Favorite Girl Names

No, we don't consider Jane too plain. In fact, for a venerable and short one-syllable name, we think it packs a surprising amount of punch, as compared to the related Jean and Joan.

Will this old-fashioned nickname make a comeback, now that Jane has shed her "plain" image? Janie is cute and approachable, and would stand as well on the birth certificate as Josie and Jessie do now.

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

Originally a feminine of John, Jean was popular in Scotland long before it found favor elsewhere, and had its most shining moment here in the era of Jean Harlow (born Harlean), ultimate symbol of silver screen glamour. Now, though there are many grandmas and even moms with the name, it doesn't seem all that baby-friendly. Though that could change, and Jean could join Jane.

Jessamine, a charming name occasionally heard in England, is just beginning to be appreciated in the U.S. as a possible successor to all the Jess names of the past. It's also spelled Jessamyn, as in Quaker novelist Jessamyn West, author of Friendly Persuasion--who started life with Jessamyn as her middle name.

Just like Flora is for botanicals, Jewel is the generic gemstone name, not used much since the early twentieth century, when it was seen as a symbol of how precious a daughter could be. The French version, Bijou, feels more modern, as do Pearl and Ruby.

The family of Kaylin names includes a wide variety of spellings—Kaylen, Kaelyn, and Kaylynn are a few—that enjoy varying degrees of popularity. This particular spelling plays on a couple contemporary trends, namely the ae vowel combination and the -lynn ending. While it's definitely a distinct spelling, it's likely to be misspelled more often than not.

One of the currently trendy Kaia-Maya-Mia family, deriving either from an elaboration of Kay or an alternative spelling of Kaia, a Scandinavian diminutive of Katarina.

This diminutive of Kimberley is gaining momentum as a standalone name. For our part, we're stumped by its rise.

Though Kimberly -- a South African diamond town name -- hasn't been stylish for decades, it was in the Top 5 throughout the sixties and seventies and long ranked among the top girls' names starting with K. Names with the -ly or -ley ending continue to be trendy, though, with Ashley falling while new choices such as Hadley and Kinsley are rising.

Kya, a variation of the popular Kaia, the feminine form of the also-popular gender-neutral name Kai, was one of the fastest-rising girls' names of 2023.