Last names for girls are as established as popular favorites Harper, Madison, and Avery, but what about the new choices in this stylish class?
If you love gender neutral names and the classy image of last names for girls but want to move beyond the expected choices, we have some new ideas for you.
Adair
A Scottish surname related to
Edgar,
Adair shortens to the heard-everywhere
Addie, but has a bold, unexpected style. Still rare as a first name, 18 of the 64 babies named
Adair in 2022 were girls.
Adler
Adler has been growing in popularity as a unisex surname name, and interestingly 6% of the babies with this German and Yiddish surname meaning eagle are girls. That may be thanks to the growing popularity of
Adley, which is overwhelmingly female. But
Adler is a surnamier spin that also gets you to the cute if, ahem, endemic short form
Addie.
Afton
Affable
Afton had a brief stint in the Top 1000 in the early 20th century, then came back in the early '80s thanks to Dallas character Afton Cooper. It's the name of a Scottish river, along with numerous cities and towns.
Anderson
Anderson Cooper undeniably inspired the name many of the 1000+ baby boys named
Anderson, and we’re going to bet he inspired many of the 99 baby girls with this last name as first too. While this name technically means son of
Anders and so refers to a boy, it can be used as an honor name for any ancestral
Andrew or
Andrea.
Anniston
Why are there so many more baby girls named
Anniston and even
Annistyn than
Aniston, the spelling of actress Jennifer‘s surname that launched the popularity of this surname-name? Maybe to remove the name at least by a letter or two from Jennifer, and also
Ann might make it seem more like a legitimate first name. Interestingly, this choice is not at all unisex, with no boys given any variations of this name.
Arden
Arden is an increasingly cool surname name for both sexes, hovering below the Top 1000 for girls but also given more than a third of the time to boys. A Shakespearean name that gets some heat from its similarity to “ardent,”
Arden means “valley of the eagle” so could be a good choice for bird lovers.
Ashby
Part
Ashley, part
Beatrice,
Ashby was the name television host Nancy O’Dell chose for her daughter in 2007.
Ashby was given to 16 baby girls and 9 boys in 2021.
Auden
The surname of renowned poet W.H.,
Auden is an inspired choice for both sexes, with 46% of the baby
Audens girls.
Auden actually started life as a first name meaning “old friend.”
Baker
Baker is a rising baby name now in the Top 500 for boys, but about 12% of the baby
Bakers are girls. As an occupation, baxter is the feminine form of baker — literally meaning "female baker" — but as a name,
Baxter is used exclusively for boys.
Banks
Hilary Duff may single-handedly populate this surname name for girls, after choosing it for her baby daughter in 2019. Originally referring to a riverbank, these days
Banks is more likely to conjure up the image of money.
Banks is the surname of the family in Mary Poppins.
Banner
2022 was hardly been a banner year, at least in the positive sense, but
Banner is growing as a baby name. Found mainly in Scotland, it’s an occupational name referring to the person who carried the flag or banner.
Baylor
The occupational surname
Baylor, which has to do with measuring sticks, is in the Top 1000 for boys and girls now too, perhaps thanks to its similarity to
Taylor. Nearly a third of the baby
Baylors are girls.
Bellamy
Isabella is a Top Ten favorite.
Bellamy — it comes from the French for "beautiful friend" — takes
Bella in a different direction. The Novogratz design family gave this name to one of their daughters. Now ranking at Number 717 for girls,
Bellamy has become increasingly popular for boys — it is used for male babies 52% of the time.
Berkley
Berkley is a trending choice in the US, now ranking at Number 820 on the charts. It's a habitational surname related to birch trees, giving it a nature connection.
Berkeley, as in the California university and city, is 75% less popular than
Berkley.
Bowie
Singer David‘s death has sparked a new generation of baby
Bowies, more than a third of them female. It’s a cute name with resonant history for a music lover.
Braxley, Braxton, and Braxtyn
Taken individually, the Brax names may be rare — with the notable exception of
Braxton for boys — but collectively they are numerous. While much more popular for boys, these three choices are occasionally used for girls.
Brennan
Brennan is a Top 1000 surname name for boys, but we’re seeing it start to appear for girls as well, along with the more synthetic feeling
Brenley,
Brennley,
Brenlyn, and even
Brennex.
Brogan
Brody is overwhelmingly male, but
Brogan is 22% female and not quite as uncommon as you might think.
