I’ve never considered short names for girls. My name and my sisters’ names are all 3-syllable names, and I’ve always been drawn to longer names for my daughter(s). My daughter’s name is [name]Elizabeth[/name], and my other favorites for possible future daughters have been longer names as well.
Until recently.
[name]One[/name]- and “short” two- syllable names have been catching my attention more and more lately. What are your favorite one-syllable girl names that still feel complete and feminine?
Mine:
[name]Tess[/name]
[name]Brynn[/name]/[name]Wren[/name] (cannot do since my son is [name]Finn[/name])
[name]Claire[/name]
[name]Paige[/name]
[name]Olive[/name]
[name]Jolie[/name]
Loumei (a name of a little girl adopted from [name]China[/name] who’s parents chose to keep her chinese name. I think it’s gorgeous.)
East93, thanks for the list! I love [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Kate[/name]!
I forgot to add two of my newest favorites: [name]Adele[/name] and [name]Adair[/name]. Certainly wouldn’t use them both, but I cannot decide which I like more!
[name]Alice[/name] and [name]Wren[/name] are two favorites along with [name]Sage[/name] and [name]Paige[/name], [name]Olive[/name] and [name]Hanna[/name].
My favourites are:
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Hanna[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Lark[/name]- could be substitute for [name]Wren[/name]?
[name]Cora[/name]
[name]Juno[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Lily[/name]
[name]Belle[/name]- sort of combines [name]Brynn[/name] and [name]Adele[/name]
Suggestions based on the ones you’ve mentioned:
[name]Tessa[/name]
[name]Nessa[/name]
[name]Bree[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Sage[/name]
[name]Dara[/name]
[name]Blaire[/name]
[name]Blaise[/name]
I prefer [name]Adele[/name] to [name]Adair[/name], and I think [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Finn[/name] and [name]Adele[/name] sound wonderful together. [name]Adele[/name] has a more vintage/classic feel to me, while [name]Adair[/name] fits in with more trendy, modern, androgynous names.
Thanks for your suggestions, everyone! I love the suggestion of [name]Cora[/name] - that one’s going to go on the consideration list.
Thank you, MorganaLeFaye, for your insight into the [name]Adele[/name]/[name]Adair[/name] pair. I agree [name]Adele[/name] has more of a classic/vintage feel - just like [name]Elizabeth[/name]!
From your list, I like [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Paige[/name]. I think [name]Blythe[/name] would go well with [name]Finn[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name]. Other suggestions are [name]Mae[/name]/[name]Maeve[/name], [name]June[/name], [name]Greer[/name], [name]Grace[/name], [name]Rose[/name], [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Iris[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], [name]Pearl[/name] and [name]Reece[/name].
Great topic! Most of the names on my list are short names. I tend to prefer them since I like full names and I am not very fond of nicknames. Well, I like some, but I wouldn’t want to chose a name with a nickname that I don’t like, that people could call my child.
It could be because my siblings went by their full names ([name]Amanda[/name] and [name]Daniel[/name]),and my name doesn’t have any nicknames.
Anyway, here are my faves:
[name]Adele[/name]
[name]Ava[/name]
[name]Aria[/name]
[name]Bree[/name] or [name]Bria[/name]
[name]Carys[/name]
[name]Cora[/name]
[name]Eve[/name] and [name]Evie[/name]
[name]Faye[/name]
[name]Grace[/name]
[name]Iris[/name]
[name]Irene[/name]
[name]Lana[/name]
[name]Lena[/name]
[name]Mae[/name]
[name]Neve[/name]
[name]Pippa[/name]
[name]Thea[/name]
[name]Vera[/name]
Thank you all for such great suggestions! There are many names mentioned that I would love to add to my list, but for various reasons cannot - nieces already named some, close friends using others, etc.
I do love the suggestions of [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Leni[/name]. [name]Do[/name] you think [name]Avis[/name] may work, or is it too…something? Old? [name]Stuffy[/name]? Avian? Is [name]Leni[/name] too boyish to fit with [name]Elizabeth[/name]?
