Jane writes:
Hello! We’ve been narrowing down names for our soon-to-be-born little girl. The last name is Germanic/Dutch and sounds like VAHSS-till. I don’t want to give too many specifications because we’d like to be surprised. I’m kind of hoping for a “never once considered” suddenly blooming as The Ultimate Choice. Suggestions?
Boy names are difficult because there are so few; girl names are tricky because there are so MANY. There are so many STYLES: there are the gender neutral ones like Cameron and Bailey, or you can go ultra-feminine like Alissandra and Arabella. There are the modern names like McKenna and Cadence, and there are the old names like Margaret and Victoria. Ack! It can be overwhelming!
Since you aren’t giving any hints about where your preferences lie, what I’ll do is give you a list of my own current favorite girl names. And then I hope readers will do the same, so you’ll have a nice broad spectrum to consider.
This isn’t a complete list of my favorites. These are more the names that jump out at me when I go through The Baby Name Wizard. There are many other names that, if I were to give them a moment’s thought, would be on this list in a heartbeat. My own daughter’s name NEVER CAUGHT MY EYE in a million perusals of baby name books; I never noticed it until I saw it in a magazine when I was pregnant. So, anyway, my partial list:
Anastasia
Angela
Anna
Annabel
Audrey
Beatrix
Bridget
Camilla
Celeste
Clara
Clarissa
Cora
Eliza
Ellen
Elsa
Emily
Eva
Felicity
Fiona
Florence
Genevieve
Georgia
Helen
Hope
Jillian
Joy
Liana
Margaret
Millicent
Minerva
Penelope
Rose
Ruth
Stella
Hm. I seem to prefer the first half of the alphabet.
All right, now your turn, commenters! Leave a list of your favorite girl names for Jane to search through.
I still have this short list floating around from before I managed to convince my husband to go with my #1 choice, Maia:
Claire
Sylvie
Sophie
Juliet
Scarlet
Scout
Jolie
Tegan
Kiran
Bailey
Keira
Bianca
Carmen
Ivy
Evie / Eve / Evangeline
Norah
Fiora/Fiona
Gwyneth
My current favorites for girls:
Ramona
Saskia
Phillipa (nn Pippa)
Matthea
Thisbe
Sylvia
Mira
Marisol
Solveig
Astrid
Mae
Carmen
Elena
for boys:
Theodore (nn Theo)
Edward
Edmund
Louis
Karl
Charles
Oscar
Joseph
Jonah
Oops, sorry, I got carried away and included my favorite boy names, too!
i have only two current favorites for girls and my baby was a boy so i couldn’t use either!
phoebe
amelia
Rose
Sonja
Harper
Lila
Delilah
Moira
(names I love that my husband has vetoed)
Names we both like:
Norah
Clara
Susanna
Bonnie
Ruby
Aurora
(I just gave up the goods, big time! Those are my favey names!)
Brenna
Delaney
Emerson
Evie
Georgia
Josie
Karlina
Libby
Lucienne
Madigan
Parker
Peri
Quinn
Sacha
Tarynn
Teagan
Tessa
Tyler
Wynn
Lucy & Cora are some of my current girls faves.
For a boy I like Beck, as well as my own boys’ names. Dane, Owen and Cade.
First off, my girls’ names that I love:
Morgan, Reagan, Camryn (I call her Cami)
Other names I love:
Paige
Cara
Aubrey
Lauren
Jocelyn
Sydney
Whitney
Riley
Delaney
Emery
I love these, but they won’t work for us:
Keira
Caroline
Penelope (I love the nn Penny)
Tamsin
Kendall
Charis
This is so fun! There are so many I hadn’t thought of, and of course some we were considering already. Thank you!
Malia
Lily (and variations)
Carley
Leah
Speaking as someone who has an ethnic, hard to pronounce last name, and a first name that everyone misspells (Clare — no “i”), I say go simple on the first name with your last name. Nothing creatively spelled to terribly unusual. I don’t have specific suggestions, though, but I do like the names Swistle suggested.
Many of these have already been vetoed, but names I like:
1. Amelia
2. Anne
3. Ariana
4. Athena
5. Caroline
6. Catherine/Katherine
7. Carys
8. Damara/Damaris
9. Fiona
10. Freya
11. Gabriella
12. Gretchen
13. Harley
14. Jane
15. Joanna
16. Juliana (Jules)
17. Junia
18. Juno
19. Kathleen (Kate)
20. Lucy
21. Luna
22. Madeleine
23. Mae
24. Nora
25. Phoebe
26. River
27. Sophia
28. Stella
I want to play!!!! I have no kiddies yet but I was born to be a mom I swear! I have had an ever growing baby name list since I was a wee lass!