Brogan originated as a personal name — it’s the name of an Irish saint and an ancient king. It has several possible meanings, among them sorrowful, sharp-faced, and shoe.
Callahan
Callahan is one of the rising Irish surname names, predominantly for boys but for girls too, with 74 of the 641 baby
Callahans born in 2022 female and another 15 baby girls named
Callaghan. We’re also seeing
Callan,
Callaway, and
Calloway, any of which could get you to the nickname
Callie.
Campbell
Campbell Brown was born Alma Dale Campbell Brown, but the anchorwoman has put
Campbell on the list of possible surname names for girls, with built-in nicknames
Belle and
Bella.
Campbell is among the most gender-neutral surname names for girls, currently 48% female.
Carlisle, Carlyle
Both spellings of this name are uncommon and used more for boys, but
Carlisle and
Carlyle are growing as last names for girls now too. Popularized by a (male) character in Twilight,
Carlyle and
Carlisle are successors to
Carter.
Carrington
There’s definitely a quiet but growing trend toward locational surnames with the ton ending (meaning town) for both girls and boys. We’re seeing
Arlington,
Arrington,
Lexington, and of course,
Carrington, which is more than half female.
Channing
The most famous
Channing may be male, but more than a third of the baby
Channings are girls. One possible meaning: wolf cub. It made the Top 1000 for girls for a single year, 1987 — the year after actress Stockard Channing appeared in the film Heartburn.
Chesney
The most famous
Chesney is country singer Kenny, but this rising surname-name is 100% female. It’s also inspired the unmistakably feminine spelling
Chesnee.
Chesney was derived from the Old French chesnai, meaning “oak grove.”
Clancy
With its jaunty Y ending,
Clancy feels more in step with rising grandpa names for girls —
Scottie,
Leni, and
Georgie — than its fellow surname names. Only 15 baby girls were named
Clancy in 2022, but we expect that number to rise as this trend gains steam.
Clarke
Streamlined
Clark is almost exclusively male, while female
Clarkes outnumber males by more than 2:1. And while
Clark has plateaued for boys,
Clarke is climbing rapidly for girls — over the past five years, it has more than tripled in use.
Collier
A collier was one who gathered coal — a rather humble profession. In 2023,
Collier feels like a twist on
Colette, with the popular ‘r’ ending of
Harper and
Piper. 44% of the baby
Colliers born in 2022 are girls.
Copeland
An English surname meaning “bought land,”
Copeland calls to mind esteemed ballet dancer Misty Copeland, which perhaps contributes to its rising popularity among baby girls. Out of the 79 babies named
Copeland in 2022, 19 were female.
Dempsey
Jaunty Irish
Dempsey may be mostly associated with Grey Anatomy’s McDreamy, Patrick Dempsey, but it is given as a surname for girls almost one-third of the time.
Dempsey could prove to be the next
Delaney.
Ellery
Ellison has already broken into the girls’ Top 1000. But
Ellery remains relatively rare. It’s best known as the name of fictional detective Ellery Queen and the pen name for the group of writers who created the character.
Ellery is a cousin to the name
Hillary, a name that has become well-established for girls.
Ellington
Ellington has been heating up over the past few years, thanks to the one-two punch of a trendy -ton ending and ready-made nickname
Ellie. The latter contributes to
Ellington’s popularity among baby girls — over 64% of
Ellingtons born in 2021 were female.
Embry
Embry is probably another English place name, but it makes this list because of its similarity to
Emmy,
Ember, and
Emily — as well as
Emery, a surname name currently ranked Number 82 for girls in the US.
Embry remains rare — just 35 girls and 5 boys were given the name in the last year on record.
Flannery
Harper and
Hadley are surnames for girls with literary ties, which makes it more surprising that so few parents have embraced
Flannery. The Southern Gothic writer was born Mary Flannery — shades of Nelle Harper — but best known by her middle name only.
Flannery was given to only seven baby girls in 2022.
Gentry
Gentry was historically a term for the well-born social class below nobility in the UK. Its use was transferred to surnames, and now in the 21st century, a unisex baby name.
Gentry may be the perfect baby name for our time — it falls into the trendy categories of surname-name, word name, and aspirational name, and at 45% female usage is truly gender-neutral.
Golden
Whether you consider
Golden a word name, a color name, a surname name, or more accurately all of the above, it’s a rising name that’s extremely gender-neutral: 48% female at last count versus 52% male.