[name]Olive[/name] (current favorite, but has the potential to be unseated!)
[name]Tess[/name]
[name]Cora[/name]
[name]Violet[/name] - thanks to whoever suggested this! It has been on my list, but I hadn’t thought of it as a “short” name until now!
[name]Adele[/name]
[name]Ava[/name]/[name]Avis/name (I love the suggestion of [name]Lark[/name], but it doesn’t work with our last name, sadly.)
[name]Leni[/name]?
[name]Will[/name] my daughter is [name]Ivy[/name] [name]Fae[/name] so definitley those too.
Others on my hot list at the moment -
[name]Wren[/name] (top contender if my bump is pink)
[name]Iris[/name]
[name]Sage[/name]
[name]Lark[/name]
[name]Mila[/name]
[name]Fawn[/name]
[name]Aria[/name]
[name]Adair[/name] has been my second favourite boys name for about 6 years, didn’t realise it could be used for a girl. It’s pretty masculine Celtic name to me but i guess lots of names have made the gender switch.
I love short names as well - I have a [name]Paul[/name], [name]Clare[/name], [name]Mark[/name], and [name]James[/name]. I also have a [name]Kate[/name] (whose full name is [name]Katharine[/name] b/c of family ties). I’ve always loved [name]Tess[/name] and I’m currently obsessing over [name]Ruth[/name]!
The same exact thing has been happening to me! I still love the longer names, [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Penelope[/name], [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Annabel[/name], etc. But recently I’ve been falling for shorter names, [name]Violet[/name], [name]Mira[/name], [name]June[/name]/[name]Juno[/name], [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Jane[/name], [name]Tess[/name]… [name]Love[/name] this topic.
Weegingerfaerie - I hadn’t heard of the name [name]Adair[/name] until recently when I saw the TV show “Heros”. There is a little girl actress named [name]Adair[/name] Tishler who appears in the show. Now that I know it’s a masculine name, I won’t use it for a girl. It really irks me when people use boys names for girls, especially now that I’ve met girls with the same name as my son, [name]Finn[/name]. Thanks for setting me straight!
What does everyone think of the idea of using [name]Juniper[/name] as a first name with [name]June[/name] as the nickname? Does [name]Juniper[/name] fit with [name]Finn[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name] or is it too quirky to fit with the classics?
when i first started thinking about kids i went with long names too. But when i got pregnant with my daughter she got the name [name]Ava[/name]. and then my son got the name [name]Ian[/name]. and now every time i hear a short name i love it more and more. Like [name]Ema[/name] or two that i been thinking for my next child is [name]Lea[/name] or [name]Lex[/name] or [name]Lux[/name]. Another boy name Im likeing is [name]Eli[/name]. [name]Even[/name] the shortest names can sound so beautiful
It’s funnym I wish I was drawn to longer names like you always have been but all my favourites are short names just by default. Not because I like short names or anything.
Some of my favorites are [name]Cora[/name], [name]Nora[/name], [name]Laura[/name], and [name]Claire[/name].
I think [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name] would go wonderfully together, especially with brother [name]Finn[/name].
On your list:
[name]Olive[/name] doesn’t quite seem right with [name]Elizabeth[/name]. It’s not as feminine or classic. [name]Olivia[/name] would feel better, but it’s very popular/not as short.
[name]Tess[/name] - I like [name]Tess[/name], but it’s very short and feels incomplete to me. [name]Tessa[/name] feels a bit more complete
[name]Cora[/name] - I adore [name]Cora[/name]. I adore [name]Cora[/name] with [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Finn[/name] as well.
[name]Violet[/name] - It’s lovely, but I can’t get behind it. I hear “You’re turning violet, [name]Violet[/name]!” and violent whenever I hear it.
[name]Adele[/name] - gorgeous, but very closely tied to the singer.
[name]Ava[/name]/[name]Avis/name - [name]Avis[/name] isn’t pretty to me, but [name]Ava[/name] is gorgeous and goes well with your other children’s names to me, if you don’t mind the popularity.
[name]Leni[/name] - it feels incomplete. I don’t really like it
