Cool Classic Girl Names Below the Top 1000

Long before the vogue of using Irish surnames for girls, writer Flannery O'Connor gave this one some visibility. It has a warm (flannelly) feel and the currently popular three-syllable ee-ending sound.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.

The name Kiri was made famous by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, whose original name was Claire. Cute but slight, Kiri is close to several other names from Kiriah to Keira to Kyra and its diminutive Kyrie.

Jocasta is a mythological name fashionably used in England, but mostly ignored here. She was the mother of Oedipus, King of Thebes, whom he (oops) unwittingly married. If you can ignore that small error in judgment, you'll find an interesting and attractive J name that's neither overused nor terminally dated.

Marietta would make for a classy and uncommon long form for cool nickname Etta.

A celestial choice that's used both in Mexico and by Latinx Americans. The Hispanized form spelling Xitlali may be more familiar.

This Indian name meaning gift or offering feels familiar via sound-alikes Angela or Angelina, and made a brief appearance on the U.S. Top 1000. Anjali is a pretty route to a name that's at once easy to understand and uncommon.

This floral name, related to bloom and Blossom, is common in the Jewish community, but not often heard outside it. Other Yiddish nature names are Ita (star), Masha (rising water), and Mayim (water).

This biblical name of the mother of King Jotham of Judah has an appealing soft Russian accent.

Like Verity and Amity, this inclusive virtue name used by the colorful British literary Mitford family is ready to join its more popular peers Hope, Faith, and Grace.

Israeli-born singer Keren Ann introduced this traditional Hebrew name to the US, where it could well be mistaken for Karen. Nevertheless, 100 girls were given the name in a recent year.

Farida is a Muslim name more distinctive than the Americanized Farah/Farrah.