Girl Names That Start With F: 147 Ideas

Girl names that start with F run from classics like Fiona, Florence, Frances and Freya to rare picks like Fable, Fiadh and Fiamma, and this list of 147 gives a checked origin and meaning for every one.

F is a quietly confident letter for naming a daughter. It holds Norse goddesses, Puritan virtue names, Italian flower names, Irish legends and names from Arabic, Persian, Yoruba and Japanese, and none of them is in the current U.S. top 10, so an F name tends to stand out.

We grouped the F girl names by style: classic, unique, short, long, vintage, nature, mythology, international and gender neutral. Then come pronunciation tips, nicknames, sibling and middle name ideas, and a quick initials check.

Key Takeaways

No F name appears in the SSA’s top 10 girl names for babies born in 2025, so F names feel distinctive.
Familiar F names for girls include Freya, Fiona, Florence, Frances, Felicity, Faith, Flora and Francesca.
Rare options include Fable, Fiadh, Fianna, Flannery, Fiamma and Floella.
Three big name families drive the letter: Francis (Frances, Francesca), flower names from Latin flos (Flora, Fleur), and luck names (Felicity, Fortuna).
Test your favorite with the initials, say it out loud, spelling and nickname checks before you decide.

Table of Contents

Girl Names That Start With F at a Glance

Quick Answer

Standout F names for girls: Freya, Fiona, Florence, Frances, Felicity, Faith, Flora and Francesca (familiar and classic); Fable, Fiadh, Flannery and Fiamma (rare); Fae, Flo, Fe and Fifi (short); Fern, Fawn, Fiorella and Ffion (nature). None of the SSA’s ten most popular girl names for babies born in 2025 starts with F, so most of these names will feel distinctive in a U.S. classroom.

Every origin and meaning here was checked against the name’s entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown, possible or uncertain, we say so.

Start with the best known baby girl names that start with F. For ideas beyond one letter, browse our main list of baby girl names, or compare with the same letter-by-letter list of girl names that start with P.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Freya	Norse mythology, English (modern), German	From Old Norse Freyja: “lady”; the Norse goddess of love, beauty, war and death
Fiona	Scottish, English	Feminine form of Fionn, from Old Irish finn: “white, blessed”; possibly first used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in Fingal (1761)
Faith	English	From the English word, ultimately from Latin fido, “to trust”; a virtue name adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century
Felicity	English	From the English word for “happiness”, from Latin felicitas, “good luck”; also a Puritan virtue name
Florence	English, French	From the Latin names Florentius and Florentia, from florens: “prosperous, flourishing”; also the Italian city where Florence Nightingale was born
Frances	English	Feminine form of Francis, from Late Latin Franciscus: “Frenchman”; Frances and Francis only split into feminine and masculine in the 17th century
Francesca	Italian, Catalan	Italian and Catalan feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis): “Frenchman”
Fernanda	Spanish, Portuguese, Italian	Feminine form of Ferdinand, from Gothic elements meaning “peace” (or perhaps “journey”) and “boldness, daring”
Fatima	Arabic, Urdu, Bosnian, Kyrgyz, Hausa	From Arabic fatama: “to abstain, to wean”; the name of a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad
Flora	English, Italian, Spanish, German, French and more; Roman mythology	From Latin flos: “flower”; the Roman goddess of flowers and spring
Frida	German, Germanic	Short form of names containing Old German fridu: “peace”; borne by the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (a separate Scandinavian Frida means “beautiful, beloved”)
Felicia	English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish	Feminine form of the Roman name Felicius, a derivative of Felix: “lucky, successful”
Fallon	English (modern)	From an Irish surname based on the given name Fallamhán: “leader”
Farrah	Arabic	Alternate transcription of Farah: “joy, happiness”
Fleur	French, Dutch, English (British)	“Flower” in French; a character in John Galsworthy’s novels The Forsyte Saga
Fabiola	Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman	Latin diminutive of Fabia, from the Roman family name Fabius (Latin faba, “bean”); a 4th-century saint from Rome
Federica	Italian	Italian feminine form of Frederick: “peaceful ruler”

Familiar and classic F girl names with origins and meanings.

Three old roots sit behind a large share of the letter F. If you like one member of a family, the others are worth a look:

The Francis family: Frances, Francesca, Francisca, Franziska, Françoise and Francine all trace back to Late Latin Franciscus, “Frenchman”, along with the pet forms Fran, Franny, Frannie, Frankie and Fanni.
The flower family: Flora, Fleur, Flor, Fiorella, Florinda, Fflur and Fiore all come from Latin flos or its descendants in French, Spanish, Italian and Welsh, all meaning “flower”.
The luck family: Felicity, Felicia, Felicitas, Félicité, Felicidad, Fortuna, Fortunata, Fausta and Faustina all carry ideas of luck, good fortune or happiness from Latin.

