Girl names

Ada to Zora.

1. Ada

   Girl

   Ada and a place in the family. In some Igbo communities, Ada names an honoured first-daughter role and can also be used to address women of the community. That family connection may be the part you want to carry forward.†

   † The role and forms of address vary by community; the name does not establish a bearer’s birth order or duties.

   The Igbo meaning. Ada can mean a first daughter, or more broadly a daughter. It is also used as a feminine given name and a term of address in Igbo.†

   † The first-daughter sense and the broader use for a daughter belong to different contexts.

   † This is the Igbo name; other names spelled Ada have different histories.

2. Athena

   Girl

   Wisdom with a practical side. In Greek myth, Athena brings together wisdom, practical skills and prudent warfare.

   A story, rather than a translation. Athena’s literal meaning is unknown. If wisdom is what draws you to the name, that connection comes through the goddess.†

   † The goddess’s associations with wisdom and skills are not a literal translation of the name.

   From Greek myth to a given name. Athena is an ancient Greek divine name. It is also used as a feminine given name in English.

3. Aurora

   Girl

   Dawn in Latin and Roman myth. Aurora means “dawn” in Latin. In Roman mythology, Aurora is also the goddess of dawn.

4. Ayla

   Girl

   A ring of light around the moon. In Turkish, Ayla is a word for a halo, such as the ring of light that can circle the moon.†

   † A lunar halo is one recorded sense; the Turkish word can also describe other halos.

   † This is the Turkish name's history; other names spelled Ayla have separate accounts.

5. Elodie

   Girl

   Elodie, Élodie and Alodia. English Elodie comes from French Élodie, which goes back to the older name Alodia. French Catholic naming tradition also records the unaccented spelling Elodie.

   Different explanations for Alodia. One explanation of Alodia points to a possible Visigothic name. A French saints’ reference instead connects it with Latin alodis, “property”. Neither account gives Elodie a certain one-word meaning.†

   † The possible Visigothic explanation rests on uncertain name elements.

6. Fatima

   Girl

   A family and faith connection. Fatima was the daughter of Muhammad and the wife of Ali. Her place in Muslim history, especially in Shiʿi tradition, gives the name an association you may value for reasons of faith or family.

   The word behind Fatima. Fatima comes from the Arabic verb faṭama, “to wean”. The Arabic form Fāṭima belongs to that word family; the name’s historical association is a separate part of its appeal.

7. Freya

   Girl

   The Old Norse connection. Freya comes from Old Norse Freyja, the name of a goddess in Norse mythology.

   Lady. The Old Norse word freyja means “lady.”

8. Hazel

   Girl

   A name from the hazel tree. Hazel takes its name from the nut-bearing tree. The English word goes back to Old English hæsel.

9. Isla

   Girl

   Isla and the island of Islay. Isla has a Scottish place-name connection with Islay. It also appears among girls’ names in Scotland’s 2023 birth registrations.†

   † This is a dated example from 2023; Isla is used outside Scotland too.

   A place connection, with an uncertain meaning. What Islay’s own name first meant is unknown, so “island” is not a settled translation of Isla.†

   † Proposals exist for the island name, but its deeper linguistic origin is not securely established.

10. Lara

    Girl

    Four letters, several family connections. Lara can shorten Russian Larisa. In Finnish, it can also be a form of Laura or Clara.

    Which connection feels like yours?. There is no single meaning shared by all of Lara’s traditions; the longer name you have in mind helps explain the connection.†

    † The deeper origin of Russian Larisa is uncertain.

    A way to honour Larisa. In Russian, Lara (Лара) is a short form of Larisa. If there is a Larisa in your family, Lara offers a shorter way to carry that connection.

11. Luna

    Girl

    The moon in Latin. Luna means “moon” in Latin. It is also the name of the moon goddess in Roman mythology.

12. Maeve

    Girl

    Maeve has a queen in its stories. Maeve is connected with Medb, the warrior queen of Connacht in The Cattle Raid of Cooley.†

    † Medb is a figure of Irish legend; this is a literary connection, not a verified historical biography.

