I’m looking for girl names that are short (about 2 syllables but if they’re longer its ok), cute, exciting, unexpected, but still sophisticated. I would love it if they had an exotic feel to them - perhaps an international name.
Names that are similar to what we’re looking for: [name_f]Kaia[/name_f], [name_f]Nyla[/name_f], [name_f]Kalla[/name_f], [name_u]Mika[/name_u] (mee-ka).
DH loves [name_f]Kaia[/name_f] and [name_u]Mika[/name_u] but I’m afraid they are too normal and not quite unexpected enough. Opinions?
Middle name will probably be [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f].
I think Niamia [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f] is awesome! I pronounce it Nee-ah-my-ah. You could use [name_f]Neomia[/name_f]. Here are a few other suggestions:
Nayla (Naila) - love this name, too.
Cree
[name_f]Niara[/name_f] - meaning: with utmost purpose (Niara: Name Meaning, Popularity and Info on BabyNames.com).
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] - hope
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f] - radiance, beauty
[name_f]Naiara[/name_f]
[name_f]Naja[/name_f]
[name_f]Nalani[/name_f] - heavens
[name_u]Nakia[/name_u]
Nailyn
Naiya
[name_f]Noa[/name_f]
[name_m]Noi[/name_m]
[name_f]Nanda[/name_f] - full of joy; achiever
Nao - love; affection
[name_f]Aiko[/name_f] - little loved one
Emiko - smiling child
Amiko
Kioko - meets world with happiness
Ciaro
Naoya - mend, reform, improve
[name_f]Naoko[/name_f] - honest, pure
Miu - beautiful feather
Nariko - thunder
Nasira - [name_m]Friend[/name_m], Helper
[name_f]Nava[/name_f] - Beauty
[name_f]Nayana[/name_f]
[name_f]Noella[/name_f]
[name_f]Nyx[/name_f] - [name_m]Night[/name_m]
You may want to look into Japanese names. I listed a few and think that you may find others to your liking.
I immediately thought of [name_f]Petra[/name_f] and [name_f]Anka[/name_f] - to me, those fit your description perfectly. [name_f]Cyra[/name_f] also comes to mind, but she’s probably not the best match with [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f].
Out on a bit more of a limb:
[name_f]Ione[/name_f]/[name_f]Iona[/name_f]
[name_f]Beata[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabine[/name_f]/[name_f]Sabina[/name_f]
[name_f]Sidra[/name_f]
[name_f]Avra[/name_f]
[name_f]Cerys[/name_f]
I also really liked the suggestions of [name_f]Cassia[/name_f] and [name_f]Leda[/name_f] and think that [name_f]Gia[/name_f] [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f] from your signature ticks all your boxes too.
Finally, if you really love [name_f]Kaia[/name_f], spelling it [name_f]Caia[/name_f] might make it feel a bit more unexpected?
Great name style! Sorry for any repeats and no idea if these hit your mark, but…
[name_f]Zella[/name_f]
[name_f]Lyra[/name_f]
Esmé
[name_f]Ani[/name_f] (I would say [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-nee)
[name_f]Greta[/name_f] (this and [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] might be too “clunky”, but they do have an exotic old Hollywood vibe too)
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u]
Květa (Czech, pronounced: k-vee-etta)
Etela (ee-tella)
[name_f]Lera[/name_f] (leh-ra)
[name_f]Elya[/name_f] (el-yuh)
[name_f]Alla[/name_f]
[name_f]Katya[/name_f]
[name_u]Luca[/name_u]
[name_u]Pascale[/name_u] (nn [name_u]Paz[/name_u] would be cute!)
What about [name_f]Fawn[/name_f]? It’s everything you said you wanted plus it hasn’t been in fashion for at least 30 years so you can bring it back into style. If that’s too much [name_f]Clover[/name_f] is also cute. I would have it as a first name but everyone would bag me because it’s “typical teen name”.
I feel like I should offer up my daughter’s name, [name_f]Noor[/name_f] and maybe [name_f]Ziva[/name_f] and Mahal which is my other daughter’s middle name and is Arabic for love. Mahal also evokes the [name_u]Taj[/name_u] Mahal and it’s history of being built for a prince’s beloved. Other suggestions: [name_f]Eira[/name_f], [name_f]Yuna[/name_f], [name_f]Deva[/name_f], [name_f]Avis[/name_f], [name_f]Pola[/name_f] and [name_f]Mira[/name_f].
[name_f]Clia[/name_f] [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f] is cute, too. I knew someone by the name of [name_f]Marcia[/name_f]. She pronounced it [name_f]Mar[/name_f]-cee-ah. I love that pronunciation.
[name_f]Maren[/name_f]/Maryn is cute. Maryn [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f] = Sea [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f].
[name_f]Malika[/name_f]
[name_f]Mallory[/name_f]
Malloria
[name_f]Moria[/name_f] (pronounced like [name_f]Gloria[/name_f]).
Mao - [name_u]True[/name_u] Center
[name_f]Mardi[/name_f]
Nixx
Faya / Faia
[name_u]Fallon[/name_u]
Halo
[name_f]Talia[/name_f]
Enslie
[name_u]Abia[/name_u]
[name_f]Alula[/name_f]
[name_f]Aziza[/name_f] - precious
[name_f]Aviva[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Viv[/name_f], [name_f]Iva[/name_f], [name_u]Avi[/name_u])
[name_f]Iva[/name_f]
[name_f]Farah[/name_f] - happiness
[name_f]Inaya[/name_f]
[name_f]Inez[/name_f] or [name_f]Ines[/name_f]
[name_f]Kalila[/name_f] (nn could be [name_f]Kaia[/name_f]) - beloved [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f]
[name_f]Maja[/name_f] - splendid. Can be pronounce: my-a, ma-zha or ma-ha
[name_f]Meissa[/name_f] - the shining one
[name_f]Matar[/name_f] - rain
[name_u]Nakia[/name_u] - nah-KEE-uh
LSafa
o[name_f]Sari[/name_f]
[name_f]Taja[/name_f] - TAHZH-ah
[name_f]Zada[/name_f]
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f]
[name_f]Zaida[/name_f]
[name_f]Zaniah[/name_f]
[name_f]Zakia[/name_f]
[name_f]Zuelia[/name_f] - peace
[name_f]Tahiti[/name_f]
Hatie
[name_f]Iana[/name_f]
Iiana
[name_f]Lois[/name_f]
Liselle
Sofian
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]
[name_f]Nira[/name_f]
[name_f]Myra[/name_f]
[name_f]Chiyo[/name_f]
[name_f]Kaori[/name_f]
[name_f]Kyoko[/name_f] - mirror
[name_f]Midori[/name_f]
[name_f]Mieko[/name_f]
[name_u]Mio[/name_u] - beautiful or cherry
[name_f]Nomi[/name_f] - beautiful, pleasant, delightful
[name_f]Naoko[/name_f]
[name_f]Ryo[/name_f] - most westerners pronounced it rye-oh, its real pronunciation is closer to ree-uh
[name_f]Suzu[/name_f]
[name_f]Taya[/name_f]
[name_f]Yori[/name_f]
[name_u]Yuki[/name_u] - snow (snow sparrow)
[name_f]Bao[/name_f] - creative
[name_f]Xia[/name_f] - [name_f]ZEE[/name_f]-uh
I don’t think it is very pretty, but my niece’s middle name is [name_f]Lura[/name_f]. She was named after a paternal great-grandmother and when my sister agreed to the name, it was believed to have been “[name_f]Lara[/name_f]” and not [name_f]Lura[/name_f].