is rising in popularity -- despite (or perhaps because of) the unfortunate association with an airplane that went missing in March 2014. 

Malaysia

This variation of Corey has a Kardashian-style spelling update -- which might be why it's experiencing a boost in popularity of late. Kori is also a Kikuyu name meaning lamb, one of the many names from that African culture with animal meanings, and a short form of Koral, the Hebrew form of Coral. 

Kori

Zayla debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2021 and has been flirting with that magic #1000 mark ever since, hopping on and off the list. The name might be thought of as the popular Ayla or Layla with the trendy letter Z at the beginning. Variations include Zaila, Zaylah, Zaylani, and the male Zaylan.

Zayla

Artemis, one of the key figures of the female Greek pantheon, is the ancient virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, childbirth, and a protector of young girls, later associated with the moon. Artemis is the equivalent to the Roman Diana, but a fresher and more distinctive choice.
 Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo, one of the twelve deities who lived on Mount Olympus, and has, in more recent years, been associated with the Artemis Lunar program. As such, it may appeal to fans of both mythology and space exploration.
 
 The meaning of the name is largely unknown, but it's related to two Greek words meaning safe or butcher.
 Artemas, on the other hand, is a male name, though some gender confusion could arise from the Artemis Fowl novels, making Artemis one of those rarer feminine names that has also switched into a unisex choice (rather than the other way round). 
 
Appearing in the US charts (briefly) in the 2020s, it has been consistently in the England and Wales Top 1000 since 2018, given to around 40 girls a year. Nicknames Ari, Artie, Emmie, Issy, and Missy may further its appeal.

Artemis

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.
 
Saoirse originated as a baby name in 1920s Ireland as an applied use of saoirse, the Gaelic word for "freedom." The name was first adopted during the Irish War of Independence, when the Irish Republican Army fought the British Army for the liberation of Ireland from British rule. In modern times, Saoirse, as well as a host of other <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/1051/gaelic-names">Gaelic names</a>, are being revived in Ireland, the UK, and the US.
 Another related name Is Sorcha, pronounced SURK-ha and meaning "radiance": in the film Willow, the character's name is spelled Sorsha – another way to pronounce it.

Saoirse

New York socialite and reality TV star Tinsley Mortimer introduced this name to the mainstream. Following her Gossip Girl cameo in 2008 and the airing of her own show, High Society in 2010, this once obscure choice began to climb the charts. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016 and though 2023 saw it drop from the charts, it is still given to around 250 girls each year.

Derived from an English place name, Tinsley can mean "Tynni's meadow" or might reference to a few different towns in Great Britain. Also used as a surname, Tinsley is in tune with its more popular sister names: Kinsley, Presley, Oakley, Finley, and Paisley, to name a few. Boosted up by these on trend names, Tinsley's rise might also have been helped along by the character, Dawn Tinsley, from the popular TV show The Office and by child actress and social media star, Tinsley Price, who starred in the first series of Stranger Things. The year following release of the show did coincide with a jump in use of the name.
 
Reminiscent of glitz, glamor, and sparkly Christmas decorations, Tinsley may well re-enter the charts in coming years.

Tinsley

Zendaya has propelled her unusual African name into the spotlight and up the popularity charts. Zendaya is one of the major baby name influencers of our era.

What does Zendaya's name mean? The name Zendaya comes from the word for thanks, Tendai, in the Shona language, spoken in Zimbabwe and southern Zambia. 

The name Zendaya's popularity is directly connected to this actress-singer's rising celebrity, as it made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 in 2014. It's a distinctive choice, and thanks to our affection for the letter Z and Zendaya's great meaning, more parents are choosing it for their daughters.

The emphasis is on the middle syllable, which is pronounced like day NOT die.

Zendaya

Vida is a multicultural gem, familiar in a number of languages by not overly popular. It featured in the US Top 1000 in the first half of the 20th century, and in recent years, it has seen renewed interest.
 
As a Spanish, Portuguese, Slovene, and Lithuanian name, Vida is one of several similar life-affirming name choices including Vita and Viva. It was likely this origin that actor Matthew McConaughey and his Portuguese-born wife Camila had in mind when they chose it for their daughter in 2010.
 
From its Persian roots, the name means "visible", while in Serbia, it comes from the name Vidoslava, the first element meaning "to see, to behold". As a Swedish name, it could come from the Old Norse word for willow, or be a short form for names such as Avilda. Similarly, in English, it might come from Davida. 
 
