2018 Girl Favorites

Hazel

English

"the hazelnut tree"

Hazel has a pleasantly hazy, brownish-green-eyed, old-fashioned image that more and more parents are choosing to share. Former Old Lady name Hazel reentered the popularity lists in 1998 and now is…

Aria

Italian and Hebrew

"air; song or melody; lion"

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…

Ivy

Botanical name

The quirky, offbeat and energetic botanical name Ivy is enjoying a deserved revival, propelled even higher by its choice by high-profile parents Beyonce and Jay-Z for daughter Blue Ivy. Ivy is also…

Jade

Spanish

"stone of the side"

As a precious stone, Jade is known for its cool green hues, its importance in Chinese art, and its ability to transmit wisdom, confidence, and clarity. As a name, however, Jade is a 90s throwback in…

Juniper

Latin tree name

"young"

Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name -- it's a small evergreen shrub -- with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia,…

Magnolia

Flower name, from French surname

"Magnol's flower"

Magnolia, a sweet-smelling Southern belle of a name made famous via the iconic Edna Ferber novel and musical Showboat , is one of the latest wave of botanical names, along with unexpected blossoms…

Sage

Herb name, Latin

"wise and knowing"

Sage is an evocatively fragrant herbal name that also connotes wisdom, giving it a double advantage. It entered the Top 1000 at about the same time for both genders in the early 1990s, but it has…

Harlow

English surname

"rock hill or army hill"

Jean Harlow (born Harlean Carpenter), the original platinum blonde bombshell, was a symbol of 1930s glamour, a factor that first Patricia Arquette and then Nicole Richie and Joel Madden probably had…

Briar

English

"a thorny patch"

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even…

Baylor

English

"horse trainer"

Baylor is a possible occupational alternative to the tired Taylor, especially for a horse lover.

Elowen

Cornish

"elm"

A beautiful modern Cornish nature name that is rapidly picking up steam in the States: even spawning variant spellings like Elowyn and Elowynn. In its native region, it wasn't widely used as a name…

Alexa

Greek, English

"defending men"

Alexa was a steadily popular modern classic until Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa was released in 2013. It remains relatively well used in the US despite this, though its standing keeps dropping for…

Odette

French, from German

"wealthy"

Odette is the good swan in Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake , a role for which Natalie Portman won an Oscar ---and it would make a particularly sophisticated yet upbeat choice. In fact, it charted in…

Ireland

Place name

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the…

Scout

Word name

"one who gathers information covertly"

Scout, a character nickname from To Kill a Mockingbird (her real name was Jean Louise), became a real-life possibility when Bruce Willis and Demi Moore used it for their now-grown middle daughter,…

Brighton

English place-name

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

Mesa

Spanish, Thai

"table; April"

Mesa is both the term for a flat-topped mountain, derived from the Spanish word for "table", and the Thai variation of April.

Ochre

Greek, English

"pale yellow"

Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the nineteenth century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay…

Reed

English

"red-haired"

Sleek, unisex surname rarely heard for girls -- which could be seen as an asset.