Cool Girl Names
Cool girl names come from a range of sources and styles, from ancient to modern, classic to newly created.
Along with Top 10 name Ava, cool girl names in the US Top 100 include Mila, Aria, Luna, Layla, Hazel, Aurora, Nova, Willow, Ruby, Isla, Quinn, Sadie, and Delilah. And there are thousands more cool names as you explore unique girl names below the Top 1000.
Cool girl names might be goddess names from antique cultures such as Maeve and Athena or badass word names like Calypso and Navy. You can fashion cool girl names from ancestral surnames or from spiritual beliefs, as with Journey and Irie.
Cool names for girls might push gender boundaries — think Lyric and River — and revive forgotten names from the past, such as Romilly and Petra. They might be one-of-a-kind names invented by you or vintage names for girls discovered on a family tree.
The list of cool names for girls is limited in scope only by your imagination, with new cool names minted every day. The cool baby girl names on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Esme
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"beloved"Description:
Esmé comes from the past participle of the Old French verb esmer, meaing "to esteem" or "to love." It can also be considered a derivative of the Spanish name Esmeralda, which means "emerald".
- Maeve
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"she who intoxicates"Description:
Maeve is a short and sweet name that has become one of the most stylish Irish names for girls in the modern US. It joined the Top 100 for the first time in 2023 and now ranks at Number 75.
- Aurelia
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"the golden one"Description:
Aurelia is an ancient Roman name that's become a surprise hit in the contemporary world. A top favorite on Nameberry, it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2014 after a 70-year absence and continues to climb.
- Eloise
Origin:
French and English variation of HeloiseMeaning:
"healthy; wide"Description:
Well balanced between sleek, sweet, strong, and vintage, newly chic Eloise re-entered the US Top 1000 in 2009, following a 50-year absence. In 2022, it broke into the Top 100 in the US and across the pond in the UK. Given to nearly 3000 babies each year, Eloise is showing no sign of stepping out of the spotlight.
- Phoebe
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"radiant, shining one"Description:
Bubbly, bright, and versatile, Phoebe is a name with mythological, biblical, and literary ties. Used since the 17th century, it fell out of fashion in the US during the '60s, only to be revived after it appeared in the 90's TV favorite, Friends.
- Isla
Origin:
Scottish place-name or SpanishMeaning:
"island"Description:
Isla is a hit name throughout the English-speaking world but hasn't found the same popularity in other western countries, perhaps because its spelling and pronunciation don't make sense for those whose native language is not English. Think island without the final two letters.
- Freya
Origin:
NorseMeaning:
"a noble woman"Description:
Freya has long been popular in the U.K. but has only taken off in the US in the last decade, along with the entire category of mythological names. Derived from the Old Norse name Freyja, meaning "Lady, noble woman", Freya is the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.
- Daphne
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"laurel tree, bay tree"Description:
In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollo’s romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. It is from this myth that the plant genus daphne, which contains the laurel species, gets its name.
- Hazel
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"the hazelnut tree"Description:
Hazel has a pleasantly hazy, brownish-green-eyed, old-fashioned image that more and more parents are choosing to share. Former Old Lady name Hazel reentered the popularity lists in 1998 and now is near the top of the charts.
- Luna
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"moon"Description:
The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
- Iris
Origin:
Flower name; GreekMeaning:
"rainbow"Description:
Iris has so much going for it. It's a fashionable flower name. It's a mythological name, from the Greek goddess of the rainbow. And it's a classic name, always ranking in the girls' Top 1000 but now at its highest point ever.
- Ophelia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"help"Description:
Floral, elegant, and bold, Ophelia re-entered the US Top 1000 in 2015 after more than 50 years off the charts. It has risen more than 700 spots since then and shows no signs of slowing down. Now in the US Top 300, could Ophelia one day become the next Olivia or Amelia?
- Sloane
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"raider"Description:
Sloane is a sleek, sophisticated surname name that has gradually morphed over to the girls' side. With its distinctive and intriguing sound, Sloane has been in the US Top 1000 since 2009, and in 2022, it made its first appearance in the UK charts, jumping more than 400 places in a single year.
- Ava
Origin:
Hebrew, Latin or GermanicMeaning:
"life; bird; water, island"Description:
Ava is one of the prime examples of a modern classic name, rising thought the course of a generation into the Top 10, where it has lingered for nearly 20 years.
- Elodie
Origin:
French, variation of Alodia, GermanMeaning:
"foreign riches"Description:
The lyrical and melodious Elodie, a Nameberry favorite, is starting to rise through the US popularity charts for the first time since the 1880s. This once uncommon member of the El- family is a Top 100 name in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand, while in the US, it was one of the fasted rising names of 2024 and now sits in the Top 400.
- Beatrice
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"she who brings happiness; blessed"Description:
Beatrice is back. Stored in the attic for almost a century, the lovely Beatrice with its long literary (Shakespeare, Dante) and royal history is being looked at with fresh eyes by parents seeking a classic name with character and lots of upbeat nicknames, like Bea and Bee.
- Mabel
Origin:
Diminutive of Amabel, LatinMeaning:
"lovable"Description:
Mabel is cuddly Victorian favorite rising in popularity in the US, after a 50-year nap If you love offbeat old-fashioned names like Violet or Josephine, only sassier and bubblier, Mabel is one for you to consider. It is currently in the US Top 200 and the UK Top 50.
- Margot
Origin:
French, diminutive of MargaretMeaning:
"pearl"Description:
Margot is suddenly a star again. After a nearly-half century absence, it hopped back on the Top 1000 list in 2013 and is on the rise. The Margot spelling is now given to three times as many baby girls as the Margo one.
- Astrid
Origin:
ScandinavianMeaning:
"divinely beautiful"Description:
Astrid has been a Scandinavian royal name since the tenth century, and many people associated it with the Swedish author of the Pippi Longstocking stories, Astrid Lindgren. Astrid is derived from the name Ástríðr, which is made up of the Old Norse elements that mean "god" and "beautiful."
- Matilda
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"battle-mighty"Description:
Matilda is a sweet vintage name that has been gently climbing the popularity list for the past 15 years, after a half-century slumber. The spunky children's book heroine Matilda is one factor in its rise, along with others of its class like Eloise and Caspian.