    From Medb to Maeve. Maeve is an anglicized form of Irish Medb. Its familiar meaning is “intoxicating”, though scholarly work also proposes a sense resembling “mead-woman”.†

    † “Intoxicating” is a conventional gloss; “mead-woman” is a tentative scholarly reconstruction of Medb. Neither describes a child’s personality.

13. Margot

    Girl

    Margot begins with Marguerite. Margot is a French short form of Marguerite, and a girls’ name in German too.

    The pearl connection. Margot inherits its “pearl” sense through Marguerite, whose history passes through Late Latin Margarita and Greek margaritēs.†

    † Before Greek, the word’s origin is uncertain.

    † “Pearl” comes through Marguerite rather than being a French translation of Margot. In older French, margot also became a word for a magpie and a disparaging word for a woman.

14. Maryam

    Girl

    Maryam in the Quran. Maryam appears by name in Quran 19:16, in the story of Mary. That scriptural connection may be what draws you to the name.

    Related to Mary and Miryam. Maryam belongs to the same name family as Mary and Miryam. Its oldest literal meaning is uncertain, so the relationship is firmer ground than any single translation.†

    † Several explanations have been proposed; no single ancient meaning is established.

    † Mary and Maryam are related forms; this does not mean Maryam developed from the English spelling.

15. Maya

    Girl

    Maya can carry different family stories. Maya has separate Sanskrit, Hebrew and English traditions; in English, it can come by way of Maia. The shared spelling leaves room for different family connections.†

    † These are documented paths, not an exhaustive list of every use of Maya.

    The Sanskrit connection. Sanskrit māyā can be translated as “illusion” or “magic”.†

    † “Illusion” and “magic” are limited translations. The philosophical senses vary by period and school; they do not simply say that the world is unreal.

    Maya and Maia. In English, Maya can be a variant of Maia, a name found in both Greek and Roman mythology, where it belongs to two separate figures.†

    † This is one English route. Greek and Roman Maia have distinct histories, and the spelling does not establish a family's chosen derivation.

16. Mila

    Girl

    A short name with several connections. Mila can shorten Slavic names such as Ludmilla. In Hungarian, it can also be short for Emilia or Camilla.

    Dear or beloved. In its Slavic use, Mila carries the sense of “dear” or “beloved,” from the element milŭ.

17. Olivia

    Girl

    Olivia, Liv or Ollie. Olivia can stay Olivia, or make room for Liv or Ollie as a shorter everyday name.†

    † These shorter forms have other uses too.

    The olive connection. Olivia is probably linked to Latin oliva, “olive”, perhaps through Italian. Other explanations connect it with Oliva or Oliver.†

    † The precise formation of Olivia remains uncertain.

18. Ottilie

    Girl

    The Odilia connection. Ottilie is a German form in the Odilia name family.

    Heritage or wealth. Odilia has been linked either to Germanic words for “inheritance” or “heritage”, or to words for “wealth” or “fortune”.†

    † These are alternative explanations of the older name, rather than one certain derivation.

19. Sara

    Girl

    Sara and Sarah. Sara is a form of Sarah, a name from Hebrew.

    Princess in Hebrew. The Hebrew name means “princess.”

20. Tamar

    Girl

    Tamar has a queen in its history. Tamar was borne by a medieval ruling queen of Georgia. If a historical namesake matters to you, this is a person to explore alongside the name's Hebrew story.

    A Hebrew name for the date palm. Tamar means “date palm” in Hebrew and is recorded as a feminine name with biblical use.†

    † This is the Hebrew derivation; a shared spelling alone does not establish the same history in every tradition.

21. Zoe

    Girl

    Life, in Greek. Zoe comes from the Greek word zōē, meaning “life.”

22. Zora

    Girl

    A Slavic name for dawn. Zora means “dawn” in several South and West Slavic languages, including Croatian, Czech and Slovak.