The Nameberry Guide to the Best Baby Names for Girls

By Pamela Redmond Satran

Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran, the leading experts on baby names in the U.S. and the creators of the popular website Nameberry, choose the 650 very best names today for your baby girl. The elite selections in this useful book all link back to the website Nameberry, to help you find out even more about each name and make the perfect selection for your daughter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pamela Redmond Satran
• Release date: Nov 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9780989458740

Pamela Redmond Satran

Pamela Redmond Satran is the author of five novels and the coauthor of many bestselling baby name books, as well as the creator of nameberry.com. A columnist for Glamour, she writes frequently for the New York Times, The Daily Beast, and The Huffington Post. She lives not all that far from Brooklyn and plans to act thirty-three forever.

Book preview

BEST BABY NAMES FOR GIRLS

by

Linda Rosenkrantz & Pamela Redmond Satran

Smashwords Edition

nameberry.com

Published on Smashwords by:

nameberry.com

The Nameberry Guide: Best Baby Names for Girls

Copyright 2013 by Linda Rosenkrantz & Pamela Redmond Satran

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

A • B • C • D • E • F • G • H • I • J • K • L • M • N • O • P • Q • R • S • T • U • V • W • X • Z

The Complete List

Introduction

Why, you may be wondering, buy a baby name book in this era of more and better and free name information online?

Indeed, every name in this book, along with our trademark information about it, is available on Nameberry, the website that incorporates everything we’ve written about names in our ten bestselling books.

But what you get with this book, what you can’t find on our site or anywhere else, is our personal curation of the best choices for girls from the massive universe of names. There are nearly 20,000 girls’ names on Nameberry. In this book we’ve winnowed that number down to the 650 most appealing, most usable, all-around best girls’ names.

By selecting the best names for you, we make it easier for you to pick the best name for your baby. This is the book that you’ll curl up in bed with at night, which you’ll discuss over dinner with your partner, which is most likely to be the source of the name you’ll ultimately choose for your daughter.

These 650 best names are drawn from a wide range of styles and choices, from simple and strong, to more dainty and frilly

Classic Girls’ Names—Here you will find the most enduring girls’ classics, ranging from the timeless Elizabeth, Katherine and Jane and the biblical Sarah, Abigail and Hannah, to ancient names like Alexandra and Penelope, and floral perennials Rose, Lily and Daisy, all with detailed information on their history and current standing and appeal.

Stylish Name for Girls—Which popular and trending names will transcend the moment and prove to be lasting choices? We include picks from the top of the pops, such as Isabella and Sophia, and also highlight cool choices that fit in with current styles but stand further from the spotlight: Coraline and Luna, for example.

Adventurous Names—What are the most usable unusual names? You’ll find hundreds of unique choices here for your baby girl, from revived classics like Theodora and Ottoline, to names with foreign flair, such as Lilou and Cosima, to nontraditional first names including Ever and Madrigal, Vienna and Plum.

All the names here link back to Nameberry, making it easier for you to discover more about your favorites: You can track down which lists include the names you like best (or create your own lists around them), read blog posts about them, see what people say about them on the forums and what related names they like, and maybe use them as jumping off points to find other choices you like even better, beyond the 650 here.

We believe this book will be the centerpiece for your conversations and the process of choosing a name for your baby girl. It’s the perfect place to start, the central point from which to explore, and the place you’ll likely end your journey, with your choice of the very best of the best.

A

Abigail

Hebrew, my father is joyful

Abigail, an Old Testament name—she was the wife of David, renowned for her beauty, wisdom, and prophetic powers—that became a term for a maid in the early nineteenth century, leading to a fall from favor. Now, Abigail’s back in a big way—it is Number 7 on the 2012 list—liked for its slightly proper vintage charm.

Abigail has been the name of two of our First Ladies—three, if you count the character on The West Wing—and Abby has been the name of a host of television and movie characters—she has been seen on screen in everything from Mad Men to The Lovely Bones.

Abigail’s biblical roots and her sensible image combined with cute, accessible nickname Abby make her popularity understandable. But whatever style currency Abigail had over the past decade is beginning to flag. There may be a lot of reasons you still might want to choose Abigail for your baby girl, but fashion shouldn’t be one of them.

