feminine names beginning with l

Lily

English flower name

"lily"

Lily is the most popular of the popular delicate century-old flower names now making a return, thanks to its many irresistible attributes: a cool elegance and a lovely sound, a symbol of purity and…

Lucy

English variation of Lucia, Latin

"light"

A versatile classic, Lucy is both sweet and solid, a saint's name, and the heroine of several great novels. First fashionable in England and Wales, Lucy is now a popular choice in the US, The…

Layla

Variation of Leila, Arabic

"night"

A lovely musical name (remember the old Eric Clapton-Derek & the Dominos song?), Layla's seen a significant surge in popularity, partly partly all names with a double L are stylish, and partly…

Lillian

English from Latin

"lily; pledged to God"

Lillian has ranked among the US Top 100 for the past 20 years, making it Lily's less popular but more grown-up cousin. A Top 10 name at the turn of the last century, the heyday of Lillian Gish and…

Leah

Hebrew

"weary"

Strong but sweet, Leah is a classic name that doesn't feel dull or dusty. It's got plenty of dignity, grace, and pluck, making it a solid choice in the 21st century. Leah was most likely derived from…

Lyla

Spelling variation of Lila, Arabic

"night"

The Lyla spelling variation has now superseded the original Lila — the former remains on the rise while the latter is consistently falling in popularity. Celebrity couple Katherine Schwarzenegger and…

Lucia

Italian and Spanish variation of Lucius, Latin

"light"

Lucia is a lush, rich Latinate equivalent of Lucy, popular in Spain and throughout Latin America and also a cross-cultural favorite. You might be surprised to know that Lucia has ALWAYS ranked among…

Lilah

Variation of Lila, Arabic, English

"night"

Lilah may be a simple spelling variation of Lila— itself an alternative form of the Arabic Leila — or you might think of it as a shortening of Delilah or an Anglicization of the Hebrew Lilach, which…

Lila

Arabic, Sanskrit

"night; play"

Lila is one of the girl names with a double l sound — Lila, Lola, Layla, Leila, Lily et al — that have caught on in a major way., Delicate yet dynamic, Lila has a slightly international flair. The…

Lilly

English flower name

"lily"

Lilly may contain one L too many for some people, though this secondary spelling of a name that's become wildly popular is still a popular choice. And the Lilly spelling does feel a bit less wispy, a…

Leila

Arabic

"night"

Leila was popularized in the West by the poet Byron, who used it in his poem Don Juan for a ten-year-old Turkish girl. Leila also appears as a fairy in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera Iolanthe .…

Lola

Spanish, diminutive of Dolores

"lady of sorrows"

A hot starbaby name – chosen by Kelly Ripa, Chris Rock, Lisa Bonet, Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, Carnie Wilson, and Annie Lennox, and used as the nickname of Madonna's Lourdes – Lola manages to…

Lilith

Assyrian, Sumerian

"ghost, night monster"

Lilith is derived from the Akkadian word lilitu meaning "of the night." In Jewish folklore she is portrayed as Adam's rejected first wife, who was turned into a night demon for refusing to obey him.…

Lena

English, Scottish, Dutch, German, and Scandinavian, diminutive of various names ending in -lena

This pet form of Helena and other ena-ending names, long used as an independent name, is attracting notice again as an option both multicultural and simple. Lena was a Top 100 name from 1880 to 1920.…

Laura

English from Latin

"from Laurentum or bay laurel"

Laura is a hauntingly evocative perennial, never trendy, never dated, feminine without being fussy, with long-standing literary links. All this makes Laura a more solid choice than any of its more…

Lauren

English from Latin

"from Laurentum or bay laurel"

Lauren was derived from Laurence, an English name from the Roman family name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum." Laurentum, an ancient Italian city, got its name from the Latin word laurus ,…

Lana

English diminutive of Alana

"rock or handsome"

Popularized in the 1940s by Lana (born Judy) Turner, today Lana is synonymous with American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. Although it has been rising steadily since the early 2000s, Lana still sits…

Laila

Spelling variation of Layla or Sami variation of Helga, Arabic or Finnish

"night; holy"

Beguiling and lovely, Laila is one of the lilting variations of Leila and Layla. It's the name of the former-boxer daughter of Muhammad Ali and of actor Shawn Wayans. In Finland, the Sami people use…

Leona

Latin

"lioness"

A strong, grounded choice that still has plenty of energy and charm, Leona is the feminine form of Leon, itself derived from the Greek word for "lion". Associated with courage, leadership, and…

London

English place-name

"Capital city of England"

The capital of England makes a solid and attractive twenty-first-century choice in the US where it is currently in the Top 1000. Given to nearly 1000 girls and 200 boys each year, it is a unisex…