This traditionally male surname name could find new life for girls thanks to its similarity to the popular Abby and Abigail. 

Abbott

Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing. 
 Abel has literary connections to the novels of Dickens and Trollope, and is also one of the few well-known Old Testament names not plagued by overuse. Having been chosen for their second son by Amy Pohler and Will Arnett could give it a real popularity bounce.
 Abel's namesakes include two movie directors, Abel Gance and Abel Ferrara, and a pop singer, Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd.

Abel

Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D. Eisenhower spent his boyhood. Abilene is a much more untrodden path to the nickname Abbie/Abbie than the Top 10 Abigail.
 In 1857, Eliza Hersey named the frontier village of Abilene, Kansas after a vast plain described in Luke's gospel.
 Abilene is the title of a Sheryl Crow song, and the book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo features a sweet character named Abilene.

Abilene

Abram was Abraham's original name in the Bible; it's more user-friendly but with a bit less gravitas. And it does offer that cool nickname Bram, as well as the friendly Abe. After some early American usage, in 1936 Abram completely disappeared for nearly forty years, until its return in the 1970s.
 It was the middle name of President James A. Garfield.

Abram

This undiscovered unisex name has lots of flair. It was first noticed as a girl's name, starting in the 1980's, on the long-running daytime drama Search for Tomorrow, with the character Adair McCleary, who had ahead-of-their-time brothers named brothers Hogan, Cagney and Quinn. But since Adair has yet to find many takers, it would make a fresh and appealing choice.

Adair

Adelaide is now heading straight uphill on the coattails of such newly popular sisters as Ava, Ada, and Audrey, and in the company of Adeline and Amelia. It was chosen by actress Katherine Heigl for the name of her second daughter.
 Adelaide gained fame as the noble German princess who married the British King William IV in 1830 and became known as "Good Queen Adelaide," inspiring the name of the Australian city and a craze for her name. Earlier, St. Adelaide was married to Otto the Great and became Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, described as "a marvel of beauty and goodness."
 When Aussie actress Rachel Griffiths (also mother of son Banjo) chose Adelaide for her daughter, she said she'd been inspired by the city, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and the Disney character in The Aristocats. Adelaide can also be found in works by Thomas Hardy and Agatha Christie.

Adelaide

Agatha until recently summoned up visions of martyred saints, mauve silk dresses, and high lace collars, but now that some dauntless excavators have begun to resurrect it, we're sure more will follow their lead. Actor Thomas Gibson used it for his daughter in 2004.
 Popular in the middle ages, Agatha was brought to England at the time of the Norman Conquest by a daughter of William the Conquerer. Agatha is the name of the patron saint of firefighters and nurses, and in more modern times has been closely tied to the period mysteries of Agatha Christie. P.G. Wodehouse created the vivid character of Bertie Wooster's daunting Aunt Agatha.
 Agatha also boasts the cute nickname Aggie. The French version, Agathe, is tres chic there.

Agatha

Irish Aileen and Scottish Eileen may be pronounced the same way or Aileen can be pronounced with a long a at the beginning. While neither is particularly stylish, Aileen is slightly more popular and has reversed its downward slide to inch upward in the past few years, perhaps thanks to its stylish A beginning. Nicknames for Aileen include Isla, Ayla, Lee and Lena.

Aileen

Alaric is an ancient regal name that sounds modern enough to be considered. Alaric was a traditional name for the kings of the Ostrogoths, the most famous of whom was Alaric I, the King of the West Goths who sacked Rome in 410. 
 In literature, Alaric was a noble character in P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle novels, the lead character in Alexander Theroux's Darconville's Cat, appeared in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and was the name of a history teacher on The Vampire Diaries.
 More unusual than Frederic or Roderic, Alaric could make a quaintly quirky path to all the Al and Rick nicknames.

Alaric

Hot young actor Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo, gives this formerly-stodgy surname name an attractive new image, making it a fresh successor to Aiden or Holden. Before it got this fresh shine, Alden was among the classic <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/645/delicious-thanksgiving-names">Thanksgiving baby names</a>.

