Realistic Fave Girls Names

  1. Tara
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "rocky hill"
    • Description:

      Despite a rich history in Irish myth preceding its plantation appearance in Gone with the Wind, widespread use in the seventies caused Tara to lose its Irish accent.
  2. Chelsea
    • Origin:

      Place name, English
    • Meaning:

      "landing place for chalk or limestone"
    • Description:

      Chelsea is still being used, with about 400 baby girls named Chelsea in the US last year. But it was much more popular a few decades ago, peaking at Number 15 in 1992.
  3. Coralie
    • Origin:

      French from Latin
    • Meaning:

      "coral"
    • Description:

      Coralie is a French name not often heard here, though she's gaining some recognition via Neil Gaiman's similar sounding spooky and lovely children's book, Coraline. Other literary appearances: Coralie is the stage name of an actress in Balzac's Lost Illusions, and a French girl in an 1850 Thackeray novel.

      Coralie is currently very popular in French-speaking Quebec, and there is a contemporary French singer named Coralie Clement.

  4. Allison
    • Origin:

      Scottish, diminutive of Alice
    • Meaning:

      "noble"
    • Description:

      Widely used here since the 50s, 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.
  5. Serafina
    • Origin:

      Italian and Spanish variation of Seraphina
    • Meaning:

      "ardent"
    • Description:

      Serafina is a name so lovely it's worthy of an angel. But the more stylish spelling today is Seraphina.
  6. Hope
    • Origin:

      Virtue name
    • Description:

      Can a name as virtuous as Hope be cool and trendy? Strangely enough -- yes. But though this optimistic Puritan favorite is experiencing substantial popularity, Hope is too pure and elegant to be corrupted, a lovely classic that deserves all the attention it's getting.
  7. Rosemarie
    • Origin:

      Combination of Rose and Marie
    • Meaning:

      "rose flower + drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"
    • Description:

      Rosemarie had its moment in the sun back in the middle of the last century, when parents were looking for new ways to recycle traditional family names. So a child might combine her two grandma's names and become Rosemarie (or Annmarie or Maryjean), but these combination names feel dated now.
  8. Leilani
    • Origin:

      Hawaiian
    • Meaning:

      "heavenly flower"
    • Description:

      Lyrical, lively and bold, Leilani is a name that feels fresh, floral, and summery. Sharing sounds with the popular Lillian, Layla and Luna, Leilani joined the US Top 100 in 2020.
  9. Lisette
    • Origin:

      French, diminutive of Elizabeth or Lise
    • Meaning:

      "pledged to God"
    • Description:

      Lisette, also spelled Lizette, is a dainty,, if somewhat dated, Gallic offshoot of Elizabeth. It reached its U.S. peak of popularity in 1999, then fell off the list in 2001.
  10. Alexa
    • Origin:

      Greek, English
    • Meaning:

      "defending men"
    • Description:

      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 obvious reasons. Too bad, because it's a strong and pretty name (which is probably why Amazon used it.)
  11. Katrina
    • Origin:

      German variation of Katherine
    • Meaning:

      "pure"
    • Description:

      The hurricane blew this one out of the realm of possibility.
  12. Sapphira
    • Origin:

      Greek variation of Sapphire, Hebrew jewel name
    • Meaning:

      "sapphire"
    • Description:

      Sapphira is a lovely name which unfortunately has an unsavory Biblical history. The New Testament Sapphira was killed by God for lying about a tax payment.
  13. Zipporah
    • Origin:

      Variation of Tziporah, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "bird"
    • Description:

      There are many variations of this name, with or without the initial T and the final h, with one p or two. In the Bible she was the wife of Moses.
  14. Hana
    • Origin:

      Hebrew, Hawaiian, Maori, Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "grace, work, glow, flower"
    • Description:

      Many things to many peoples: a flower name, also spelled Hanae, to the Japanese; a Czech and Polish short form of Johana; and an alternate form of the biblical name Hannah in the US. It also means "craft, work" in Hawaiian and "glow" in Maori.
  15. Nahla
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "a drink of water"
    • Description:

      Nahla is a lovely name chosen by Halle Berry for her daughter. Not to be confused with the Disneyfied Nala.
  16. Zahra
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "flower"
    • Description:

      Abbreviated form of Zahara that was used by Chris Rock for his daughter and as a middle name by both Eddie Murphy and David Bowie. Compared with the even-more-abbreviated Zara, Zahra may create more spelling problems but clarify pronunciation.
  17. Julianne
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "youthful or sky father"
    • Description:

      This variation on the Julia theme has stayed in play due to the popularity of Julianne Moore, though it now sits at the bottom of the US Top 1000.
  18. Chaya
    • Origin:

      Feminization of Chayyim or Chaim, Hebrew, Hindi, "life; shadow, shade"
    • Meaning:

      "life; shadow, shade"
    • Description:

      A life-affirming name of Hebrew origin, currently popular in Israel, Chaya has also risen up the charts in both the US and the UK in recent years. Used as a common name for leafy shrub in Mexico, it shares the same root as Chava, Eve, and Eva.
  19. Rochelle
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "little rock"
    • Description:

      While Rochelle may sound like a twist on Rachel, it has a different origin entirely. Rather than having Biblical and Hebrew ties, it comes from the name of a city on the west coast of France, La Rochelle. Meaning "little rock", it rose to prominence in the 1930s, likely popularized by the actress Rochelle Hudson (though she was born Rachael).
  20. Emilie
    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Emily; German and Scandinavian feminine form of Aemilius
    • Description:

      Unlike most creative spellings, this one isn't overly trendy or overdone—in fact, it's quite delicate and pretty. However, it is clearly suffering from the plethora of similar names that are flowing around right now (Emelie, Emilia, Emily, Emilee, Amelie, Amelia) and has fallen more than 300 spots since 2013. It might be time for Emilie and her sisters to be left alone for a while.

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