pretty names

  1. Lisa
    • Origin:

      English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian
    • Meaning:

      "pledged to God"
    • Description:

      Elvis naming his daughter Lisa Marie and Nat King Cole's hit song "Mona Lisa" conspired to catapult one of Elizabeth's many offshoots to a high of #4 in 1970.
  2. Prudence
    • Origin:

      Virtue name
    • Meaning:

      "caution"
    • Description:

      Prudence, like Hope and Faith, is a Puritan virtue name with a quiet charm and sensitivity that is slowly returning to favor, though it hasn't yet registered on the charts.
  3. Caitlin
    • Origin:

      Irish variation of Catherine
    • Meaning:

      "pure"
    • Description:

      An Irish and Welsh form of Catherine, Caitlin was a boom name of the eighties, rocketing from obscurity (Americans first heard it via the wife of doomed poet Dylan Thomas) to the height of popularity in the space of a decade. The original name was gradually eclipsed by its myriad spelling variations -- Katelyn and Kaitlyn both soon topping it on the popularity lists.
  4. Nerissa
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "from the sea"
    • Description:

      An offbeat possible replacement for the overused Melissa and Marisa, Nerissa was used by Shakespeare for Portia's witty confidante in The Merchant of Venice. Queen Elizabeth has a cousin named Nerissa.
  5. Melissa
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "honeybee"
    • Description:

      Melissa derives from the Greek word mélissa, meaning "bee," which was taken from the word for honey, meli. In Greek mythology, Melissa was a nymph who nursed the infant god Zeus with honey. Melissa was used as a given name by the early Greeks, as well as for fairies by Italian Renaissance poets.
  6. Roisin
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "little rose"
    • Description:

      No, the pronunciation--ro-SHEEN--isn't immediately obvious to the non-Gaelic viewer, but the sound of this shiny Irish version of Rose is pretty enough to make it worth considering. Very popular in its native Ireland, it's one of many Irish girl names finding a wider audience. Earlier generations Anglicized at as Rosaleen, but we stay stick to the original.
  7. Melinda
    • Origin:

      English combination name
    • Meaning:

      "beautiful honey"
    • Description:

      In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into non-literary use in the 1840's, peaking in the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s: Melinda was a Top 100 name from 1967 to 1980. It began to fade as nickname Mindy ascended. Nowadays, however, Melinda feels more contemporary than cousins Melissa, Mindy, Belinda and Linda.
  8. Allison
    • Origin:

      Scottish, diminutive of Alice
    • Meaning:

      "noble"
    • Description:

      Widely used here since the 50s, Allison — a derivative of Alice — has now been once again surpassed by the original Alice as parents embrace vintage revivals. Despite this, Allison's popularity has slipped only slightly.
  9. Marian
    • Origin:

      French medieval variation of Marie, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"
    • Description:

      Marian's (and sister spelling Marion's) image has gone through a sea change of late, recalling less middle-aged matron and more Robin Hood's romantic Maid Marian. Some influences: the SJ Parker-M. Broderick twin daughter Marion and the glamorous French actress Marion Cotillard.
  10. Beth
    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "pledged to God"
    • Description:

      The sweetest and most sensitive of the pet names for Elizabeth, now also one of the most dated.
  11. Tillie
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Matilda
    • Meaning:

      "battle mighty"
    • Description:

      A surprise recent hit revival with cutting-edge British, Tribeca and Malibu parents; Tillie, also spelled Tilly, is cute, frilly, and sassy all at once. Tilly is currently Number 90 on the England-Wales popularity list, joining such other Top 100 nickname names as Milly, Maisie, Kitty and Lottie. Tillie along with these other short forms transform proper names rooted in other cultures into true English names for girls.
  12. Sandra
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Alessandra, Italian from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "defending men"
    • Description:

      2012's Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday. While in recent years it's been associated with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as a baby name Sandra is sinking beneath the waves.
  13. Fay
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "fairy"
    • Description:

      Fay, also spelled Faye, who had been napping quietly since the 1930's, has, like cousins May/Mae and Ray/Rae, sat up and started rubbing her eyes, ready for a mini-comeback, especially as a middle name. In 2014, Faye hopped back onto the US Top 1000, though Fay is used much more quietly as a first name.
  14. Belinda
    • Origin:

      Spanish or German
    • Meaning:

      "pretty one, or, serpent"
    • Description:

      Belinda, cousin of Linda and Melinda, enjoyed a brief return to the Top 1000 from 2005 through 2013, only to fall off again in 2014. A name that some may consider a modern spin on the midcentury popularity queen Linda is in fact a classic with deep and fascinating roots. In Babylonian mythology Belinda was the goddess of heaven and earth, and the name later was used for the heroine of Alexander Pope's satirical poem The Rape of the Lock.
  15. Beverly
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "dweller near the beaver stream"
    • Description:

      The remarkable success of the girls' name Everly makes a revival of the name Beverly seem possible. More commonly a masculine name in the 19th century, it began to be used for girls in the early 1900s, reaching #14 ion the popular names list in 1937. Inspirations: Beverly Johnson was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of Vogue, Beverly Sills was a major American soprano, Beverly Cleary authored the beloved 'Ramona' books, and Beverly Goldberg is the beloved TV matriarch of 'The Goldbergs'.
  16. Denise
    • Origin:

      French, feminine variation of Denis
    • Meaning:

      "god of Nysa"
    • Description:

      Denise was a French favorite of the fifties and sixties but is less chic now. In 2020 it broke back into the Top 1000 after a five-year hiatus, catapulted into style by reality TV star Denisse Novoa — but it dropped out again the following year.
  17. Tori
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Victoria, English, Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "victory; bird"
    • Description:

      A more modern nickname for Victoria than Vicky, Tori is used fairly frequently on its own, kept in the public eye by singer Tori Amos and actress Tori Spelling. Still, it's far from fashionable, sinking in the polls significantly since reaching a peak of Number 142 in 1994. It dropped out of the US popularity charts in 2021, and even earlier in the UK, perhaps owing to the sound-alike political party nickname.
  18. Pamela
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "all honey"
    • Description:

      Pam was a somewhat pampered prom queen of the sixties who was never called by her full name, which is a pity because Pamela is so mellifluous and rich in literary history. A Top 25 name from the late 1940's through the late 60's, Pamela has just, sadly, dropped out of the Top 1000.
  19. Ruby
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "behold, a son"
    • Description:

      Ruby could be a short form of the Biblical name Reuben and especially its streamlined form, Ruben. As a gemstone name, it's currently enjoying a fresh boom of popularity for girls – nearing the US Top 50 for the first time in almost a century.
  20. Marcia
    • Origin:

      Latin, feminine version of Marcius
    • Meaning:

      "warlike"
    • Description:

      Marcia is an ancient Roman name which derives from Mars, the god of war. It was used by Dante in the Inferno and later by Thomas Hardy and others.

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