Summer's Favourite Girl Names

Overall favourite girl names
  1. Adele
    • Origin:

      French diminutive of Adelaide
    • Meaning:

      "noble, nobility"
    • Description:

      Credit the award-winning single-named British singer for taking the girls’ name Adele from a quiet semi-retirement back into currency. Adele reentered the US Top 1000 popular baby names in 2011 and has remained there ever since.
  2. Annalise
    • Origin:

      German, combination of Anna and Lise
    • Meaning:

      "grace and pledged to God"
    • Description:

      Variously spelled Annalise and Annaliese as well as several other forms, this is not a modern smoosh but a traditional German combo-name with a definite Heidi-esque feel.
  3. Anneliese
    • Origin:

      German, Dutch
    • Meaning:

      "grace + oath"
    • Description:

      Anneliese is a German and Dutch combination of Anna and Liese (a form of Elizabeth) with an Old World feel but modern appeal. The Anglicized Annalise spelling in in the US Top 500, but this authentic German version has only ever broken into the US Top 1000 once, back in 2005.
  4. Anneliese
    • Daisy
      • Origin:

        Diminutive of Margaret or flower name, English
      • Meaning:

        "day's eye"
      • Description:

        Daisy, fresh, wholesome, and energetic, is one of the flower names that burst back into bloom after a century's hibernation. Originally a nickname for Margaret (the French Marguerite is the word for the flower), Daisy comes from the phrase "day's eye," because it opens its petals at daybreak.
    • Delilah
      • Origin:

        Hebrew or Arabic
      • Meaning:

        "delicate"
      • Description:

        Melodic and lively, Delilah has cut itself (mostly) free from its treacherous past to become a contemporary favorite.
    • Elodie
      • Origin:

        French, variation of Alodia, German
      • Meaning:

        "foreign riches"
      • Description:

        The lyrical and melodious Elodie, a Nameberry favorite, is starting to rise through the US popularity charts for the first time since the 1880s. It's a uncommon member of the trending El- family of names, which includes Ella, Eloise, and Eleanor.
    • Eloise
      • Origin:

        French and English variation of Heloise
      • Meaning:

        "healthy; wide"
      • Description:

        Well balanced between sleek, sweet, strong, and vintage, newly chic Eloise re-entered the US Top 1000 in 2009, following a 50 year absence. In 2022, it broke into the Top 100 in the US and across the pond in the UK. Given to nearly 3000 babies each year, Eloise is showing no sign of stepping out of the spotlight.
    • Genevieve
      • Origin:

        English from French
      • Meaning:

        "tribe woman"
      • Description:

        Genevieve is derived from the Germanic medieval name Genovefa, or Kenowefa, which consists of the elements kuni, meaning "kin", and wefa, meaning "woman." The medieval saint Genevieve, patroness of Paris, defended the city against Attila the Hun through her rational thinking, courage and prayer.
    • Hazel
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "the hazelnut tree"
      • Description:

        Hazel has a pleasantly hazy, brownish-green-eyed, old-fashioned image that more and more parents are choosing to share. Former Old Lady name Hazel reentered the popularity lists in 1998 and now is near the top of the charts.
    • Jack
      • Origin:

        English, diminutive of John
      • Meaning:

        "God is gracious"
      • Description:

        Jack may have fallen from its Number 1 place in England, but in the US it's as popular as it was at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. A durable, cheery, everyman form of John, Jack ranks as one of the most popular boy names starting with J.
    • Jezebel
      • Origin:

        Hebrew
      • Meaning:

        "not exalted"
      • Description:

        Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad girl reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a strong woman, the power behind the throne. Previously avoided as a baby name, Jezebel is now, along with the also previously avoided Delilah and Desiree, coming into use, helped by its relation to other 'bel' name such as Isabel and Bella.
    • June
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "young"
      • Description:

        June, a sweetly old-fashioned month name derived from the goddess Juno, was long locked in a time capsule with June Allyson (born Ella) and June Cleaver, but is rising again especially as a middle name.
    • Juno
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "queen of the heavens; young"
      • Description:

        Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted, well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno, this lively but strong Roman goddess name has held new potential as a baby name. Currently in the UK Top 500 and used in The Netherlands too, Juno is on the rise in the US - and is 15 times more popular than it was before the release of the film.
    • Luna
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "moon"
      • Description:

        The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
    • Lux
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "light"
      • Description:

        This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides, originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in the League of Legends games. Luz is the Spanish version.
    • Margaux
      • Origin:

        French spelling variation of Margo
      • Description:

        Yes, it's pronounced with a long o sound at the end, just like Margo and Margot. This spelling was popularized by supermodel, actress, and tragic Hemingway granddaughter Margaux, whose name spelling came courtesy of a bottle of French wine. (The original spelling of her name was Margot; she changed it when she heard her parents were drinking a bottle of Chateau Margaux the night she was conceived.) Margo itself is a diminutive of Margaret, which means "pearl" or, in its French version, "daisy." Margaret or Marguerite would be more stylish variations now.
    • Mayella
      • Origin:

        Compound name, combining May, Mary, Margaret or Maya with Ella
      • Meaning:

        "Maytime fairy; beloved fairy; pearl-like fairy; fairy mother"
      • Description:

        A sunny sounding name, Mayella is a smoosh name with various meanings, depending on which etymological root you follow for May. The name is perhaps most associated with Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a character whose loneliness and desperation spark the main plot of the book. This may well put parents off using the name and it is only ever given to a handful of girls every year.
    • Myla
      • Origin:

        Spelling variation of Mila or feminine variation of Milo
      • Meaning:

        "soldier or merciful"
      • Description:

        Myla can be seen as a female variation of Milo or a different spelling for popular Mila. Though frequently unnecessary in alternate spellings, the "y" here does connote a specific pronunciation.
    • Margeaux