2022 girls singles

Hydrangea

Flower name, from Greek

"water vessel"

Prettier than the other name the plant goes by, Hortensia.

Ia

Cornish

This punchy little name, reminiscent of Latin Io, has a whimsical and beautiful fable behind it. According to legend, the Cornish saint Ia was an Irish princess who sailed across the sea to Cornwall…

Ida

German

"industrious one"

Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava. A century ago, Ida was considered "sweet as apple cider," and was Number 10 on…

Ingrid

Norse

"fair; Ing is beautiful"

The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid…

Io

Greek mythology name

Io may be one of the slightest names in the book, but there aren't many two-letter names with as much substance as this Greek mythological example. Io, a name used for the largest moon of Jupiter,…

Iolanthe

Greek

"violet flower"

Iolanthe is known primarily through the 1882 Gilbert & Sullivan operetta of that name, in which the title character is a fairy. Iolanthe is a softer version of Yolanda, and is the kind of…

Iona

Scottish place-name

This name of a small island off the coast of Scotland is trending upwards along with other I names.

Iphigenia

Greek

"of royal birth"

In mythology, Iphigenia was sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon -- a difficult legacy to pass on to a daughter, and only one reason the name is hardly ever used.

Ira

Hebrew, Russian, Greek, Finnish, Sanskrit, "watchful one; peace; protectress; earth

Truly multi-cultural, Ira can be: a Russian short form of Irina, meaning "peace"; a gender-switch of the Hebrew male name Ira, meaning "watchful"; a modern Greek and Finnish form of Hera, meaning…

Iseult

Celtic

"ice battle"

Strong and sharp but with a pretty, poetic feel about it, Iseult appears in the world of Arthurian legend. Also written as Yseult, Ysolt, and Isolde, the name might have Germanic roots, blending is…

Ismene

Greek

"knowledgeable"

Sister of Antigone and daughter of Oedipus in Greek mythology, Ismene's name is unlikely to make it in modern times because of its teasability factor. Ismay or Esme would be better bets.

Isolde

Welsh, German

"ice ruler"

Sleek, sharp, and soulful, Isolde is the German form of Iseult, the fabled lover of Tristan in the Arthurian romances. First appearing in the 12th-century, the name was fairly popular in the form of…

Isotta

Isotta is a feminine Italian name, essentially the Italian form of Isolde or Iseult from Arthurian legend. The name derives from a Celtic origin, though its exact meaning remains disputed, with some…

Ita

Irish

"thirst"

The name of one of the most famous medieval Irish saints, who was known as "the foster-mother of the saints," and founded a nunnery in the county of Limerick. Might be of interest to someone looking…

Ithaca

Place-name, Latin, Greek

"island"

The island home of Odysseus, the name of a real-life Greek island, and the New York city site of Cornell University, Ithaca feels like a scholarly and distinctive choice. Pronounced as ith-uh-kuh, it…

Ivalo

Greenlandic

"thread, sinew"

This is a Greenlandic girls' name made royal when Prince Frederik and Princess Mary - now King and Queen - named their twin daughter Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda.