Things I like Today

Amelia is one of the hottest girls' names, a successor to the megapopular Emma and Emily. Amelia, which spent several years at Number 1 in England, vaulted into the US Top 10 in 2017 and continues to rise.

This variation of Ariel, with the extra-feminine suffix, has been on the rise in recent years and has now surpassed the original. The similarity to the name of the Little Mermaid gives Ariella a princessy flair. Ariella entered the charts in 2008, and has now risen into the Top 200. The cute nickname Ari is on trend as seen with the popularity of Ariana and Arianna, as are any girl names ending in "-ella", making Ariella a natural hit. Arabella is another name with the best of both of these trends.

This combination of names Aubrey and Brielle follows a ton of current name trends, so it's no surprise it has been on the rise since joining the US Top 1000 in 2012. We think this is a good option for parents wanting to use Aubrey while also desiring a definitively feminine name.

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.

Trending down, along with others of both the Car and the issa groups.

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen undoubtedly gave this name a boost. The French pronunciation (jiz-ELLE) gives it a more graceful, balletic, gazellelike feel.

Rather imperious as a baby name, but has an interesting history. Imperia is the name of an obscure French saint, also known as Impère and Impérie, also borne by the famous Italian courtesan Imperia Cognati. Honoré de Balzac later used it in his short story La belle Impéria (1832), where it belongs to a fictional courtesan. A similar name, Bel-imperia, was used by Elizabethan dramatist Thomas Kyd for a character in his play The Spanish Tragedy.

It's far cooler to drop the first syllable and go for Elle.

A Top 100 name from 1896 to 1921, Leona reached as high as Number 72. Since then, Leona had seemed to be one of the most unfashionable of the pride of lion names, but singer Leona Lewis has done a lot to rejuvenate it. Leona returned to the Top 1000 in 2009 after decades of being away.

Either an Armenian name meaning "moon" (also spelled Lusine) or an elaboration of sweet classic Lucy.

This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides, originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in the League of Legends games. Luz is the Spanish version.

Pretty feminissima name that never became as overused as cousin Melissa. The more streamlined Maris is a more modern sounding option.

Natalie—a Franco-Russian name—became Americanized years ago and is one of those surprising names that's always ranked among the girls' Top 1000 names in the US.

Better go to the original Aurelia or Aurelie, if only for its similarity to the ord 'orally.' In pop culture, Oralie is a Pokemon name.

Oriana is a dashing medieval name, with a meaning similar to Aurora. At this point, though, Oriana is much more unusual than Aurora and makes a unique choice if you're searching for names that mean new beginnings or dawn.

Pretty Victorian-feeling cousin of Ariel; also, more prosaically, a kind of bay window.

Orin is one of a variety of similarly-spelled names that have a soft and sensitive image. The Orrin spelling has been known nationally via Republican Senator Hatch.

Better: Irina.