Alden

Alec, though an old nickname for Alexander, is much fresher sounding than Alex, with the additional advantage, at least to some parents, of being distinctly male (there are as many girl Alexes these days as there are boys). While Alec has a clipped British image, it's actually one of the classic <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/508/greek-names-for-boys">Greek names for boys</a>, by way of father name Alexander.
 Alec Baldwin is by far the best known current bearer of the name. In the past there have been actor Alec Guinness and writer Alec Waugh.

Alec

With many British names invading the Yankee name pool, the sophisticated Alistair could and should be part of the next wave. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. You have a triple choice with this name--the British spell it Alistair or Alastair, while the Scots prefer Alasdair--but they're all suave Gaelic versions of Alexander. Adopted by the lowland Scots by the seventeenth century, the name didn't become popular outside Scotland and Ireland until the twentieth century.
 Both Andrew Lloyd-Weber and Rod Stewart chose the Alastair spelling for their sons' names.

Alistair

Widely used here since the fifties, 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 held strong, and it remains steadily within the Top 100. 

Allison's status is challenged by up-and-coming "-son" names, from Addison to Emerson. The freshest Allison alternative may be Ellison, which adds the appeal of trendy nickname Ellie as opposed to falling nickname Allie.

Allison

Alma is a somewhat solemn, soulful name that had a burst of popularity a century ago, then faded into the flowered wallpaper, and is now finding its footing once more. 
 In addition to being familiar via the term alma mater, Alma has many cultural ties, such as Alma Mahler, a 19th Century composer and musician and the character Alma Del Mar played by Michelle Williams in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain. Other characters named Alma have appeared in Deadwood, The Hunger Games, American Horror Story, and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. In the Tennessee Williams play Summer and Smoke, a character named Alma explains that her name is "Spanish for soul."
 The name became fashionable in England following the Battle of Alma--named for the Russian river—during the Crimean War.
 Alma is one of those surprising names that's always been on the Top 1000, but after sinking to its lowest point ever in 2011, Alma is making a comeback. Like Ella and Ada, Alma is a name appreciated for its simplicity, integrity, and—yes—soul.

Alma

Amity--what nicer gift to give your little girl than a name that signifies friendship and harmony? This virtue name is also more rhythmic and feminine than the single-syllable Hope, Faith, and Grace. 
 Amity is a neglected gem that could make a distinctive namesake for an Aunt Amy.

Amity

A somewhat solemn appellation, Anselm is a saint's name, connected to the twelfth century archbishop of Canterbury, and in modern times tied to the German neo-expressionist painter Anselm Kiefer.


Anselm

Anwen is one of the simplest and best of the classic Welsh girls' names, more unusual than Bronwen but with the same serene feel. 

Anwen

Arcadia, a name for an unspoiled paradise, makes an attractive secular alternative to Nevaeh or Eden.  For parents who want an unusual name with a friendlier nickname, Arcadia has the advantage of cute Cady.

Arcadia

Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the cool nickname Archie.
 But have a look at that amazing popularity chart below: After 1889, Archer took a 130-year nap, resurfacing on the Top 1000 in 2009 and now shooting straight upwards. Five years ago, we named Archer one of our Hottest Names of 2011—and, indeed, it jumped 102 places that year, thanks in part to Archer's similarity to popular Asher and its cross-gender appeal. Moms may like its literary gentility and dads its tough-guy FX cartoon appeal. Or, of course, vice versa.
 Trivia tidbit: Archer is the name of Dr. Doolittle's father.

Archer

Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 60 percent girls and 40 percent boys.

 A locational surname name deriving from several places in England, there are multiple legitimate derivations for this name. One is from Old English earn "eagle" + denu "valley", while another is from the Celtic ard meaning "high".

 As a girls' name, Arden has been flirting with the bottom of the Top 1000 in recent years, hopping on and off the US list. A solid Nameberry favorite, this name should begin climbing more steadily.