A notable bearer of the name is Australian suffragette and human rights campainer Vida Goldstein.

Vida

Traditionally a masculine Italian boy name, a diminutive to Giovanni, equivalent to Johnny, it has started to be used for girls in the US, with nearly 200 being given this appellation in 2024. 
 
While the <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">gender neutral names</a> trend is familiar in the US, beware that it hasn't spread internationally. A female Gianni travelling through Europe is likely to be met with more confusion than she might be at home.
 
Usually pronounced JAHN-nee, English speakers may well say jee-AHN-ee if use of Gianna is anything to go by.

Gianni

Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman. It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer.
 
The name was inspired by the Hebrew term Mazzikin, which refers to sinister invisible spirits one encounters in daily life, in Jewish mythology.

Mazikeen

A superlative word name along the lines of Saint, King, Princess, and Chosen, Royal was mostly used for boys — as in Wes Anderson's anti-hero Royal Tennenbaum — until Lil' Kim named her daughter Royal. Reign in 2014. While it was Reign that really took off for girls, Royal also got a boost and entered the Top 1000 in 2015.
 
Associated with kings, queens, princesses, and power, Royal has a cool but lofty air: it feels totally modern while also evoking history. Also used as a surname (in which case it likely denoted someone who worked in the royal household), it comes from the Latin regalis and rex meaning "king".
 
Recent years have seen it fall to the latter end of the US charts while it remains a high ranking option for boys. Longer form Royalty, however, rankers more highly as a girl name.

Royal

Euphonious and long stylish in England, India was one of the fastest-rising names on the 2013 list, after jumping 240 spots back into the Top 1000.
 
Gorgeous as it may be, the usage of India as a name has distinctly imperial roots, making it a loaded (and ill-advised) choice for someone without Indian heritage.
 
India was a character in Gone with the Wind, the sister of Ashley Wilkes, and more recently was picked for the daughters of singer Sarah McLachlan, actress Heather Thomas, and Avenger Chris Hemsworth.
 
India Hicks is a high-profile ex-model with ties to the royal family, and the mother of a girl called Domino. Singer India.Arie was born India Arie — without the period.

India

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Names rising precipitously for babies in recent years, used last year for nearly 300 children, about 85 percent of them girls. Loyalty may also owe some of its popularity to trendy sibling name Royalty.

Loyalty

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi," which translates to "cold water." Nairobi is popularly known as the Green City.
 
Nairobi has grown in usage following the release of Netflix's Money Heist where manager Nairobi is played by Ágata Jiménez. American parents are picking up on this African place-name, with over 200 girls receiving the name each year in the 2020s.

Nairobi

Denisse was the fastest-rising name for girls of 2020 — influenced by Denisse Novoa, a contestant on the 2019 season of the popular reality TV show Exatlón Estados Unidos. Traditional spelling Denise also made a comeback. It looks to be short-lived, though: both spellings fell again in 2021.

Denisse

Aveline is a name that's long been an obscure cousin of more widely-used choices, but may come into its own riding the tail of the megapopular Ava, which may derive from the same root.

 Although Aveline is a cognate of the French word for "hazlenut", the name actually derives from an obscure Germanic root, the meaning of which is not clear. Theories include "desired, wished for" and "water, island".
 
Aveline is different enough to sound distinct, but be warned: You will forever be explaining that no, it's not Adeline, not Evelyn, and so on.

Aveline

 may be a very different group than you'd guess, especially if you're first-time parent new to recent baby-naming styles, fads, and trends.

What does trendiness mean when it comes to baby names? We'd call a trending name one that is at the height of stylishness right now, but probably wasn't a generation ago...and may not be a generation from now

 are usually hot for a decade, though they may remain widely used for years, or even forever. Today's trendy name might well be tomorrow's classic.

 such as Eloise and Matilda. Other trends in girl names we're seeing now include

in the US Top 100 are Hazel, Adeline, Luna, Aurora, Nova, and Everly. Girl names that are incredibly stylish yet not as widely used include Aveline, Seraphina, Elodie, and Frankie.

 like Iris and Margot to modern nature names like Juniper and Wren, here are some trending names for baby girls.

Trending baby names for girls, popular trendy fast-rising girl names with origins, meanings, and popularity. Trending girl names include Eloise, Penelope, Margot, and Juniper. (Page 10)