Middle Names for Girls (with Meanings & Popularity)

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.

A few boys have adopted fabrics like Denim and Suede; here's a singular one for the girls, with a distinctively silky sheen.

Serena in all its variant spellings is such a widely-used name that reducing it to its root word, Serene, might not occur to some. But like Pax and Clement, Serene is an excellent name for a calm child.

Spacey.

Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend") and to denote a person who is fantastic "what a legend"). Who can live up to that?

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.

Win might be an upbeat short form for a girl named Winifred or the new-fangled Winslet, or can stand on its own. The Welsh name Wynn feels more complete and sounds the same.

Hallow is a word meaning sacred or holy. As the root word for Halloween (orginally All Hallows' Eve), this name might be an evocative choice for a baby born on or near October 31st. It could work well for either a boy or a girl and offers the nicknames Hal and Halley.

Heavenly, the word that's become a name, has been flirting with the bottom of the Top 1000 for a handful of years now. Heaven and cousins like Nevaeh have been well-used so adding the popular -ly suffix, ala Everly, seems like a natural progression.

An unusual kind of place-name, going beyond a country, state, or city, it was used by actress Elisabeth Shue as a middle name for her daughter Stella.

Fresh, evocative choice.

Beware: extremely high pressure, high-expectation name.

If January, April and August are useable and fashionable, why not February? February as a word derives from the Latin februa, which was the name of a purification feast coming at the end of winter, to prepare for the coming spring.

Unisex word and surname with an upbeat feel and a possible future as a more distinctive substitute for Grace or Page.

In 2014, six little girls in the US were given the name Starlit. Starlit has a sweeter meaning than the similar Starlet, and a better ring than Starlight.

A cool name, representing the Roman goddess of peace and offering a positive message to bestow upon a child. Pax is one of the most stylish new names that mean peace.

With the growing popularity of Celia and Cecilia, this vintage canasta-playing nickname name could be due for a comeback.

Until now, most girls called Shell used it as a nickname for Shelley or Michelle. Today's Shell is much more likely to be a nature name, cool and beachy, fit for all genders.

With the first name True receiving a Kardashian dose of popularity for girls, Truth is gaining in visibility too. Though its still more popular for boys two to one, the truth is that the name works equally well for both genders -- but may inspire a lot of puns.

A very distinctive musical choice, but be aware that many people will think you've named your child Oprah.