Current Girl Name Crushes

Ailsa is a traditional Scottish name for girls related to a rocky island in the Firth of Clyde called Ailsa Craig. It might make an interesting alternative to the outdated Ashley or overly popular Ella, and could also be thought of as a relative of Elizabeth or Elsa.

Although she declared her independence as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I--Good Queen Bess, Bess now sounds less passé than Beth or Betsy.

In the Bible, Beulah is a place, not a person, applied to the land of Israel by the prophet Isaiah. The land of Beulah has sometimes been considered a reference to heaven. Beulah began to be used as a given name in England at the time of the Reformation and was used by the seventeenth century Puritans.

Actress Daryl Hannah made this a girls' name in theory, though in the most recent year counted, about 75 baby boys in the US were named Daryl...and zero baby girls.

One of the few ella names that's not on every other new mother's lips -- a definite plus.

Everest has an attractive enough sound and lofty enough meaning to come into style, à la Sierra. George Lucas bestowed this aspirational name on his baby daughter.

This lovely Gaelic name, very popular in the Emerald Isle, has inspired a whole host of diminutives (including Nuala and Nola) and variant spellings, from Finola to Finula to the Scottish and English Fenella. In Irish legend Fionnuala was one of the four children of Lir who were transformed into swans for 900 years.

Gail was a mid-twentieth century favorite, which has been far surpassed by its original form, Abigail and nickname Abby. Spelling variations include Gale and Gayle, the latter represented by TV journalist and Oprah bestie Gayle King. Gail was most popular in the 1950s, when it was in the Top 40, and could rise again, possibly as a middle.

We've seen Haven take off as a nouveau girls' name; Harbor could follow in its wake.

Juno is hot, June is showing signs of a comeback along with other month and day names, whereas Junia, the name of the the first century Christian referred to by the apostle Paul as an apostle (and who may have been male), is yet to be discovered.

Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name -- it's a small evergreen shrub -- with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia, and Willow.

The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map; actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013. This name is even less used in England or Wales, where as recently as 2014 no births were registered using this name.

While Larkin takes this name from girlish bird to boyish surname, there are actually more female Larkins these days than male, and it's a name that works as well for either gender.

Laurel takes Laura back to its meaning in nature, resulting in a gentle, botanical option. Even more directly than Laura, Laurel relates back to the laurel wreath signifying success and peace in ancient Rome.