Here are some of my favs:)
Good luck and PLEASE let us know what you choose when the time comes:)
Alida (A-LIE-DA)
Emery
Verity
Renata
Avelyn
Emerson
Avaya
Peyton
Harper
Finlay
Moira
Sloan
Liniea (Lyn-Nye-ya)
Rowan
Neve
Auden
Ainsley
Jannaea
Ashlyn
Emlyn
Veanna
Brylee
Isla
Esme
Zealand
Brynlee
Raisa
I like different but not UGLY names:)
I hope you do too:)
Sadie
Daphne
Fiona
Elspeth
Laura
Leah
Amy
Freya
Greta (esp. as nn for Margaret)
Ingrid
Adriana
Ingrid
Caroline
Catherine
Brenna
Piper
Harper
Emily
I also like Greta
Oh no! It appears my comment has been eaten by Blogger! Oh well… hope this is all of them I had listed…
Girl names (mostly old-fashioned):
Adeline/Adelaide
Alice
Eleanor
Emeline
Lydia
Rosalind
Rosamund
I will post any more that come to me!
PS: Emeline (-een) or Emelyn (-in)
Audra/Audry
Julia
Elizabeth
Leah
Nora
Shannon
Gabriella
Emma
Luciana
Cara
Tara
Megan
Tegan
Gwendolyn
Ashlyn/Aisling
Eva
Audrey
Those have been my top for awhile, but some are too popular to use probably.
Its funny to see some of the names people have liked or loved and how similar they are to swistle’s list – I wonder if we are influenced by the blog, or the blogger by us, but there are a lot of similar strains.
Good luck!
Love, love, love the name Millicent (Millie). That’s the name I wanted if we were having another girl…alas, we are having a boy.
Gretchen
Scarlet
Georgia
Shae
Lucy
Halle
These are my current favorites in no particular order;
Audrey
Sophia
Coraline
Rebecca
Amelia
Vanessa
Laura
Charlotte
Olivia
Eleanor
Sylvia
Victoria
Tessa
What about some nature inspired names;
Willow
Briarly
Fern
Laurel
Tansy
Fawn
Laurel
Aspen
Nova
Wren
Or, if you’re looking for something more unusual;
Adara
Brea
Kadira
Thea
Zara
Keturah
And if you’re looking for something more gender neutral;
Waverly
Greer
Fallon
Finley
Emerson
Kendall
Peyton
Harper
Hope this helps!
What about a name that has a well-known song associated with it?
For example:
Cecilia
Caroline
Lucy
Eleanor
Lucinda
Lyra
Nola
Riley
Goldie
Dot (Dorothy)
Violetta
Oooh, What about Sophia/Sophie?
Sophia Vahstill just has a great sound to me.
My current list of favorites:
Charlotte
Sabine
Lyra
Amelia
Mallory
Finley
Cecily
Electra
Allegra
Athena
Daphne
Phoebe
Iris
Juliet
Simone
Lucia
Ursula
Thalia
Zoya
Elena
Nadia
Sandrine
Astrid
Cassandra
Olive
Celia
A lot of my favourite names have been listed, but I’ll just toss in a list for your perusal…
Sophia / Sophie
Isabelle / Isabella
Natalie / Natalia
Claire
Meghan
Coralie
Hannah
Rebecca
Olivia
Claudia
Cecelia (or just Celia)
Peyton
Adriana or Adrienne
Arianna
Rianne (pron. “Ree-Anne”)
Aislin / Aislyn (pron. “Ashlyn”)
Sierra
Emmaline / Emily / Emma
Sarah
Quinn / Quinne
Ava
Leigh (“Lee”)
Danielle / Daniella
Names I like
Meredith
Julia
Katherine (Kate).
I see that commenter Lisa has been peering in on our family listing both Emery and Paige which are the names of young cousins in our family. Emery took some getting used to but now I love it. I also saw Laura on someone’s list which is my sister’s name and I still love it (I was jealous she got it when she was born). She is Laura Renee which is quite pretty and Laura is a beautiful name to write in cursive.
You could always use my word verification as a name ;) Distacan!
