Long-Term Favorites for Girls

Updates Allison—which everyone will misunderstand it as. But it's definitely a fresh spin on the Ellie names, and a rising surname name choice for girls.

Finley is an attractive surname-name given to near-equal numbers of baby girls and boys in the US last year -- close to 1200 of each. Finlee was used for fewer than 100 babies and given to nearly twice as many girls as boys, while the Finlay spelling was used for TEN TIMES as many boys as girls: 50 to only five.

Fleur is a generic, delicate flower name that emigrated into the English-speaking world when John Galsworthy bestowed it on one of the Forsytes in his celebrated saga. More recently, there was Fleur Delacour, a French witch and the Beauxbatons champion for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter.

Greta is an Old World name long tied to the iconic Garbo, but now synonymous with environmental activism.

Joanna derives from the Greek name Ioanna, which in turn came from the Hebrew name Yohannah. It is featured in the New Testament as a woman who accompanied Jesus on his travels and eventually reached saint status. Other names related to Joanna include Joan, Joanne, Johanna, and Jana.

Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most popular girls' names starting with S, right after longtime favorites Sophia and Sofia.