Favorite Girl's Names

Violet is soft and sweet, yet with a vivacious edge. Today, Violet is the top flower name for girls, outranking Lily and Iris in the Top 100, and the second most popular color name for girls after Scarlett.

Sophie is the French form of the Greek Sophia, for which it is also commonly used as a nickname. Given Sophia's long standing among the Top 10 girl names in the US, Sophie may feel more popular than it actually is.

Maya, which has an almost mystical image, has been steadily climbing in popularity in the US and the English-speaking world, along with a range of other countries, including France, Germany, Israel, and Brazil. It's ranked in the US Top 100 since the turn of this century, but has never risen to the top of the list, which you may consider a good thing.

Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones. There were about 6400 baby girls named Aria in the US last year alog with 2400 named Arya, which counted together places the name in the Top 10.

Ellie first took off in the UK—yes, in this nickname form—and this warm and friendly name has also become hugely popular here. In 2011, Ellie entered the US Top 100 girl names for the first time and has remained near the top of the charts ever since.

Talia is derived from the Hebrew elements tal, meaning "dew," and yah, in reference to God. In the mythology of one ancient sect, Talia was one of ten angels who attended the sun on its daily course. The occasionally homophonous name Thalia has unrelated Greek origins.

Zoe is one of those surprising names that has been on the Top 1000 nearly every year since 1880, but it's only since the turn of this century that it's ranked in the Top 100.

Sweet and sunny but substantial too, Callie is a nickname-style choice that has long been used as a stand-alone option . Traditionally a diminutive of classic Caroline, it may also be used for Calliope, Camila, Callista, Calanthe, and beyond.

Almost like a fusion between vintage Audrey, bubbly Ruby, and unisex Avery, Aubrey has been a popular choice for girls since the mid 2000’s.

The Spanish form of Amaya is both a given name and a surname, originating from the Spanish mountain and village of Amaya. In this context it means "mother city" or "the capital." Amaya can also be considered a derivation of Amaia, a Basque name meaning "the end." In Japan, Amaya is a surname.

A lovely musical name (remember the old Eric Clapton-Derek & the Dominos song?), Layla's seen a significant surge in popularity, partly partly all names with a double L are stylish, and partly because all the forms of the name push it into the Top 15 for girls.

The Lyla spelling variation has now superseded the original Lila — the former remains on the rise while the latter is consistently falling in popularity.

Ciara is very popular in Ireland, more familiar here as the Anglicized Kiera or Keira. The uninitiated will tend to pronounce Ciara as the Italian Chiara, a form of Claire—kee-AHR-a or even see-AHR-a, like the American singer-songwriter Ciara. In the US, Ciara peaked in 2005, when it was the Number 150 name; it's since fallen down to Number 882.

Ariel is a male Biblical name, seen there as the messenger of Ezra, and also used as a symbolic name for the city of Jerusalem, while Shakespeare used it for a (male) sprite in The Tempest.

Less popular than Reagan, but more popular than Regan, Raegan is a spelling option for the popular Irish surname. It followed Reagan up the charts in the 90s, perhaps due to its similarity to Morgan, but in recent years, use of Raegan has declined

This appealing multi-cultural name, pronounced KYE, is beginning to be used for girls as well as boys. Among its many derivations and meanings: "sea" in Hawaiian, "forgiveness" in Japanese, "willow tree" in Navajo, "food" in Maori, and "earth" in Scandinavian. For girls, it debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2010.

With related choices such as Lark and Phoenix gaining popularity, why not Sparrow? Though it's usually thought of as a female name, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden chose it for their son.

Khloe's a variation of the popular Chloe, thanks to reality star Karshadian of the K-named family. Khloe jumped a whopping 101 places into 2009's Top 100 and peaked at 42 in 2010 but has declined in popularity in recent years.

After entering the Top 1000 in 2009, Raelyn has climbed the charts. It's ridden the coattails of Raelynn (which remains more popular), but also may be benefiting from the rise of Brooklyn. The use of -Lyn and -Lynn suffixes has grown in recent years, even as the name Lynn itself languishes.

Kiana (or more appropriately, Quiana) is the original polyester name, coming into favor in the 1970s but then drifting downward for years before taking a surprise turn back up the charts, perhaps thanks to its resemblance to the popular Keanu.