A word on Fiona – it’s my daughter’s name, and while I still like it, it is one of those names that was exciting during the pregnancy, but has since become disappointing in it’s unusualness. However, you may not be looking for unusual, and sometimes unusual is not what it’s cracked up to be. And while I admit I’m being completely unreasonable, since I can’t copy write a name, Swistle often recommends it, and every time I silently protest – “It’s MY name.” Yes, I know I should be flattered, and I’m not just hearing Fiona floated around by Swistle. I think I inadvertently picked the next Olivia. Regardless of how petty it may be, I’m keeping most of my favorite names close to my chest in case I have another kid (I’m so selfish), but here are the ones I love but can’t use:
Girls
Delia
Delphine
Dulcinea “Dulce”
Elaine “Lainey”
Eudora
Euphemia “Effie”
Fedora
Giada
Greta
Imogen
Ione
Lucy
Mabel
Millicent “Milla” or “Millie”
Nora
Odelia
Odessa
Oona
Opal
Petra
Serafina “Fina”
Silvestra “Silvie” LOVE this, but it’s too long. I think this should be the next Alexandra
Verena
Viola
Zoe
Noor
Boys
Axel
Calvin
Dexter
Duncan
Felix
Frank (1)
Hank
Linus
Marcellus
Maxwell
Owen (1)
Paolo
Paul
Ramón
Rex
Roderick
Russell
Simon
Sylvester
Oh, sorry, for some reason I thought the gender was unknown. Well, ignore my boys’ names then.
I thought this might make things easier, but in fact now it’s harder because of all the great suggestions! Thank you all!
I really love the girls’ names Cadence and Constance. Good luck!
I’m so surprised to see the name Phoebe mentioned several times. I’d have never considered it. But … I think I like it! Would it work for a lawyer or business woman, or is it only perfect for a kissable plump adorable baby? I THINK it would work for an adult, though it strikes me as a particularly warm and friendly name, not a “power name.” I’d love to hear other opinions on Phoebe.
Continuing with my list:
Esmée (Like a person who wrote to Swistle a while back, I also think this is pretty much a perfect name.)
Georgia (Another surprising name … warm, fun to say, but could slip very easily into the board room without anyone batting an eye.)
Lucy (I admit I’m HUGELY influenced by the character Lucy in the Chronicles of Narnia.)
I reluctantly DON’T put “Lucienne” on the list. I love it perhaps more than any other name, but I’m afraid it’s awfully French looking with your totally un-French-looking last name.
Ivy Louise (Please, please, somebody tell me that a little Ivy would have no trouble, no trouble at all, with children saying “poison ivy” and “don’t touch her, or you’ll get poison ivy” and so on. I want to hear from someone who KNOWS that little grade-school boys will NOT assault this wonderful name.)
Beatrix (I LOVE the nickname Bee and wish I could have a baby girl just to call her Bee. I also think the “trix” ending has some fun nickname potential — and I don’t THINK anything embarrassing.)
Audrey (I had a darling, smart student named Audrey, and I’ve loved the name ever since.)
Paige (This name seems so elegant, and my only fear is I’m not sure I could ever use a name so nickname-proof with a baby. Not even my usual trick “Miss Paige” works at all. But … I love the name every time I hear it or see it.)
Best of luck choosing the perfect name for Little Cute-stuff Vahsstill, and be sure to tell us what you pick and if anyone influenced you!
Oh, okay, I admit Esmée is pretty French-looking, too.
I’m surprised at how many times I’ve seen Georgia listed. It’s my new fave, but somehow I thought I was original. ;-)
My daughter’s name is Charlotte and I still love it, although it’s way popular here in New England.
Another favorite of mine is Annabel. I grew up with a girl named Annabelle who is a wonderful person, so it has a very good connotation for me.
Aubrey
Nessa
Anissa
Bess
Marissa
Jacinta
Here are some of my favorites that sound pretty when paired with Vahstill:
Amelia Vahstill
Ruby Vahstill
Caroline Vahstill
Claire Vahstill
Veronica Vahstill
Julia Vahstill
Mia Vahstill
Bridget Vahstill
Isla Vahstill
Ellery Vahstill
Lila Vahstill
Sophia Vahstill
Acacia Vahstill
Georgina Vahstill “Georgie”
Katrina Vahstill
Meredith Vahstill
Here are mine:
Julia
Harriet (Etta)
Rosemary
Soledad
Mae
Clara
Imogen
Lucy
Oona
Honor
Esme
Marisol
Magdalen
Beatrice
I just love girls’ names. I think I could name 10 girls more easily than one boy!
Our three girls (and still my three favorite girls’ names) are Philippa (Pippa)
Romilly and
Beatrix
Baby #4 coming soon (if it’s a girl) will be Juniper nn Junie. Probably.
Here’s the rest of our combined list from 4 pregnnacies (as well as I can remember it off the top of my head). Hope you see something you like (and sorry if you’re already overwhelmed with wonderful suggestions and didn’t want any more!)
Imogen
Violet
Alice
Felicity
Verity
Cecily
Coralie
Honor/Honora
Georgina/Georgiana nn Georgie
Cornelia/Cordelia nn Cora
Seraphina
Sibyl
Theodora/Theodosia/Anthea nn Thea
Clementine
Matilda nn Tilly
Augusta nn Gussie
Good luck!