Gray, Grey
Faye and
Kay are typically reserved for girls, while
Jay is usually a boy.
Bay is an equal-opportunity nature name, and
Gray? With the ‘e’ spelling, it currently ranks Number 758 for boys. But if
Scarlett and
Ivory work for girls,
Gray might, too. There were 57 female
Greys and 41 female
Grays born in 2021.
Halston
Halston was the fashion designer who dressed the decade of the 1970s. Today it feels vaguely retro and less flashy than
Chanel. It’s an increasingly female choice, with 58% of
Halstons born in 2022 girls. Drop the H, and you have another possibility:
Alston.
Hartley
The ley ending may have started with
Ashley but it’s since been appended to almost any prefix you can imagine. There are a rising number of boys given the name
Hart, as in tragic poet Hart Crane, but
Hartley is a surname-y spin used 82% of the time for girls.
Hathaway
If
Harlow and
Anniston are girls’ names, why not
Hathaway? It could have originated as a name for someone who lives near a heath or be derived from the Germanic feminine name
Hedwig. Either way, Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway lends the name some visibility. 11 baby girls received the name at last count.
Haviland, Havilland
Let’s linger in Hollywood for this name, inspired by 1940s Oscar winner, Olivia de Haviland. It’s a longer, less expected choice that’s just starting to get noticed. It was last recorded in 2018, when five girls were given the single-L spelling.
Liv, a reversal of the middle three letters, is a potential nickname.
Hayes
The popularity of
Hazel makes
Hayes a particularly viable choice for girls.
Hayes was given to 87 girls in 2022 — still fewer than the 10% of total babies given the name required to meet our definition of a unisex name.
Holiday, Holliday
In Truman Capote’s novella, Miss Golightly is named
Holiday. By the time Audrey Hepburn starred in Breakfast at Tiffany’s,
Holiday was dropped for her nickname —
Holly.
Holiday also brings to mind legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday.
Holiday, used for 16 girls in 2022, would be an ideal choice for a daughter born around the winter holidays, while double-L
Holliday plants the name firmly in surname territory.
Hollis, Hollister
Two more
Holly names, the first a surname given to those who lived near holly trees, the second most closely associated with American clothing company
Hollister.
Hollis is given to girls and boys in roughly equal numbers, with more than 37% of new baby
Hollises female. And
Hollister is so rare it doesn’t even chart on the extended data, meaning it was used on fewer than five boys and girls in a given year.
Huntley
A more feminine
Hunter? This is gender-neutral option is given to 53% girls and 47% boys.
Huntley and
Brinkley were a famous 20th-century news team; we’re seeing
Brinkley as a new surname-name for girls too.
Huxley
Huxley is rising fast for boys and, although in smaller numbers, for girls as well.
Huxley was used on 47 baby girls in 2022, making it around 9% female. We anticipate
Huxley will continue its ascent, along with nicknames
Hux and
Huck.
Isley, Eisele
The English
Isley might come from the German
Eisele, a name for a blacksmith. Singer Hillary Scott gave this family name to her daughter in 2013, using the rarer
Eisele spelling.
Isley might make for a more straightforward choice — one that brings to mind musical group The Isley Brothers. Rumer Willis recently used
Isley as a middle name for her daughter
Louetta.
Kensington
Kensington made the Top 1000 for a single year in 2015, and was given to 70 baby girls in 2022. It’s a natural successor to
Mackenzie — sharing the same friendly
Kensi/
Kenzie nickname — and
Kendall and
Kennedy as well. It doesn’t hurt that
Kensington has a royal touch, being the name of the palace where Will and Kate live with their children.
Landry
Another name with noble associations — the meaning "ruler" — is
Landry. It's a more feminine answer to
Landon and is currently given to girls just over 57% of the time.
Levy
This surname, related to future Top 10 boy name
Levi, is rising in popularity among both sexes. Right now,
Levy is predominantly male, but names ending in -vy and -vie are much more common among girls — think
Ivy,
Navy,
Evie, and
Jovie.
Lexington
Lexington is a hot new surname name with patriotic overtones and a relatively balanced gender divide. In 2022, 45 girls and 52 boys were named
Lexington. Bonus: the adorable user-friendly nickname
Lexi.
Linden
Y vowel replacements typically skew more female than their counterparts, but
Lyndon — as in former President Lyndon B. Johnson — is far more male than
Linden, which is 48% female. It’s a tree name, one that could also be used as a tailored update to
Linda.
