My Favorite Girl Names

Harper

English

"harp player"

You might think of Harper as the hottest name of the last decade, jumping from obscurity to the Top 10, where it remained until last year. Victoria and David Beckham's choice of Harper for their…

Aria

Italian and Hebrew

"air; song or melody; lion"

Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones . There were about 6400…

Avery

English

"ruler of the elves"

Avery is a hugely popular name in the US, especially for girls. But while nearly four times as many girls as boys are named Avery today Avery's popularity is starting to soften for girls while it…

Natalie

French variation of Russian Natalia

"birthday of the Lord"

Natalie — a Franco-Russian name — became Americanized years ago and is one of those surprising names that's always ranked among the girls' Top 1000 names in the US. An Old Lady Name in the 1950s,…

Sienna

Italian color name

"orange red"

Sienna has been a Top 100 choice in England & Wales since 2005, the year after Sienna Miller's acting breakthrough in the hit movies Alfie and Layer Cake . In the US, it also got a big boost in the…

Emerson

English

"son of Emery"

The combination of Emily and Emma's popularity -- and the fact that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher's daughter is named Emerson -- have put this formerly strictly boys’ name , embodying the…

Kaia

Latin, Scandinavian, or Hawaiian

"to rejoice or sea"

The new Maia, the next Kayla, Kaia has been on the charts since the year 2000. You might see it as a female form of the also-rising Kai, which means sea in Hawaiian and is sometimes used for girls as…

Delaney

Irish

"dark challenger; dark river"

Delaney has been a popular surname-style choice since 90s, when it joined other Irish surnames such as Cassidy, Kennedy, and Mallory on the US Charts. Buoyant, bright, and cheerful, it ranks in the…

Sawyer

English occupational name

"woodcutter"

Sawyer is one of the top unisex names , used for their daughters by such parents as Sara Gilbert, co-host of The Talk and former actress on Roseanne , currently on The Conners . Sawyer is is one of…

Brooke

English

"small stream"

Brooke has long projected an aura of sleek sophistication, and can also be seen as a stylish water name. It was Brooke Shields (born Christa) who took it from quietly fashionable to ultra trendy when…

Emmeline

Old French form of archaic German Amal

"work"

Emmeline is an Emma relative and Emily cousin that is destined for greater use in the wake of the megapopularity of those two names. A recommended Nameberry fave, Emmeline hopped onto the US Top 1000…

Kailyn

Spelling variation of Kaylin

Kaylin and all of its forms have made many appearances in the Top 1000 in recent years. Kailyn is also the Turkish goddess of crossroads, kings and queens.

Cambria

Place name, Latin from Welsh

"Wales"

Most names that start with Cam- are on the upswing, so why not this obscure term for Wales as well as for a prehistoric time period.

Rhiannon

Welsh

"divine queen"

Strong and outdoorsy, yet pretty and queenly, Rhiannon was a once obscure Welsh name, brought into the mainstream in 1976, following Fleetwood Mac's flash hit song of the same title. It stormed into…