If you like Abigail but want something fresher, you may consider such other biblical choices as Lydia and Priscilla or names popular in Revolutionary Era America that have been neglected in recent years, such as Susannah and Eliza.

Abilene

English from Hebrew, grass; American place name

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/Abby 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.

Abra

Hebrew feminine variation of Abraham, father of multitudes

Abra is a soft, sensitive feminine form of Abraham that was the name of a soft, sensitive character in the John Steinbeck book and movie, East of Eden. In the Bible, Abra was a favorite of King Solomon, and it was a popular name in seventeenth century England. Abra is also a West African name used for girls born on Tuesday. The magical abracadabra is thought to have originated in the Aramaic language.

Acacia

Greek, thorny

Acacia is an attractive, rarely used Greek nature name, enhanced by its popular beginning-and-ending-with-‘a’-construct, and is gradually beginning to catch on with baby namers.

The acacia is a shrub of the mimosa family, with clusters of showy white or yellow blossoms, which symbolizes resurrection and immortality—making the name especially appropriate for an Easter-season baby.

Named by an early Greek botanist, the acacia is known for its fine wood and medicinal properties. It also has biblical ties, since the Ark of the Covenant was made out of Acacia wood.

As a given name, Acacia has had some popularity in Australia, where the acacia (sometimes known there as the wattle) is a common plant and sometime national symbol.

Ada

German, noble, nobility

Ada was a favorite at the end of the nineteenth century that has started to come back in the past few years. Some may seek it out as an alternative to the over popular Ava, and it’s also part of the trend toward simple, old-fashioned names beginning with a vowel, like Ivy and Ella.

A worthy namesake is Ada Lovelace, mathematician daughter of the poet Lord Byron, who worked with Charles Babbage on the forerunners to the calculator and the computer. In his poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Byron addresses her as Ada! sole daughter of my house and heart.

Ada has a number of fictional references as well, appearing in Dickens’s Bleak House and Nabokov’s 1969 novel Ada, in addition to which characters with the name were portrayed by Holly Hunter in The Piano and Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain.

Adah, pronounced AH-da, is a biblical name, one of the first female names mentioned in the Book of Genesis.

Ada returned to the Top 1000 in 2004 after being off since the 1980s; by contrast, Ada was a Top 100 name in the 1880s.

Adair

English and Scottish, shallow place in a river near oaks

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

Adela

German, noble

This variation of Adele sounds somewhat more feminine than the original by virtue of the a- ending. It could join the army of popular ‘A’ girls’ names, especially with its tie to the recent celebrity-related success of Adele.

Adela, which came to England with the Normans in the eleventh century, has a royal pedigree via William the Conqueror’s youngest daughter.

Adela Quested is a character in E. M. Foster’s novel A Passage to India, and the name also appears in an Agatha Christie story. Journalist/novelist/screenwriter Adela Rogers St. Johns was a colorful character in Golden Age Hollywood.

Adelia is another appealing variation, an alternative to the rising Amelia.

Adelaide

German, variant of Adelheid,noble, nobility

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 will have to share the nickname Addy with all the Addisons, Adelines and Adeles out there.

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.

Adele

French form of Adela, noble, nobility

Credit the award-winning, single-named British singer for taking Adele from a quiet semi-retirement to a red-hot success. This year she made it back to the Top 1000 but is surely slated to move much higher.

Adele is both a saint’s and a royal name, having originated as the French version of the German Adela.

Molly Ringwald chose Adele for one of her twins, and Fred Astaire’s first dancing partner was his older sister Adele.

Historically, Adele was the name of the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror. Music lovers might associate the name with a character in Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus, while a prime literary reference is Jane Eyre’s young charge.

Adele’s more elaborate sisters, Adeline and Adelaide, are also gaining in popularity.

Adeline

French diminutive of Adele, noble, nobility

Adeline has a lovely, old-fashioned Sweet Adeline charm and is a less-used cousin of the trendy Madeline.

