515+ Middle Names for Girls

The Rainy spelling puts this name firmly in word name territory, an appealing option following the rise of Stormi. Rainey is the most popular spelling of the name, given to about 50 girls last year, with half as many called Rainy and a quarter named Rainie, the spelling used by Andie MacDowell for her now-grown daughter.

In geography, a meridian is a line drawn around the curve of the Earth between the North and South Poles. The term comes from Latin meridianus, meaning "pertaining to midday", and the association with midday has led to the word gaining an added figurative meaning of "pinnacle; culmination".

Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Juniper, Oak, and Willow.

An early day name worthy of consideration today for someone seeking a truly unusual name.

May be the most modern, stylish Catherine nickname: more unusual than Kate or Cate, with an animal and word name edge. Cat Power is a trendy folksinger.

Dune is a haunting and evocative sandy-beach name, which also has sci-fi connections. Dune is a science fiction franchise that was launched by Frank Herbert's 1965 novel. Some interesting Dune character names include Alia, Leto, Siona, Bellonda,and Tamalane.

Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta.

A recently popular spiritual name that entered the Top 500 in 2003.

This name has many different connotations, from Tarot cards to a species of butterfly. It is related to the English word arcane, which means esoteric, mysterious, enigmatic.

Lior connects with several factors stylish for Israeli names: It's short, it's unisex, and it has an uplifting nature theme. Lior might make a more modern spin on Leah.

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.

Clarity is one of the lightest of the newly rediscovered virtue names, with a bit of three-syllable sparkle, old-fashioned charm and a clear vision for the future. Clarity is a very desirable quality in this confusing world and it also, unlike some other newly coined word names, has real meaning and history as a name.

While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.

This kind of plainspoken nature name (think River and Sunshine) may still carry a whiff of the hippie, but this one has a nice, airy feel.

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy name for girls here too. You may be surprised to know that Claude was in fairly regular use for American girls in the 1880's and nineties, reaching as high as 553 in 1880.

Harvest has been occasionally used as a name since the eighteenth century, originally as evenly unisex, but in the US data for last year was starting to lean more female, given to 29 girls and 11 boys. Harvest can be seen as pleasantly archaic, rich and ripe, fitting in with popular baby names like Harper and Harry, and is also a fresh take on names like Autumn and August and one of the best names for autumn babies.

Blessing is among the Top 1000 girls' names in the UK and recently joined the ranks in the US as well. With modern spiritual names like Shiloh, Chosen, and Halo trending upwards, Blessing is likely to continue to rise in popularity.

A warm-sounding word and virtue name used by the Puritans and still popular in parts of Africa, especially in the Favour spelling.

Starr today is more fashionably the plain-spoken Star or the more obscured Stella, Esther, or Estella.