Girl Names Lists · Name Spellings, Initials and Sounds
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
English diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
Although she declared her independence as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I — Good Queen Bess, Bess now sounds less passé than Beth or Betsy.
Welsh
"snowdrop"
This ethereal Welsh word name has a sound as pretty and delicate as its floral namesake. Pronounced with a bright IRE sound like in Iris or an AYR sound like in air, depending on region, Eirlys…
Diminutive of Jocelyn, German
"member of the Gauts tribe"
Joss is more fashionable than Jocelyn or Josslyn. This is a short form that could be used independently, a la the singer Joss Stone. One of a troupe of adorable boyish nicknames newly fashionable for…
Greek
"Persian woman"
Parents seeking a distinctive New Testament name might consider this one. Adopted by some Puritans in the seventeenth century, Persis was used in the William Dean Howells novel The Rise of Silas…
English compound name, Leah + Beatrice
"weary + blessed"
Not quite Beatrice or Letitia, but Leatrice still has a gently old-fashioned charm of its own, a kind of silent movie star aura, as in one of the top actresses of that era, Leatrice Joy. Largely due…
English literary name
"kite"
Keats is both poetic and easier to pronounce (it's keets) than Yeats (which is yates).
English fruit name
Unlike the other fruit names that are just coming onto the baby name menu, Peaches is an old-timey nickname previously reserved for spangled showgirls, and now would be considered an outrageous --…
English word name
Ice officially joined the baby name pool when rapper Gucci Mane chose it for his son, born in December 2020. It briefly ranked for girls in 2021, but has since been predominantly, though very…
Compound name, Combination of Hanna and Lise
How To Get Away With Murder has made Annalise a genuinely trendy name; it now ranks higher than ever been, just outside the Top 400 in the U.S.. Hannalise, by contrast, has only popped up in the…
"small glen, valley"
The feminine version of the common Welsh name Glyn became somewhat known in this country via the charming Welsh actress Glynis Johns. Variations include Glenys and Glynys. With other Welsh…
"riverbank, shore; pure"
Glenys, like Glynis, is a Welsh name that has never caught on outside Wales.
French color and botanical name
This botanical name, referring to the vivid deep red color and to the madder plant from which it derives, is almost unknown to English speakers. But it's been trending in France recently, reaching…
Greek; Welsh
"dawn; nightingale"
Eos -- that's pronounced with a short e like eros without the r -- is the Greek Titan of the dawn. Any ancient name with a sleek modern feel has definite revival possibilities. Eos could be an…
"genuine, steadfast, true"
Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry…
English
"carefree person"
Corliss, eccentric yet well-established, has an independent and artistic air.
Spence as a feminine name represents an uncommon gender crossover from what is traditionally a masculine name. Originally a surname derived from Middle English 'spens,' meaning 'pantry' or 'larder,'…
"heiress"
Putting a Welsh spin on the trend for noble and title names.
"sun dance"
Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name…
Variation of Tanith, Phoenician, Native American, Cree
"daughter"
This obscure name found in Sinclair Lewis's 1923 novel Babbitt is a bit hipper than most other is-ending names like Janis and Doris. Some sources consider it a variation of Tanith, who is a…
"pale"
Antiseptic sounding.
