Cool girl names, much like cool girls themselves, often travel in packs. Once one cool girl name gets popular, similar ones tend to follow. These names often share sounds, but they can also be connected by a theme such as colors, birds, or virtues.
Certain name groups can become emblematic of entire generations. Girls with names ending in -ney (think Courtney, Whitney, Sydney) are easily tagged as Millennials.
The generation currently being born will be identifiable by their Lil- and Ev-, -ley, and -lani names, as well as their aspirational word names, nickname-y names, and surnames-turned-first-names. These are some of the cool girl names destined for Queen Bee status.
Coco
The name Coco is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name of French origin. Coco came to prominence as the nickname of the legendary French designer Chanel (born Gabrielle) and has become a celeb baby name favorite, initially chosen by Courteney Cox for her daughter Coco Riley in 2004.
Dove
The name Dove is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name meaning “dove, a bird.” A color and nature name, Dove is a subtle but clear unisex way to signal peace.
Elodie
The name Elodie is a girl’s name of French origin meaning “foreign riches.” Elodie derives from Elodia, the Spanish variation of Alodia, a gothic German name associated with Saint Alodia. The lyrical and melodious Elodie could be a more sophisticated tribute to an Aunt Melody.
Freya
The name Freya is a girl’s name of Scandinavian, Norse origin meaning “a noble woman.” Freya is derived from the Old Norse name Freyja, meaning “Lady, noble woman.” It is the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Freya can be considered a feminization of Frey or Freyr, the name of the goddess’s brother
Indigo
The name Indigo is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name of Greek origin meaning “Indian dye.” Indigo is one of the most appealing and evocative of the new generation of color names. Color names have joined flower and jewel names—in a big way—and Indigo, a deep blue-purple dye from plants native to India, is particularly striking for both girls and boys.
Joni
The name Joni is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name meaning “God is gracious.” Iconic folk singer Joni Mitchell (born Roberta Joan) lends this cute vintage nickname a cool, bohemian feel. Joni has serious potential to rise along with other cute and spunky retro nicknames like Sadie, Edie, Billie and Birdie.
Kailani
The name Kailani is a girl’s name of Hawaiian origin meaning “sea and sky.” This name’s similarity to Kalani and its pretty Hawaiian origin helped catapult it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013.
Related: Old Money Baby Names That’ll Make You Feel Rich
Lilith
The name Lilith is a girl’s name of Assyrian origin meaning “ghost, night monster.” Lilith is derived from the Akkadian word lilitu meaning “of the night.” In Jewish folklore, she is portrayed as Adam’s rejected first wife, who was turned into a night demon for refusing to obey him.
Lux
The name Lux is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name meaning “light.” Lux, one of the light-filled names that include Lucy and Lucian, broke onto the scene as a girl’s name but now it’s decidedly gender-neutral.
Mae
The name Mae is a girl’s name of English origin meaning “bitter or pearl.” Mae is derived from May, the month name that was chosen for its connection to Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and motherhood. Mae can be used as a nickname for the names Mary and Margaret—actress Mae West was born Mary. The May spelling makes it more of a month name, while Mae makes it an antique nickname name
Margot
The name Margot is a girl’s name of French origin meaning “pearl.” Margot is a name that has a lot going for it: spelled with or without the final ‘t’, it’s one of the few girls’ names with the dynamic o-ending sound. It’s familiar, yet uncommon enough to be distinctive.
Scottie
The name Scottie is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name meaning “Scot.” It’s a sweet, slightly old-school nickname name with a cheerful image.
Sutton
The name Sutton is both a boy’s name and a girl’s name of English origin meaning “from the southern homestead.” It’s got a swanky sound due to New York’s ritzy Sutton Place. It fits with current popular boys’ names due to its two syllables and -on ending. It debuted in the US Top 1000 for boys in 2015, though it is currently more popular for girls.
Wrenley
The name Wrenley is a girl’s name of American origin. With Wren gaining a lot of popularity recently, it’s not surprising to see variants already popping up. Wrenley, which jumps on the Wren bandwagon and adds the trendy “ley” suffix for good measure.
Zora
The name Zora is a girl’s name of Arabic, Slavic, and African origin meaning “dawn.” Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer, and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.
Related: 7 Baby Name Trends Taking Over in 2024
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