Adeline was introduced to England by the Normans in the eleventh century, was very common during the Middle Ages, then vanished until the Victorian Gothic revival.

The song Sweet Adeline is an old barbershop quartet favorite. JFK’s grandfather John F. Fitzgerald, mayor of Boston, made it his theme song, and Mickey Mouse serenaded Minnie with it in a 1929 cartoon.

Pronounced ad-a-line in America, it’s usually ad-a-LEEN in France.

Adriana

Latin feminine variation of Adrian, from the Adriatic

This a-ending feminine form of Adrian, from the northern Italian city of Adria, is a soft and lovely Italian choice. It appears as a character in Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

The name had quite a different image in The Sopranos, where it was pronounced with a hard initial ‘A’.

Adriana Lima is a Brazilian model and actress, best known as Victoria’s Secret Angel.

Africa

Place name, various meanings

Most Africas today would be named for the continent, but the name actually existed in Scotland in medieval times, where there was a Celtic queen named Affrica. Africa has also been a Spanish name for girls since 1421. The church of the Virgin Nuestra Senora de Africa is in Ceuta, the Spanish city she is Patron of, in North Africa.

There have been several other theories as to the origin of the name. Some believe it refers to the name of the ancient Berber people who inhabited North Africa, others believe Africa means greyish in reference to the color of sand, and yet another theory is that it is a Phoenician word meaning colony, as Africa was once a colony of the Roman Empire. To complicate matters further, spelled Affrica, it is also used in Spanish-speaking countries, meaning pleasant.

Africa has been a recorded name in the U.S. since the eighteenth century.

Agatha

Greek, good woman

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 Conqueror. 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.

Also boasts the cute nickname Aggie.

Agnes

Greek, pure, virginal

Agnes, though it was the third most common English girls’ name for four hundred years, has long been stuck in the attic. But now it looks like Agnes was so far out it’s just about ready to come back in. It did look cute on the little girl in Despicable Me, and nickname Aggie has lots of retro appeal.

And Agnes has been making inroads in the celebrisphere—first actress Elisabeth Shue chose Agnes for her third child, and more recently Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany named their daughter Agnes Lark.

In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl’s name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne, the third Bronte sister. French pronunciation—ahn-YEZ—makes it more attractive, but few Americans would comply. Other interesting variations: the Welsh Nesta, the Latin/Scandinavian Agneta, the Spanish Inez/Ines/Ynez, and the Scottish Segna—which happens to be Agnes spelled backwards.

Aida

Arabic, returning visitor; Italian, happy

Aida is a melodic name largely associated with the title character of the 1871 Verdi opera, an enslaved Ethiopian princess who dies to save her people. In the past, her name was rarely heard outside the Latino community, but in the current time of love for all A-starting girls’ names, this could very well change.

Aida did have a period of some U.S. popularity; in 1954, it reached as high as Number 663 but fell off the list in 1976.

Arabic families often pronounce it with two syllables—as EYE-dah—rather than three.

Aida Turturro played Tony Soprano’s sister in The Sopranos.

Ailsa

Scottish, elf victory

Ailsa is a traditional Scottish name 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.

Some other Ailsa relations: Ailis, Ailse, Ailsha, Allasa, Elsha, Elshe.

Aisling

Irish, dream, vision

Aisling is currently a very popular name in Ireland. Pronounced variously as ASH-ling, ASH-lin, or ash-LEEN, it was part of the revival of authentic Irish names in the twentieth century and is now being used sparingly by U.S. parents in place of the dated Ashley—though often spelled phonetically as Ashlyn or Ashlynn.

An aisling is a poetic genre that developed in late seventeenth-century Ireland, a type of patriotic-romantic poetry in which Ireland is addressed as a beautiful woman.

Alabama

Choctaw, vegetation gatherers; place name

Alabama is a hot southern place name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though—there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.

Hip couple Drea de Matteo and Shooter Jennings named their daughter Alabama Gypsy Rose, and rocker Travis Barker has an Alabama Luella.

Alexa

Diminutive of Greek Alexandra, defending men

Alexa—the simple and most feminine form of the Alexandra-Alexis group—has retained its staying power. It entered the popularity list in 1973 and had been in the Top 50 for the last five years until it slipped to Number 55 in 2011. It now rests at Number 57.

