Lopes da Silva (female names, Part 1 of 12)

Adelina is back in the Top 1000 after an absence of nearly a century, thanks to the meteoric rise of her sister name Adeline -- along with Adelaide, Adele, and Ada.

This a-ending feminine form of Adrian, from the northern Italian city of Adria, is a soft and lovely Italian choice. It appears as a character in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

Aitana is the name of a Spanish mountain used by the poet Rafael Alberti for his daughter. He reportedly chose it because the mountain was his last glimpse of Spain when he went into exile after the Spanish Civil War. The name was popularized by Aitana Alberti's goddaughter and namesake, actress Aitana Sanchez-Gijan. It became one of the fastest-rising girls names in 2016, after entering the US Top 1000 in 2015, and is among the most popular Spanish names for girls in its native Spain and beyond.

Young Canadian pop singer Alessia Cara has given this spicy-sounding name a new lease on life, propelling it into the Top 1000 in 2016. It was one of the fastest rising girl names of the year in 2016, then again in 2023. As a form of Alexander, Alessia could make a wonderful honor for any of Alexander's variants—Alexandra, Alexis—or as an alternative to Alexa, now best known as Amazon's AI voice.

Alice is a classic literary name that's both strong and sweet, ranking in the US Top 100 and popular throughout the western world. Alice is derived from the Old French name Aalis, a diminutive of Adelais that itself came from the Germanic name Adalhaidis, which is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements aþala, meaning "noble," and haidu, "kind, appearance, type."

Alison has been long popular in Scotland and widely used here since the fifties. This more feminine medieval elaboration of Alice had long surpassed the original in popularity, but now sounds a tad dated in the U.S., with Alice having leapfrogged back over Alison, Allison, Alicia and other variations.

Allie is one short form that's gotten so popular it's often used as a name on its own. Cute, friendly, yet we'd recommend using one of the proper names such as Alice to give your daughter an option. These days, Ellie might be more fashionable.

Widely used here since the fifties, Allison -- a derivative of Alice -- has now been once again surpassed by the original Alice as parents embrace vintage revivals. Despite this, Allison's popularity has slipped only slightly.

The original Allison was a Top 50 name from the 1980s through 2016, and Allyson is one of the many spelling variations parents used to put a more unique spin on the original.

Part of a group of lovely A-starting names popular in Spain, along with Ainhoa and Aitana. Spanish actress Aroa Gimeno introduced this one.

Audrey is one of the girls' names that have been rising due to their connection to Old Hollywood glamour—in this case the eternally chic and radiant Audrey Hepburn. Audrey has another very different appeal as one of the elite group of girl names that mean strong, brave, or powerful.

The ie ending injects this late 20th century favorite with a bit of late 19th century charm. But not quite enough to make it a good 21st century choice.

Caroline is a perennial classic, one of the elite group of girls' names that's ALWAYS ranked among the Top 1000 and that's been in the Top 100 since 1994. Elegant yet strong, Caroline calls to mind the Kennedy Camelot years and Princess Caroline of Monaco.

Reference to the mythological Three Graces of womanly charm, this one representing charity. Pronounced in Greek as starting with a back-of-the-throat H sound, most English-speakers would translate that to something closer to KAR-is. It's also the name of a girl who lived in Atlantis in the novel Taliesin, and appears in the Margaret Atwood novel The Robber Bride.

The kind of French name that seemed daring -- and darling -- in the sixties.

This name found in both Celtic and Scandinavian mythology has gone from all-boy to almost all-girl, retaining a strong, unisex quality. However, it has dropped following its three-decade heyday from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Depending on how you say it, either a streamlined version of Deanna, or the namesake of a male Dean. But today, why not name her Dean.