sappho's longlist - girls

Alethea, the name of the Greek goddess of truth, came into fashion in England in the 16th century, in tandem with the virtue names. Alethea may find new favor now as one of the goddess names stylish for baby girls.

The bell-shaped flower Aletris is also known as Colic Root, Blazing Star, Unicorn Root, and Stargrass. Its roots have medicinal properties and are used to aid digestive and muscle problems. Its name derives from Greek aletris — an enslaved woman who ground corn — because of the mealy texture of the flowers.

A form of Adelaide (and therefore related to Alice, too) used in the Netherlands. The country's first female physician was Aletta Jacobs. In the USA, Aletta is rare, but on a slight upward trend. It fits perfectly into the sweet spot of being deep-rooted and straightforward, yet barely used, and has Etta and Lettie as potential nicknames.

Alexandra fell out of the Top 100 for the first time since 1983 in 2015 but is still a popular choice. Strong, tasteful, and elegant, Alexandra remains a chic modern classic with a solid historic pedigree.

Alexandra is a name with many international variations, elaborations and short forms, and Alexandrine is one of the more unusual. Another, Alexandrina, was the first name of Queen Victoria.

This diminutive, similar to Alex or Alexis, has been yo-yoing in popularity since the turn of the 21st century.

Also seen as Alyenor and Eleonore, this is an old French name dating back to the Arthurian romances and still heard today.

Aline may have originated as a short form of Adeline in the Middle Ages, but it may also be a variation of the Irish Aileen or Scottish Eileen. Aline dropped off the Top 1000 in the 1950s. Fewer than 40 baby girls were named Aline in the US last year.

This glamorous name of a hot young French singer is catching on. Tessa and Barron Hilton used it as a middle name for their daughter Milou.

In music, the term allegro means "quickly, lively tempo," which makes this quintessential Bohemian ballet dancer's name all the more appealing. Allegra is one of the most distinctive yet accessible girl names starting with A.

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

Alta, one of the newer names bookended by the letter A, has a meaning that might raise a child's self-esteem. It was the middle name of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.

Altalune is an invention used by Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson as one of several middle names for their daughter, its Latin meaning roughly translated as "over the moon." Celebrity baby Altalune will be called the more familiar Luna for short.

Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at Wimbledon.

Amabel is an older name than Annabel and a lot more distinctive. Amabel was a very common name in the twelfth and thirteen centuries, then was revived during the nineteenth century British fad for medieval names.

Amadea is a strong and musical feminine form of Amadeus, as in Mozart.

In Greek mythology, Amalthea is the name of a goat (or, sometimes, a goat-keeping nymph) who nursed the infant Zeus and protected him from his murderous father, Cronus. Thanks to the goat’s protection and nourishment, Zeus grew up to overthrow Cronus.

This fragrant, almond-scented name has hardly been heard in this country, which is a pity--we've loved it since John Malkovich used it for his now grown daughter.