Madden
We’re not sure if
Madden rose on the wings of the football video game. It may be telling that this surname name is given only 20% of the time to girls, despite its user-friendly nickname
Maddie.
Madigan
A cousin to
Madden and
Madison, this Irish surname name was remarkably only used for 14 girls in the last year on record. Its charming meaning — “little dog” — could make it an ideal choice for a lover of hounds, mutts, or terriers.
Maguire
Maguire could easily shorten to
Maggie, making this seldom-used Irish surname name very wearable for a girl. Only six baby girls named
Maguire were recorded in 2022.
Malone
Yet another Irish surname beginning with M,
Malone is slowly but steadily rising in use among girls and boys, currently 47% female. “Molly Malone” is an Irish folk song and the unofficial anthem of Dublin.
Mercer
This English surname comes from the French mercier, meaning “merchant.”
Mercer was given to just over 40 babies in 2021, but it’s a covetable choice among those in the know.
Mercer is one to watch — particularly for girls, for whom it can be easily be shortened to the feminine nickname
Mercy.
Merritt
Part surname-name and part modern virtue,
Merritt is a future Top 1000 pick that’s currently hot for girls. 64% of baby
Merritts at last count were female, in large part due to actress Merritt Wever of Nurse Jackie fame.
Miller
Miller is a widely-used surname that’s gaining in popularity as a first name too, 31% of the time for baby girls. It’s an occupational name referring to someone who mills wheat or other grain.
Montgomery
Montgomery is one of the hottest boy names in the UK right now and is catching on in the US as well. But not just for sons — 13% of the parents who used the name Montgomery in 2022 gave it to a daughter.
Murphy
About as classic as Irish surnames come,
Murphy is on the ascent as a first name. It broke into the Top 1000 for girls in 2020, and rose last year to Number 665. The ‘80s and ‘90s show Murphy Brown is a feminine touchstone and a likely influence for many of the 398 sets of parents who chose
Murphy for their baby girls in 2022.
Palmer
Palmer is one of the fastest-rising names for girls, ranking outside the Top 1000 in 2017 and now Number 294 in 2022. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet tells the cute boy she’s just met that “palm to palm is Holy Palmer’s kiss.” A
Palmer was a pilgrim, one who had been to the Holy Land and returned with palm branches. It’s a romantic spin on the familiar surname.
Payson
Is
Payson the new
Payton? Even though the son ending seems by definition male,
Payson Is 61% female. 61 girls were given the name in 2022. To some it might be considered a place name — there are towns named Payson in Arizona and Utah.
Ramsey
A surnamier take on the most fashionable nickname names of the moment —
Remy and
Remi. It’s pretty evenly split across gender lines, with 36% of the 188 babies named Ramsey in 2022 female.
Quimby
Beverly Cleary's iconic heroine Ramona Quimby gives her surname a feminine air. Not to mention the fact that it means "from the woman's estate."
Quimby could be used as an alternative to the rising name
Quincy. Fewer than five babies of either sex were named
Quimby in 2022.
Reeve
A potential successor to
Reese,
Reeve was originally an occupational name for a bailiff. In 2022, seven baby girls were named
Reeve. A famous bearer is author Reeve Lindbergh, the youngest of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s children.
Reeve was a family name honoring Anne’s older sister.
Rooney
Once a rare, exclusively male name,
Rooney is now on the rise, especially among baby girls. Actress Rooney Mara is, of course, to thank, lending her name a stylish and slightly quirky feel.
Rooney is actually her middle name — she was born
Patricia.
Ripley
Sigourney Weaver put her character’s surname on the map when Ellen Ripley first fended off a deadly alien in the 1979 sci-fi hit. Now, almost 66% of all
Ripleys born are female. Thandie Newton has a daughter by the name.
Sheridan
Sheridan has never lived up to its potential as a baby name. Only 19 sets of parents chose it for their daughters in 2023. It has the same pleasant rhythm as
Kennedy and
Addison, two of the top last names for girls.
Sinclair
Sinclair comes from a contracted form of St. Clair, as in the saint who worked closely with Saint Francis of Assisi and founded a religious order for women based on his teachings. If
Santiago is reserved for boys, why not
Sinclair for girls? 13 girls were named
Sinclair at last count, compared to seven boys.
Sterling
Golden‘s cousin?
Sterling is also rising mostly for boys, but nearly 18% of the 1000 baby Sterlings born the last year counted are female. And there’s nothing intrinsically gendered about it.