 Arden is more familiar as a surname, as in cosmetics entrepreneur Elizabeth and actress Eve, and the narrative poem by Tennyson, Enoch Arden. Shakespeare's mother was Mary Arden.

Arden

Better than Capricorn or Cancer, not as usable as Leo, the name of the Roman god of war becomes more possible as a baby name every day, as mythological names take the place of biblical names. 

Aries

Words are not always easy to translate into <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a>, but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o-sound ending, which brings it further into the realm of possibility. Rising rock star Aja Volkman pulled a gender switch when she named her daughter Arrow Eve.

Arrow

Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.
 Aspen entered the popularity list in 1993 and is a good bet to start climbing higher as more and more parents respond to the appealing place and nature image it evokes.

Aspen

This is a fresh new addition to the botanical list; comedian Gilbert Gottfried made it a real bouquet when he named his daughter Lily Aster. And the name of the little girl on television's Dexter sounds like Aster, but is actually spelled Astor, which brings it more high society name.
<->Aster relates to the Greek word for star.

In Ethiopia, Aster is pronounced "ah-STAIR", and is the Amharic variation of Biblical Esther.

Aster

Atlas is one of those names that was previously thought too powerful for a baby boy, who would have to be strong enough to carry the world on his shoulders. Now Atlas has joined the pantheon of Greek and Roman god and goddess names in the realm of possibility, along with Mars, Zeus and Apollo.

 Atlas was one of the fast-rising names on the list in recent years in the USA, jumping from oblivion in 2012 into the Top 500 in 2015, and climbing several hundred places higher since then. Anne Heche was one of the first to make this audacious choice, but several celebrity parents have followed suit.

 As well as the mythological connection, Atlas is a cool geographical word name – perfect for the child of parents who love traveling or who hail from different parts of the globe.

Atlas

With its rich aural relation to names like Aubrey and Audrey, this color name could be the next Amber, or Scarlett. 

Auburn

A softly poetic surname name, associated with poet W.H., Auden is enjoying quiet but marked fashion status. It was chosen for his daughter by Noah Wyle and is definitely one to watch.

Auden

Confessional memoirist Augusten Burroughs is the first literary notable to bear one of this family of names since the confessional saint. 

Augusten

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina-- makes a heavenly first name. Actress Rena Sofer and British musician Julian Cope used it for their daughters.
 Avalon manages to blend the appeal of Ava and Evelyn, while sounding more interesting and unique.

Avalon

A classic in its native Scandinavia, Axel has a cool rock 'n' roll flavor in the US, thanks to Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose (born William). Axel is a popular Scandinavian form of the Biblical Absalom, who was a son of King David, and is the name of the title character of William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom. 
 Growing in popularity, along with a lot of other names featuring the powerful letter 'x', Axel is now one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/173/scandinavian-names">Scandinavian names</a>. It entered the popularity list in 1989, one year after the release of one of Guns N' Roses biggest hits. It is very popular in Scandinavia, Germany and France.
Axel was chosen by Will Ferrell for his third son, and also by Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson for their boys, and it's the middle name of Tiger Woods' boy Charlie. Axel Foley was the character played by Eddie Murphy in the Beverly Hills Cop movies and, going further back, was the name of an important character in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Currently, Axel Heck is the oldest son on The Middle.

Axel

Caius is classical and serious but also has a simple, joyful quality. There was a third century pope named Caius, as well as an early Christian writer, several Shakespearean characters, and a Twilight vampire. We would pronounce the name to rhyme with eye-us though at Cambridge University in England, where it's the name of a college, it's pronounced keys. 
 Nickname Cai is a definite asset.

Caius

Callahan, the simpler spelling of Callaghan, is a rhythmic jig of a name whose history harks back to the ancient King of Munster. In the Dirty Harry movies, the Clint Eastwood character is Harry Callahan.

Callahan

Calliope is the name of the muse of epic poetry -- and also the musical instrument on the merry-go-round. Bold and creative, it would not be the easiest name for a girl lacking such qualities. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. While Americans usually pronounce this name with a long I sound and the emphasis on the second syllables, Greeks pronounce it with the emphasis on the third syllable -- ka-lee-OH-pee.