My favs:
Beatrix
Piper
Aoife (A-fa, like Ava)
Ophelia
Eloise
Lola
And my all-time-favoritest-name-evah: Tallulah
I tend to like ultra-feminine names, and a lot of mine have already been mentioned, but here goes…
Alea
Caroline
Cosette
Delia
Elsa
Evangeline
Iris
Isla
Julianna
June
Layla
Lila
Lily
Olivia
Stella
Susannah
Violet
Girl names that were on our list, but that we didn’t use are:
Maggie
Mara
Olivia
Sophie
Aubrey
Bailey
Kaitlyn
Annalise
Wishing you the best of luck!!
A couple ideas not mentioned….
Althea (nickname Allie or Thea)
Geneva (nn Genny or Eva)
Antonia (nn Anna or Toni)
Tabitha (nn Tabby)
and two classics that aren’t very popular (yet!):
Marianne
Caroline
Not that you need more options, but I just thought of some other names that I like but only on other people’s babies. My first list was actually from a list I saved at behindthename.com. Here are some other names, I feel are pretty solid:
Deborah – would love to see this come back, but only this spelling, and with the nickname Debs instead of Deb or Debbie.
Miriam – may have been mentioned before but I’m not sure
Francesca – love this but wouldn’t go with Fiona
Mary – like Swistle’s case for John, I feel Mary is more interesting and less common than publicly perceived, and while not exciting during the pregnancy, satisfying in the long term. Plus you can use some very creative middle names. I like Mary Temperance, Mary Genevieve, and Mary Euphemia.
Beverly – I think this is due for a comeback sooner than the typical 80-100 year cycle because of the “v” (think of Ava, Olivia, Evelyn, Genevieve and others fashion favorites with “v”) and the chic nickname Bev.
I also second Tabitha. This is a solid Biblical name that hardly every gets used.
Let us know what you decide please! Good luck.
Here are some of my favorites:
Addison
Anna
Avery
Chloe
Delaney
Emerson
Finley
Harper
Lily
Meadow
Ruby
Wow, there’s a lot of suggestions!
Frazzled – I want to reassure you about Fiona. I live in an urban area where people like to choose interesting, less-popular names for their children. There is one preschool-aged Fiona that I know. That’s it – and I feel as though I know a zillion preschoolers. I don’t think you have to worry; I would bet a lot of money Fiona won’t be in the top 100 any time soon, if ever. It’s a beautiful name, I just don’t see it taking off.
Susan – I think Ivy Louise is a gorgeous name, and I really and truly do not think an Ivy would get teased horribly about her name. In the scheme of things, “poison ivy” is pretty tame as far as schoolyard names go. (I wish I could say the same for Astrid, which has been ruined a little bit for me by the joke from The Office.) I would use Ivy myself if it didn’t clash with our last name.
Now if someone could assure me that a boy named Duncan wouldn’t hear Duncan Hines or Dunkin’ Donuts for the rest of his life, I could perhaps settle on a boy name.
Frazzled Mom, I totally agree with your take on Mary but I forgot to add it to my list of suggestions.
Mary would be at the top of my own list if it didn’t sound RIDICULOUS our lastname, which sounds like “Lou”. Mary-Lou isn’t a terrible name (though not my style) but when Mary Lou is your whole name? confusing to say the least. By the way, a surname that sounds like Lou is a curse when trying to choose a girl’s name. Try it.
Luckily I have a family name tradition to continue and it’s a longer stronger name so it sounds fine.
My favourite American names:
Thomasina
Honor
Rosalind
Roxanne/Roxanna
Veronica
Georgiana
Josephine
Beatrice
Alice
Megan
Susanna
Eleanor
Anastasia
Scarlet
Phillipa (with Pippa as a nickname)
Emilia
Margot/Margo/Margaux (hands down the most popular name in my high school after “Jennifer” but you hardly see it anymore)
Ingrid
Dagmar (I like Swedish names, so sue me!)
Freya
Vivian
Agnes
and in case you never ever ever want to see another baby with the same name, I offer the “Final Four”
Wilhelmina, nicknamed “Billy”
Mildred, nicknamed “Milly”
Gertrude, nicknamed “Trudy”
Agatha…well…uh, Agatha
Heh. Now keep in mind I have a very very uncommon and oldfashioned name much like the last four, except mine also happens to be Indian, which lends an added dimension of “How unfortunate” to the whole proceedings (and a long ethnic last name to boot).
And I am quite hale and hearty…so don’t worry too much! :D