515+ Middle Names for Girls

Part of the trend for formerly canine royal names; this is one a little girl might love—up till the age of eight.

African-American and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth was born as Isabelle into enslavement. She adopted her new name when she began traveling and preaching abolition in 1843. Sojourner is a heroine name that may, with the rise of spiritual word names such as Journey and Genesis, finally be ready for prime time.

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

In Buddhism, Dharma embodies the basic principles of cosmic existence--making it a fitting name for the hippyish character on the sitcom Dharma and Greg, whose middle name was Freedom.

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.

Politics aside, the Cuban capital is one of the most rhythmic of place-names. The question is: can politics be put aside?

Hurricane is a storm, but it's also an American name, thanks to rising tennis star Hurricane Black -- whose sister's name is Tornado. There's no reason this tempestuous choice can't work for boys too, inasfar as the name can work for any child. As a name, Hurricane is definitely original and attention-getting, but is it a name you'd want to carry around for life?

Yet another noble name to join King, Prince, Princess, et al.

Spring doesn't sound half as contemporary as Winter, which has become the cool season name.

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Names rising precipitously for babies in recent years, used last year for nearly 200 children, about 85 percent of them girls. Loyalty may also owe some of its popularity to trendy sister name Royalty.

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

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy.

Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe.

Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the name of the horse in the kids' TV show Spirit.

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.

Authentic, melodic place-name for the adventurous, chosen by rapper LL Cool J for his daughter. Like Roma, Venezia, and Milana, Italia is one of the place-names that make great Italian names for girls.

Parents searching for a simple, peaceful name may be attracted to this one.

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.

March has never been popular as a month name, possibly because of its slightly abrupt sound. But with all kinds of month (and season, day, and holiday) names, from January to December, Sunday to Easter, Winter to Midnight, coming to the fore, March is beginning to seem eminently baby-ready.

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.