Calliope

Cato conjures up images of ancient Roman statesmen and southern antebellum retainers; it could have revival potential, with its 'O' ending and the current interest in the names of Greek and Roman antiquity.
 The Roman statesman known as Cato the Elder was born Marcus Portius, the Cato added in tribute to his natural sagacity, practical wisdom and political expertise.
 Cato appears in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and, to go from the sublime to the ridiculous, in the Pink Panther movies--and Kato was The Green Hornet's valet. Cato is also a 21st century Hunger Games name, which could do more to spur its popularity than all its past history.

Cato

Cesare

Chase, with its sleek and ultraprosperous aura, is redolent of the worlds of high finance and international banking. Chase has been well used during the last few decades, seen as a character on 24 and on several young-audience shows. 
 There are a disproportionate number of football stars name Chase.

Chase

In Greek myth, Circe, daughter of Helios, the sun, was a sorceress living on the island of Aeaea, who could turn men into animals with her magic wand, which is just what she did to Odysseus's crew in Homer's Odyssey, transforming them into swine. All was forgiven, however, as Circe and Odysseus later had a child together&mdash;Telegonus.

The name and legend have appeared in countless forms, from a section of James Joyce's Ulysses to short stories by Julio Cortazar to Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon to films to DC comics to a dance by Martha Graham.

So is Circe's seductive legend too powerful for a modern little girl to carry? Your call.

Circe

Rich purplish red color choice that may gain favor along with Claire, though the wine connection can't be ignored. 

Claret

Clarity is one of the lightest of the newly rediscovered virtue names, with a bit of three-syllable sparkle, old-fashioned charm and a clear vision for the future. Clarity is a very desirable quality in this confusing world and it also, unlike some other newly coined word names, has real meaning and history as a name.
 Clarity is preferable to Charity and definitely to Chastity, with the possibility of Clare as a short form.

Clarity

An attractive and unusual name that may be a variation of Cleo, Clea was possibly invented by Lawrence Durrell for a character in his Alexandria Quartet.
 Actress Clea DuVall is one noted bearer of the name, another is Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's youngest daughter, who was named Claire Olivia, but always called Clea.

Clea

Clove is a spice name that is a tad more piquant than Saffron or Cinnamon. It might get more attention now as a member of The Hunger Games family of names.

Clove

In the early 1990s, Cody was in the Top 25 most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' names</a> in the USA; but it has been in decline since then. It retains a greater degree of popularity in the UK, however. Cody might be short for Dakota but despite its nickname feeling, it's a name of its own.

Cody

Like the French author with whom the name is most closely associated, Colette is a chic and charming name that is being rediscovered. After disappearing for nearly 30 years, Colette rejoined the Top 1000 in 2012 at Number 659 and has continued to rise since then. Dylan McDermott used it for his daughter, as did actress Constance Zimmer.
 There is an appealing animated Colette featured in the film Ratatouille.

Colette

Thanks to its dashing Anglo-Irish image — due partly to Colins Firth and Farrell — and its C-initialed two-syllable sound, Colin and its cousin Collin have enjoyed a long run of popularity, reaching as high as Number 84 in 2004. 
 The usual pronunciation of Colin is COLL-in, but the alternate COLE-in version was publicized by General Colin Powell, the first U.S. African-American Secretary of State, who was named after World War II hero Colin Kelly.
 Literary cred: Colin Craven is a character in The Secret Garden, and Colin Creevey appears in the Harry Potter books.
 Both Kevin James and Kiss's Paul Stanley have young sons named Colin, while Tom Hanks has a grown one.

Colin

Midcentury Irish-American favorite, never used in Ireland itself, being the generic word for "girl"; rarely given today. 

Colleen

Colt is the kind of unconventionally macho name that is so trendy right now, because of or in spite of its association with horses and guns. 
 Samuel Colt was the inventor and industrialist credited with popularizing the revolver.
 Colt is a perfect jock name, associated both with Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy and an entire football team, the Indianapolis Colts.

