Joining Maia, Raya, and Kaia, is alluring, evocative Zaia.

Surname style Whitley emerged in the late 1980s as a spin on the (then) mega-popular Whitney, rising dramatically from obscurity to the Top 500 after it featured on a character in the TV sitcom, A Different World. By the mid-90s, it was out of style, but the recent appeal of retro names has saw it return to the US charts in 2018.

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.

Zayla debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2021 and is rising. 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.

Promise is one of those word names with an uplifting meaning that is making inroads as a girls' name, like sisters Dream and Serenity. How promising is Promise as a first name? Our try at cleverness illustrates perhaps the biggest problem with naming your baby girl Promise: It will be difficult for people to resist making bad puns on the name. We promise (argh) you'll be tired of hearing them well before your baby Promise's first birthday.

Combine two parts Paisley with one part Hazel and one part Harley, add a dash of Hayes, and voila: Haisley.

Royalty represents the convergence of two important trends: word names and superlative names such as Legend and King. Blending status and power with a fashion, flair, and confidence, it this longer form leans more feminine while Royal is given to more boys.

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.

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.

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.

Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman. It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer.

Arleth has made the US Top 1000 twice — in 2005 and 2021 — thanks to telenovela star Arleth Terán.

This name first entered the US Top 1000 in 2016, probably because of R&B singer Kehlani, whose full name is Kehlani Ashley Parrish. It was the fastest-rising girls' name of the year. Kehlani may be a variation of Kalani. Hawaiian or Hawaiian like names are particularly popular for girls, with the lani suffix appending to a range of prefixes.

A recent addition to the name lexicon with some real potential.

Khloe's a variation of the popular Chloe, thanks to reality star Karshadian of the K-named family. Khloe jumped a whopping 101 places into 2009's Top 100 and peaked at 42 in 2010 but has declined in popularity in recent years.

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.

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines after her pregnancy and having appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She subsequently (almost) single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, derived from the name of a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts.

Though this is a popular name for men in the Bible, today it's used with this spelling for nearly equal numbers of girls and boys. The Azaria variation is much more often given to girls.

With Journey becoming increasingly popular, it's no surprise that this alternative spelling is not far behind. However, you may be surprised to learn that in recent years, the Journee spelling has actually passed the original spelling in popularity — Journee is currently in the Top 200. This word name may be appealing to parents attracted to the idea of a spiritual -- or even an actual -- voyage.

This Dana-Donna variation has started to carve out its own place on popularity lists; an interesting alternative to Daniella as a namesake for a relative named Daniel.