Alexa stands at the happy midpoint between the bare-bones simplicity of nicknamey Alex and the elaborate Alexandra.

Alexandra

Greek feminine form of Alexander, defending men

Alexandra, the feminine form of Alexander, has been in the Top 100 for over twenty years and shows no signs of fading. Strong, tasteful, and elegant, Alexandra maintains a chic aura despite its popularity, has a solid historic pedigree, and offers an array of softer nicknames, from the boyish Alex to the bouncy Lexi to the more dramatic Alexa and Xandra.

Alessandra and Alejandra are attractive, more exotic variations.

Alexis

English variation of Alexios, defending men

Alexis, a one-time Russian boys’ name, has surpassed sister Alexandra in popularity—it’s just inside the Top 40, with more than five thousand babies named Alexis last year.

Alexis zoomed to popularity following the introduction of the Dynasty character Alexis Carrington in the 1980s—which gave it a sexy, sleek image—and has had remarkable staying power.

One of the few notable female pre-Carrington Alexises was 1940s actress Alexis Smith, who had some minimal impact on the name, which entered the list in 1943. A current bearer is Alexis Bledel, who played Rory on Gilmore Girls.

Alice

German, noble

Alice is a classic name that’s both strong and sweet, which got a big bounce via Tina Fey’s choice of the name for her daughter. In the past three years alone, Alice has jumped from Number 258 to 127!

Alice is quite unique among traditional girls’ names—more feminine and dainty than Mary and Helen, more substantive than Ann or Jane, yet with more lightness and innocent charm than Margaret or Katharine.

Alice is a darling of literature, from the immortal heroine in Alice in Wonderland to an unusual number of fine modern writers like Alices Munro, Walker, Sebold, Hoffman, McDermott, Adams, and Elliott Dark. In other fields there were First Daughter Alice Roosevelt, painter Alice Neel, food innovator Alice Waters, and literary figure Alice B. Toklas, to name a few.

Alice is also a British royal, as Queen Victoria’s second daughter, the princess who shocked her Victorian mother by breastfeeding her baby.

At the moment, Alice is being revived all across the Western world: she’s the top name in Sweden, a surprising Number 9 in Italy, and in the Top 50 in England and Wales, France, Belgium, and Australia.

Alicia

Spanish variation of Alice, noble

Alicia was more popular than its mother name for several years, adding a lacy, more balletic feel to the original. Taken for its sound alone, Alicia is a lovely, feminine name, but parents should be aware that its innumerable phonetic versions, such as Alisha and Alysha, have robbed it of some of its character.

Two high-profile Alicias are actress Silverstone and soul singer Keys; in the past there were ballerina Alicia Markova and the great Spanish classical pianist de Larrocha. Alicia is the birth name of Jodie Foster, and the singer known as Pink was originally Alecia.

Allegra

Italian, joyous

In music, the term allegro means quickly, lively tempo, which makes this still-unusual and quintessential ballet dancer’s name all the more appealing.

One of the most creative sounding of names, Allegra has been associated with the American prima ballerina Allegra Kent, and has been chosen as a first or middle name for their daughters by poets George Gordon, Lord Byron, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, as well as by R. Buckminster Fuller and Donatella Versace. Caveat: There is that current connection to the allergy medication.

Alma

Latin, nurturing, soul

Alma is a somewhat solemn, soulful name that had a burst of popularity a century ago, and then faded into the flowered wallpaper—though we can see it beginning to find its way back.

In addition to being familiar via the term alma mater, Alma has many cultural ties, one of the most recent being 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, 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.

Always well used in Hispanic families, Alma seems to be on the brink of making a comeback, à la Ella and Ada, appreciated for its simplicity, integrity, and—yes—soul.

Althea

Greek, with healing power

Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at Wimbledon.

Althea appears in Greek mythology as the mother of the hero Meleager and was revived by the seventeenth-century poet Richard Lovelace as a poetic pseudonym for his beloved.

These days, parents would also appreciate the short form Thea.

Amabel