Colt

Conrad has a somewhat intellectual masculine image, a solid name that has been consistently on the popularity lists, especially well used in the 1920s and 30s, and given a pop of rock energy by the Elvis-like character of Conrad Birdie in Bye, Bye, Birdie--("We love you Conrad, oh yes we do!").
 Conrad has been both a saints' name and a German royal appellation. One of its most well-known bearers is hotelier Conrad Hilton, great-grandfather of the Paris generation. Conrad was the prototypical Byronic hero of his poem "The Corsair." There have been fictive Conrads on shows like Weeds and CSI.
 Corrado is the attractive Italian form.

Conrad

Constance is one of the more subtle of the virtue <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a>, but still has quite a prim and proper image. One impediment to its revival has been the decidedly dated nickname Connie, though modern parents might well opt for using the strong and dignified name in full.
 One of William the Conqueror's daughters was named Constance, and in Shakespeare's King John, Constance is the devoted mother of King Arthur. Constance was widely used in the seventeenth century by Puritans: Constance Hopkins was a young passenger on the Mayflower.
 The fictional Constance Billard School appears in TV's Gossip Girl, and Constance was the first name of the decidedly non-prim and proper Lady Chatterley.
 Oscar Wilde's wife was Constance, and Mozart's spouse was the German form Constanze, nicknamed Stanzi.
 Though Constance has been neglected here for a number of years, it's still ranks at Number 120 in France.
 Trivia tidbit: Constance was the birth name of 1940's peekaboo-hairdo star Veronica Lake and also, not surprisingly, Connie Britton.

Constance

A traditional French male name that could, with American pronunciation, become an admirable word name. 

Constant

Once the exclusive property of country signer Conway Twitty, but now might join the in-crowd Connor/Colton/Corbin contingent. 

Conway

It's a beautiful burnished metal -- but also slang for policeman.

Copper

Coraline may not be original to Neil Gaiman's wonderful book of the same name, but it might as well be. Gaiman's young heroine Coraline Jones is constantly called Caroline but as a name Coraline is more distinctive and has a more mysterious feel. The 2002 novel Coraline was made into a 2009 animated film voiced by Dakota Fanning and nominated for an Academy Award. The number of baby girls named Caroline increased by a factor of 100 between 2007 and 2017 -- going from 5 to over 500 in a decade.

Coraline

Corbin, the name of the castle where the Holy Grail was said to be hidden, came to the fore in the 1980s via actor Corbin Bernsen when he was the high profile star of LA Law, but its use is only now escalating as part of the mania for two-syllable names starting with c or k, as well as from the more youthful image of Corbin Bleu, the attractive actor-model-dancer-singer who was one of the stars of the Disney hit High School Musical. 
 Bruce Willis's character name in The Fifth Element was spelled Korben Dallas.

Corbin

Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both style and substance along with its Shakespearean pedigree.
 <br/
Cordelia is a Nameberry favorite—Number 106 on the site—and it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2014 after a 60+ year absence. By 2016 it sank below that line again, must to the relief of many Cordelia fans who feared the name would get too popular.
 
If you're torn between Cordelia and the equally lovely Cora, you can always choose Cordelia for long and then call her Cora for short—or Delia, Lia, Del, or even the extremely different Cordie.
 Cordelia also appeared in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, as detective Cordelia Gray in P.D. James's mystery novels, and was promoted by a character on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.
 And then there's that quote from the heroine of Anne of Green Gables: "I would love to be called Cordelia. It's such a perfectly elegant name."

Cordelia

Crew is yet another word name that was added to the baby name lexicon when this one was chosen by The Young and the Restless star Joshua Morrow for his son. It debuted on the Top 1000 in 2010. We've also heard spelling variations Cru and Crue.

Crew

From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.

Crow

betasinlove's list "The Best of A & C" of 56 great name ideas: Abbott - Crow!

The Best of A & C

A crop of the very best names from my two favorite letters.