English Girl Names by ViVi

Stockard Channing -- "West Wing" 's first lady -- picked this strong, Waspy first name over her original, Susan.

Edina is an infectious-sounding Minnesota place-name, featured in the British cult hit TV show "Absolutely Fabulous." Edina is also a poetic name for Edinburgh and is a common name in contemporary Hungary. Though some sources list its origins as Hungarian, more peg it as a variation of Edwina, the feminine form of Edwin, an English name.

While Haidee may sound like a variant of Heidi or Hailey, it's actually a separate name with a literary history. First appearing in Byron's epic poem Don Juan (1819), it was likely inspired by the Greek word aidoios meaning "modest, reserved".

In 2014, fifteen newborns were named Whisper, all of them girls. We can see the attraction of the name but if you are in Australia be warned - Whisper is a well-known brand of sanitary products, so a teenaged Whisper will find life more embarrassing than usual.

Literary heritage: the "Loony Tunes" girlfriend of Porky Pig. But with the increasing popularity of all kinds of unusual botanical names, Petunia may be a name we start to hear more of. Perhaps-more-pleasing Petunia alternatives: Petal, Posy, Poppy.

A heroine in a Victorian novel written with a quill pen, has an unusual, offbeat charm.

Sounds elven in every sense of the word.

Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

Many virtue names have long been in style or have seen a resurgence in recent years. Happy, however joyous, seems unlikely to join this trend. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to Joy or Hope) and because it's such a familiarly used word in day to day life (unlike Verity or Felicity).

Compact and creative, it has been associated with one-time Cagney & Lacey star Tyne Daly.

Although this is a legitimate name, most people would associate it with a line of Volkswagens -- you'd be better off choosing a Mercedes.

Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.

This variation of the more well known Alvin adds an unusual and feminine touch to the original. It sounds a bit more like what it means--"elf friend."

Gypsy, long associated with the intellectual stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and the musical that was made about her life, was used by Drea de Matteo and Shooter Jennings as the middle name of their daughter Alabama. Be aware, however, that the word gypsy is now considered an ethnic slur when used for the Romani, or Roma, people.

Extremely unusual ella-ending choice.

Feels like a hybrid. Better go for Edith or Evelyn.

Yet another noble name to join King, Prince, Princess, et al. The name Empress was given to over 100 baby girls in the US last year.

Quirky and cute.

Blakesley is the name of a village in England, also sometimes found as a surname along with Blakely and Blakeley, turned into a first name for their daughter by reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter. Blakesley joins other -ley ending names -- Hadley, Finley -- as one of the most popular forms of unisex names with a girlish spin.