RenRose's Girls' List

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.

Adeline has a lovely, old-fashioned "Sweet Adeline" charm, but has become so popular in the US under so many spellings and variations -- with Adalynn and Adalyn also popular -- that considered together it is far more popular than it first seems. Adorable nickname Addie is also pervasive.

Aira is a light and airy name that is currently on the rise. The name could be seen as a variation of the word name Air — similar to Kylie Jenner's son's name, Aire — or a variation of the Armenian name Ara, meaning king. We suspect that the majority of the 128 parents who named their baby girls Aira in 2022 had the former inspiration in mind. With the announcement of Jenner's baby Aire's name in early 2023 we suspect that Aira will continue to rise.

Annabel is a spirited name that embodies quirky British gentility. Appearing in Scotland as early as the twelfth century, where it was a royal name, it also recalls the romantic Edgar Allan Poe poem Annabel Lee, written upon the death of his young wife, Virginia.

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

This variation of Ariel, with the extra-feminine suffix, has been on the rise in recent years and has now surpassed the original. The similarity to the name of the Little Mermaid gives Ariella a princessy flair. Ariella entered the charts in 2008, and has now risen into the Top 200. The cute nickname Ari is on trend as seen with the popularity of Ariana and Arianna, as are any girl names ending in "-ella", making Ariella a natural hit. Arabella is another name with the best of both of these trends.

Swap two letters of Birdie and you get Bridie, a traditional diminutive of Bridget. Bridie fits perfectly with the trend for standalone vintage nicknames like Betty and Sadie, but is surprisingly rare.

Cecily is as dainty as a lace handkerchief. Cecily has a wide assortment of namesakes. One Cecily was the mother of King Richard III, whose beauty gained her the title "the Rose of Raby," Cecily Parsley is a Beatrix Potter bunny, Cecily Cardew is a character in The Importance of Being Earnest, and the author of the Gossip Girl books is Cecily von Ziegesar.

Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.

Chiara is a lovely and romantic Italian name that's familiar but not widely used here: a real winner. You might consider Chiara instead of Claire, Clara, Cara, or even Keira.

The childhood name of the heroine of Memoirs of a Geisha is pretty and accessible. Chiyiko is a pet form.

Clara is a strong, lovely girls' name that's always ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names but has been climbing since the turn of this century. It now ranks right around Number 100, making it a modern classic that's neither too popular nor unfamiliar.

Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

Long popular in Scotland, this attractive name is strictly-speaking the Gaelic version of Eleanor, but is also often considered part of the Helen family of names. After the Normans introduced it into the British Isles, it was transformed into Aileen or Evelyn. It has rarely been heard in the US, but it is slowly starting to be used here too.

Slimmed down spelling is well-established and makes an old name more modern, for better and worse. Katie Couric spells her Elinor's name this way.

The lyrical and melodious Elodie, a Nameberry favorite, is starting to rise through the US popularity charts for the first time since the 1880s. It's a uncommon member of the trending El- family of names, which includes Ella, Eloise, and Eleanor.

While the etymology of the name is unclear, it's most likely a contraction of Eliora or Elnora. Despite the uncertain heritage, it's a winning construction, based on its El- prefix, the feminine three-syllable flow, and the a ending. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Emmeline is an Emma relative and Emily cousin that is destined for greater use in the wake of the megapopularity of those two names. A recommended Nameberry fave, Emmeline hopped onto the US Top 1000 in 2014 for the first time ever. While it is genuinely an old name, it was rarely used a century ago; only 17 baby girls were named Emmeline in 1915, the same number as were named Ernie!

First-wave Irish name and place name—the poetic name for Ireland—now supplanted by newer alternatives such as Maeve and Delaney.