Girl Names

Ellette

English compound of Elle + Etta

"little light; Little girl"

A little like Elliot (or Elliette), Electra, and Etta, Ellette is a zippy but rarely used compound name.

Sandrine

French variation of Alexandra, Greek

"defending men"

Sophisticated French choice. Or toxic petrochemical, as Ross on Friends famously joked when Rachel suggested it for their fictional daughter.

Juna

English, Latin

"June"

Juna, a variation of the newly stylish month name June, goddess name Juno, or literary Djuna, is among the fresher-feeling girl names starting with J . While Juna has never been given to more than 50…

Polly

English variation of Molly, diminutive of Mary, Hebrew

"bitter"

An alternative to the no-longer-fresh Molly, the initial 'P' gives Polly a peppier sound, combining the cozy virtues of an old-timey name with the bounce of a barmaid. Associated with Tom Sawyer's…

Inga

Norse

"guarded by Ing"

Ing was a powerful Norse god whose name inspired several modern variations -- though Inga has become a caricatured Scandinavian choice.

Ondine

Latin

"little wave"

Mythological spirit of the waters; spelled Undine, she was an Edith Wharton heroine.

Orla

Irish

"golden princess"

Orla is an Irish name closely associated with the high king Brian Boru, as it was the name of his sister, daughter and niece. It was very popular in the Middle Ages – the fourth most popular name in…

Avalon

Celtic

"island of apples"

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina--…

Eira

Welsh

"snow"

This Welsh nature name that can be pronounced exactly like the male Ira. Or, to avoid confusion, you could just name her Snow.

Evella

Invented literary name

Though it doesn't have historic roots--it was created by L. Frank Baum for a Princess character in his book Ozma of Oz --Evella could fit well into the Eve-Eva-Evelyn group now coming back into favor.

Alanis

Female variation of Alan

"handsome, cheerful"

Singer Alanis Morissette made this twist famous. She was named for her father Alan, who is said to have spotted this version in a Greek newspaper. So far it has been pretty much a one-person name,…

Avra

Avra is a feminine name with multiple cultural roots. In Hebrew, it relates to Abraham, meaning "father of many," while in Greek it can mean "breeze" or connect to the word "avrio" meaning…