Baby girl names

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

Stylish and boyish but could work for a girl -- especially one with brown eyes -- and Sully is a quirky and jaunty nickname.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

Wendolyn is a feminine name that appears to be a variant of Gwendolyn, a name with Welsh origins meaning 'white ring' or 'blessed ring.' By dropping the initial 'G,' Wendolyn creates a slightly more distinctive version while maintaining the melodic quality of the original. Though significantly less common than Gwendolyn, it shares the same medieval charm and literary associations. Wendolyn has a gentle strength in its sound, with the softened beginning giving it a slightly different cadence than its more popular counterpart. The name might appeal to parents seeking something familiar yet uncommon, with connections to Celtic heritage. While rare in contemporary usage, Wendolyn wouldn't seem out of place alongside other traditional names experiencing revival, offering uniqueness without being completely unfamiliar.

Pretty and unusual, Livana may find a lot more fans as parents look for alternatives to Number 1 Olivia. Livana was used for only seven baby girls in the US last year.

Galilee is a highly unusual place name, Galilee being a large region in northern Israel, the home of Jesus during at least thirty years of his life, and also where he cured a blind man. The Sea of Galilee gets its name from the area.

Less than ten percent of the babies named Rhys are girls, whereas Reese is given five times more often to girls than to boys, thanks to Ms. Witherspoon. It's a sleek and attractive name, but one that benefits from two accepted spellings that help clarify its gender identity.

Eula is a slightly sweeter and more compact version of Eulalia. Currently, neither name is given to more than a handful of girls each year. Eula was fairly popular in the US during the early twentieth century, and she last ranked in the Top 1000 in 1960.

Lucasta was invented by seventeenth century poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems dedicated to a lover named Lucy, and is familiar through the Eugene O'Neill play and film Anna Lucasta. Lucasta is a distinctive, rarely used choice and a logical extension of the Luke/Luc/Luca names.

Gwenevere is a variant spelling of Guinevere, the name of King Arthur's queen in Arthurian legend. Derived from the Welsh name 'Gwenhwyfar,' it combines elements meaning 'white, fair, blessed' and 'smooth, soft.' This romantic name carries the weight of literary history, evoking images of medieval courts and chivalry. While the Guinevere spelling is more traditional, Gwenevere offers a phonetic alternative that maintains the name's elegant sound. Though never extremely common, the name saw modest popularity during the 1980s and has maintained a steady presence as a choice for parents drawn to names with legendary connections and feminine strength. Gwenevere balances regal history with a fairy-tale quality that continues to appeal to those seeking a distinctive yet recognizable name.

Sidda is a name made famous by the heroine of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood; it probably started life as a nickname.

Popular in the 1930s in France, this is a diminutive of Lucy (or Lucie).

This unusual and appealing form of Laura is popular in sections of Wales.

Lainie is a nickname for Elaine that has been in the public eye via Lainie Kazan (that was her full given name), who was a popular singer in the 1960s and 1970s (she was Barbra Streisand's understudy in "Funny Girl"), and then became a motherly character actress. We still find Lainie a bit flimsy for a full first name.

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.

Delicate and gentle old-fashioned name, the kind found in early English poetry. While Corinna and the original Green Korinna are technically diminutives of the ancient Kore, now the popular Cora, this name will often be mistaken for other similar-sounding though unrelated names, such as Karenna. But it's pretty and is backed by more tradition than you'd guess.

Windsor may have male references, such as Britain's royal House of Windsor and a tie's windsor knot, but this name also has a definite feminine feel, as in Windsor Rose. That seems appropriate, as Windsor is used equally these days for boys and girls. Nicknames might include Win, Wind, Windy, and Winnie.

Louisiana is a geographic spin on the Louise theme. Pretty, if a bit of a syllable overload. Short form Lou or Lulu lightens it.

The old word name Temple has gained some recent notice as a girls' name via admired autistic writer and inventor Dr. Temple Grandin (born Mary Temple), subject of an acclaimed biopic, in which she was played by Claire Danes.

An uncommon Irish-accented surname that seems particularly well suited to a girl. Tierney Sutton is a well-known jazz singer. Tierney, in its original Tiarnach form, was the name of several saints. It can also join the ranks of Old Hollywood names, via the haunting actress Gene Tierney. ER actress Maura Tierney is a current surname bearer.