My Favorite Girl Names July 2017

This undiscovered Scottish port city name has a nice, upbeat feel and lots of good nickname possibilities.

Amarantha is a rare botanical name whose mythical equivalent was believed to be immortal. The Italian and Spanish form is the somewhat-more-acccessible Amaranta.

A rarely used play on Amber, making it more feminine and both more modern and old-fashioned at the same time.

Variant of Annemarie

One of the more widely used combination forms.

Blakely, along with Blakeley, Blakelee and Blakeleigh, is one of the post-Ashley surname names that end with the lee sound so stylish today. Reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter named their daughter Blakesley. These surname-names are among the most stylish English names for girls.

Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.

Ella is a sweet, simple name that owes much of its current popularity to the popularity of other names, from Emma to Bella to Emily to Ellie.

Ellamae was given to a record 80 baby girls in 2021, although the data doesn't record punctuation, so we don't know how many of those will actually go by Ella Mae or Ella-Mae. It's a modern smoosh name with a sweet, old-timey feel.

Variation of Eliana. Entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2016.

Emily may have dropped somewhat in the current standings, but it was the most popular girls' name for over a decade because it appeals on many levels: Emily is feminine, classic, simple, pretty, and strong. Emily is Number 1 among Gen Z names. It also has those nice literary namesakes, like Emily Dickinson and Emily Brontë.

Esmé comes from the past participle of the Old French verb esmer, meaing "to esteem" or "to love." It can also be considered a derivative of the Spanish name Esmeralda, which means "emerald".

Instead of the usual French suspects -- Danielle, Isabelle, Gabrielle -- why not consider Fabienne, which is less common and just as pretty.

Does Fay really need that e at the end? We vote no, but modern parents disagree: The Faye spelling was used for nearly 300 girls in 2014, vaulting the name back onto the Top 1000 after a 35-year absence, nearly ten times as many babies as received the Fay spelling.

Fernanda is very popular in the Latino community, with a lot more charm than its male counterpart. The standard nickname is Nanda, and variations include Ferdinanda and Fernandina.

Freya has long been popular in the U.K. but has only taken off in the US in the last decade, along with the entire category of mythological names. Derived from the Old Norse name Freyja, meaning "Lady, noble woman", Freya is the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.

Now more popular than Georgiana in Britain, this elegant Dickens. Jane Austen name deserves attention. Most American parents prefer Georgia to Georgina or any other feminization of George.