astorastilbe's list "real girls" of 10 great name ideas: apache - Kay!

real girls

real life names of little girls/babies i know

apache

maddilyn

zuca

Aidan is an ancient Irish saint's name with a fire meaning that's mega popular for boys, most often spelled as Aiden. The name is occasionally used for girls, sometimes as Aidyn or Ayden, as well. Aidan was the name of a famous seventh-century Irish saint, and is related to the Irish word for fire.

Aidan

satori

Baduhenna

Isis has gone from magical, feminist name on the rise to the forbidden list because of the extremist terror group called ISIS, an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Unsurprisingly, Isis was one of the fastest-falling names in 2014, dropping 130 ranks to reach #706. Interestingly, however, since 2020, it has begun to see increased use again, and 2023 saw it given to 151 girls.
 Before the rise of the political group, Isis was best known as the name of the supreme Egyptian goddess of the moon, sky, magic, motherhood and fertility, revived by feminists and others willing to cross into arcane territory. And with the mini-craze for names that start with Is- -- Isabella, Isla -- it was not so surprising that Isis was joining the crowd.
 The ancient Isis, wife of Osiris (who happened to be her brother), was worshiped beyond Egypt into the Greco-Roman world. According to myth, the Nile river floods every year because of Isis's tears of sorrow for the death of Osiris.
 In popular culture, Isis has been a character on Stargate and Battleship Galactica, an opera, the title of a Bob Dylan song and the name of several rock bands. The Isis is also the name given to part of the River Thames.
 
If you love the sounds or vibes of Isis, you could consider Ismay, Isolde, Eirlys, Ailish, Maelys, Ione, Inez, Iskra, Ismene, Atalanta, Artemis, Athenais, Anuket, Keziah, or Ianeira.

Isis

babalon

tracille

Kay, a cigarette-smoking, nightclubbing name of the 1930's, could be ready for a comeback along with cousins May/Mae and Ray/Rae. 
 Kay has been out of sight since the mid-eighties, but was in the double digits from 1936 to 1945, attached to several glamorous actresses of the period, such as fashion plate Kay Francis, as well as Eloise author Kay Thompson.
 Kay was also once a unisex name, as in Sir Kay, in Arthurian legend one of the Knights of the Round Table.
 Bottom line: Parents in search of a fresh, more cosmopolitan alternative to Kate might consider Kay..