Peruse the Social Security Administration (SSA) list of the top baby girl names of 2024, and you'll find it's nearly split between the long girl names (Olivia, Charlotte, Amelia, Sophia) and the short girl names (Emma, Mia, Ava, Luna). It seems this is a trend that ping-pongs back and forth continually: While in 2018 Quartz noted the rise of the four-letter baby name, the three- and four-syllable names seem to be making their way into the uppermost reaches of the SSA list.
Still, if you believe that brevity is the soul of wit, you know there's something powerful about a short, punchy name. For those in that camp, these 200 short baby girl names offer some short-and-sweet inspiration. Some of them rank among the most popular names of 2024, meaning they're right on-trend. Others are still ranking outside the top 1,000 names, so they're still flying under-the-radar or are not yet in vogue. Try these on for size, and see how powerful they sound.
Unique Two-Letter Girls' Names
While there are two-letter girls' names out there — like Io of Greek mythology, who gives her name to a moon of Jupiter — none have made it on to the SSA's list of the 1,000 most popular baby girl names. (There are two on the list of most popular boys' names if you want to snatch them up: Bo and Ty.) Instead, two-letter girl names are most often shortened forms of longer names, like these:
- An
- Di
- El
- Em
- Jo
- Ki
- Lo
- Lu
- Mo
- Ro
- Vi
- Yo
Popular Three-Letter Girls' Names
You know what they say: Three is a magic number. If brevity is your thing, try these three-letter names all made the SSA list, reproduced here from most popular to least popular.
- Mia
- Ava
- Zoe
- Ivy
- Eva
- Ada
- Amy
- Lia
- Ana
- Gia
- Noa
- Mya
- Joy
- Ari
- Mae
- Eve
- Ila
- Nia
- Aya
- Liv
- Sky
- Lea
- Kya
- Luz
- Sol
- Kai
- Tru
Rare Three-Letter Girls' Names
And while these didn't make the SSA's list of top 1,000 most popular names, so these are some to consider if you want something that's not yet overexposed (listed in alphabetical order).
- Ali
- Ann
- Ash
- Bay
- Bea
- Dot
- Ema
- Fay
- Gem
- Ida
- Isa
- Jan
- Kay
- Kit
- Lee
- Lou
- Lux
- Max
- May
- Nev
- Nyx
- Paz
- Pia
- Pip
- Poe
- Rae
- Ray
- Ren
- Rio
- Rue
- Sam
- Sia
- Taj
- Teo
- Una
- Val
- Wyn
- Zia
Trendy Four-Letter Girls' Names
For many, four letters is the sweet spot: not too short, not too long. These are all the four-letter girl names that made the SSA list — and, as you can see, there's plenty to choose from (listed in order of popularity).
- Emma
- Luna
- Lily
- Aria
- Nora
- Mila
- Ella
- Isla
- Nova
- Lucy
- Maya
- Zoey
- Leah
- Ruby
- Eden
- Iris
- Anna
- Jade
- Cora
- Lyla
- Ayla
- Rose
- Remi
- Mary
- Arya
- Sage
- June
- Myla
- Kaia
- Ruth
- Sara
- Wren
- Zuri
- Leia
- Lila
- Vera
- Zara
- Nyla
- Lola
- Evie
- Lena
- Jane
- Kali
- Hope
- Rory
- Thea
- Esme
- Nina
- Raya
- Navy
- Demi
- Mira
- Lana
- Kira
- Elle
- Anya
- Skye
- Cali
- Maia
- Alma
Unique Four-Letter Girls' Names
Still bubbling under the radar, these haven't hit the list of the most popular names yet, so your kid will probably get to claim these as their own.
- Amal
- Army
- Asha
- Cami
- Caty
- Clio
- Coco
- Dede
- Echo
- Edie
- Elma
- Emme
- Enya
- Gaia
- Gigi
- Gish
- Gina
- Hero
- Huda
- Ines
- Ivie
- Jean
- Juno
- Lake
- Lark
- Leya
- Lois
- Lulu
- Mika
- Mimi
- Mona
- Nava
- Neel
- Nila
- Nour
- Orla
- René
- Rini
- Rita
- Romy
- Saba
- Saja
- Shea
- Sisu
- Snow
- Star
- Suki
- Tara
- Tess
- Tina
- Troi
- Utah
- Varo
- Vega
- Vida
- Xena
- Yana
- Yuan
- Yuki
- Zoya
More Girl Names
Looking for more baby girl name inspiration? Check out other Good Housekeeping lists:
French Baby Names | Hispanic Girl Names | Indian/Hindu Girl Names | Irish Girl Names | Italian Baby Names | Japanese Baby Names | Long Girl Names | Short Girl Names | Baby Boy Names | Unisex/Gender Neutral Names
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