Sullivan
Sullivan may not seem like a feminine name, but it’s easily shortened to the nickname
Liv. It’s still a stretch –
Sullivan ranked Number 365 for boys in 2022 and was only given to 86 girls, making it 91% male. But it’s a more original choice than
Olivia.
Swayze
Late actor Patrick Swayze has had a profound influence on his lively Anglo-German surname. It’s 73% female, with 59 girls given the name at last count. Another 20 were named
Swayzee.
Tinsley
Tinsley has received a massive boost in popularity thanks to the increased visibility of socialite Tinsley Mortimer on The Real Housewives of New York City. It’s one of the few surname names used exclusively for girls — in 2022, it was given to 297 baby girls but virtually no boys.
Thayer
Taylor was a smash-hit surname for girls in the 1990s. Then, it brought to mind Elizabeth Taylor. Now it conjures up the equally famous Taylor Swift.
Thayer is a rarer form of the name, two-parts
Taylor and one-part
Thea.
Torrance, Torrence
Kirsten Dunst played high school cheerleading captain Torrance Shipman in 2000’s Bring It On.
Torrance is a Scottish surname and place name also spelled
Torrence, and because it shortens to
Tori, it seems like a natural option for a girl.
Torrance is the more gender-neutral spelling, with 27% of new babies with the name female. It is also the name of a town south of Los Angeles.
Vaughn
Tailored
Vaughn has fallen off the charts for boys but piqued the interest of some parents expecting daughters. As of 2022, only 12% of baby
Vaughns were female, but it is increasingly headed toward a more balanced gender split.
Wilder
Wilder has become a, well, wildly popular name for boys, entering the Top 1000 for the first time in 2015 and already in the Top 500. And now, about 9% of the baby
Wilders are female.
Wimberley
Take '70s darling
Kimberly and add a dash of
William, and you'll have a brand new, rising surname name for girls.
Wimberley debuted on the charts in 2022, making it the newest name on this list. It was used 10 times at last count, along with another five baby girls named
Wimberly.
Windsor
This locational surname, drawn from Windsor Castle, was adopted by the British Royal Family only 100 years ago. Rare as a first name, 81% of the babies named
Windsor are girls.
Winnie is a friendly and optimistic nickname.
Winslet
Kate Winslet gives an attractive, elegant, and undeniably feminine feel to her otherwise under-the-radar surname. Only 14 girls were named Winslet in 2022, but fewer than ten years ago, it had never been used as a first name at all. Cute nickname
Winnie is a definite plus.
Winslow
Speaking of
Winnie, why not
Winslow? It brings to mind the Eagles’ reference to Winslow, Arizona.
Winslow could shorten to
Winnie or
Win, and feels like an alternative for
Harlow and
Marlowe, too. Traditionally a masculine name,
Winslow is now 64% female.
Wrigley
Wrigley is less a surname name and more a baseball name, with a growing number of babies named for Chicago‘s iconic Wrigley Field. And 43% of those baby Wrigleys are girls. Wrigley Field itself was named after William Wrigley Jr., chewing gum tycoon and owner of the Chicago Cubs.
Wylie
Wylie and its alternate form
Wiley are both moving more toward the center, with more than a quarter of the babies named
Wylie in 2022 female — though oddly, only 14% of the
Wileys. There’s something about that prominent Y that says girl to some parents.
Yancy
Yancy is very rare as a first name: Only six babies were named
Yancy in 2022, all of them female. As a surname,
Yancy is an ancient derivative of
Johnson or
Jansen and might be the forerunner of the term Yankee. So it could make a possible honor name for an ancestral
John or
Jane or
Johanna.
You also might want to check out our past story on Last Names for Boys or our giant list of Last Names as First Names.
About the Author
Sophie Kihm
LinkSophie Kihm's Personal Website
Sophie Kihm has been writing for Nameberry since 2015. She has contributed stories on the top 2020s names, Gen Z names, and cottagecore baby names. Sophie is Nameberry’s resident Name Guru to the Stars, where she suggests names for celebrity babies. She also manages the Nameberry Instagram and Pinterest.
Sophie Kihm's articles on names have run on People, Today, The Huffington Post, and more. She has been quoted as a name expert by The Washington Post, People, The Huffington Post, and more. You can follow her personally on Instagram or Pinterest, or contact her at [email protected]. Sophie lives in Chicago.
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