21st Century Names for Girls
- Cerise
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"cherry"Description:
Infinitely preferable to the tease-inspiring English version of the word.
- Cerys
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"love"Description:
Common name in Wales that's all but unknown in the U.S. Certainly an attractive choice ripe for export. In the UK it sits at Number 330.
- Chrysanthemum
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"gold flower"Description:
One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation. One of the rare flower names counted among names for autumn babies, Chrysanthemum is also one of the most unusual nature-themed girl names starting with C.
- Coco
Origin:
Spanish and French pet nameDescription:
Coco came to prominence as the nickname of the legendary French designer Chanel (born Gabrielle) and has lately become a starbaby favorite, initially chosen by Courteney Cox for her daughter Coco Riley in 2004. At first it was the kind of name that the press loves to ridicule, but we predict Coco's heading for more broad acceptance and even popularity.
- Cosima
Origin:
Italian feminine variation of Cosmo, GreekMeaning:
"order, beauty, universe"Description:
Cosima, the kind of elegant and unusual name the British upper classes love to use for their daughters, is given to a handful of baby girls in the US after being chosen by two high-profile celebs in the same month; cool couple Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars as well as supermodel Claudia Schiffer. It was used earlier by celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, while the male form, Cosimo, was given to the son of Marissa Ribisi and Beck.
- Crescent
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"increasing, growing"Description:
Crescent is an intriguing word name with a pretty sound and links to the moon. Cressie could make for a cute nickname, as used in the Worst Witch children's TV series, short for Crescentmoon.
- Cressida
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"gold"Description:
Cressida is a pretty mythological and Shakespearean heroine name much better known in Britain than it is in the US. Given to just 7 girls in a recent year, it shares the cool golden meaning of Aurelia, Orla, and Goldie, and offers cute Cassie- alternative nickname Cressie, along with Ida and Sid too.
- Cypress
Origin:
Botanical nameDescription:
Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Juniper, Maple, and Willow. Nearly 200 babies were named Cypress in the US last year, about 40 percent of them female.
- Caedmon
- Carrigan
- December
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"tenth month"Description:
Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy. December gets its name from the number ten as the old Roman calendar only had ten months, and as now, December was the last.
- Daltrey
- Delano
- Easton
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"eastern town"Description:
Easton is a stylish Waspy-sounding surname that's climbing up the popularity charts. TV actress Elisabeth Rohm named her daughter Easton August Anthony, which seemed like a real gender bender, and now Rachel Leigh Cook has made it the middle name of her baby Charlotte. Note that Easton is now in the Top 100 for boys--for whom directional names are a real trend-- but we won't be surprised to see more and more little lady Eastons arriving.
- Edda
Origin:
NorseMeaning:
"poetry"Description:
This Old Norse girl name has a lovely meaning and a familiar yet distinctive sound.
- Elke
Origin:
Dutch, German, and Frisian diminutive of AdelheidMeaning:
"noble"Description:
Though she has long stood on her own, Elke has many longer cross-cultural connections, to the Dutch/German/Scandinavian Adelheid and Alice and the English Adelaide, as a feminine version of Elkanah and as a Yiddish form of Eleanor.
- Elspeth
Origin:
Scottish variation of ElizabethMeaning:
"pledged to God"Description:
Elspeth is one of those names that never quite made it out of the British Isles--particularly Scotland, but possesses a winningly childlike charm. Elspeth was used by Sir Walter Scott for several of his female characters.
- Endeavour
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"challenge, endeavor"Description:
Extravagant virtue name which is notably the first name of the British TV detective Inspector Morse.
- Este
Origin:
Diminutive of Esther, PersianMeaning:
"star"Description:
Este -- think Esme with a t -- comes to us via one of the rocking sisters in the musical group Haim. For long best known as the Esther diminutive used by cosmetics queen Estee Lauder, Este is a slimmed-down version that feels chicer for our star-struck times. While mother name Esther has Persian origins and impressive Biblical roots, it's a name used in a wide range of cultures.
- Evolet
Origin:
Modern invented nameDescription:
This name coined for a character in the movie 10,000 BC, feels right on trend right now, given the popularity of Evie, Eva, Evelyn etc. In the movie, the name’s meaning is given as "the promise of life", but some creative parents have used the alternative spelling Evoleht — "the love" spelt backwards. Other spelling variants that have appeared on the SSA list include Evolette, Evalette, Evalet and Evoleth.
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