Florence looks like a flower name but is not one. Behind the Name traces it to Latin florens, “prosperous, flourishing”, and notes that many parents also think of the Italian city. Its relatives are Florentina, Florencia, Fiorenza and the French Florentine.

Unique and Rare Girl Names That Start With F

Looking for unique girl names that start with F? Behind the Name marks several of these as rare in English or modern in Irish, and the rest are uncommon in the United States. Most are easy to say, and several are everyday words (Fable, Fancy) or Italian words (Fiamma) that happen to work beautifully as names.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Fable	English (rare)	From the English word for a story with a moral, from Latin fabula
Fiadh	Irish (modern)	“Wild, wild animal, deer” or “respect” in Irish
Fianna	Irish (modern)	From Irish fiann: “band of warriors”
Flannery	English (rare)	From an Irish surname based on Flannghal: “red valor”; borne by the author Flannery O’Connor
Fancy	English (rare)	From the English word meaning “like, love, inclination” or “ornamental”
Floella	English (rare)	Elaborated form of Flo, itself a short form of Florence or Flora
Fedora	Russian (rare), Italian	Russian form of Theodora: “gift of god”; also an 1898 opera by Umberto Giordano
Feodora	Russian (rare)	Russian form of Theodora: “gift of god”
Fidelia	Spanish (Latin American)	Feminine form of Fidel, from Latin Fidelis: “faithful”; appears in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590)
Fiamma	Italian	“Flame” in Italian
Fulvia	Italian, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Fulvius, from Latin fulvus: “yellow, tawny”
Fausta	Italian, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Faustus: “auspicious, lucky” in Latin

Unique and rare F names for girls.

Fiadh and Fianna are both labeled modern Irish names: Fiadh carries two meanings in its entry (“wild, deer” or “respect”), and Fianna comes from the Irish word for a band of warriors. Fable is the newest entry on this list; Behind the Name added it in July 2025.

To see where a name stands today, use the Popularity of a Name search on the Social Security Administration (SSA) baby names page. The SSA leaves out names with fewer than 5 occurrences to protect privacy, so the very rarest names will not show up at all. It also does not combine spellings, so Farah and Farrah, or Fae, Fay and Faye, are ranked as separate names. For more ideas, see our unique girl names guide.

Short F Names for Girls (2 to 5 Letters)

Short F names are quick to write and pair well with a long surname or a long middle name. Most of the ones below began as pet forms of longer names and now stand on their own.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Fae	English	Variant of Fay
Fay	English	Partly from the English word fay, “fairy”; sometimes a short form of Faith (a rarer masculine Fay comes from a surname)
Faye	English	Variant of Fay
Fe	Spanish	“Faith” in Spanish, from Latin fides
Fifi	French	Diminutive of Joséphine and other names with the same sound
Fina	Italian, Spanish	Short form of Serafina; Saint Fina was a 13th-century girl from San Gimignano, Italy
Flo	English	Short form of Florence or Flora
Fien	Dutch	Short form of Josefien and other names ending in a similar sound
Fumi	Japanese	“Writing” or “history”, among other kanji read the same way
Floy	English	Diminutive of Florence or Flora
Fanni	Finnish, Hungarian	Finnish diminutive of Francisca; Hungarian diminutive of Franciska or Stefánia

Short girl names starting with F.

Fay is the anchor of the group. Its entry traces it partly to the old English word fay, meaning “fairy”, which goes back through French to Latin fata, “the Fates”. Fae and Faye are listed as variants of Fay, so the choice among the three is about looks, not meaning. Fe is the shortest name on this page: it is simply the Spanish word for “faith”.

A few more short choices sit in other tables on this page, including Fern, Fawn, Flor, Fajr, Fiadh, Fu, Fen and Fang. Our short girl names list has more ideas across every letter.

Long, Elegant and Vintage F Names

Longer F names bring built-in nicknames and a formal choice for later in life. Many are the Latin, Italian or Spanish forms of names you already know.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Florentina	Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Florentinus, a derivative of Florentius (see Florence): “prosperous, flourishing”
Faustina	Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese	Feminine form of Faustinus, a derivative of Faustus: “auspicious, lucky”
Fabiana	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Fabianus, from the Roman family name Fabius (Latin faba, “bean”)
Floriana	Italian, Romanian, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Florianus, a derivative of Florus, from Latin flos: “flower”
Frederica	Portuguese, English	Feminine form of Frederico or Frederick: “peaceful ruler”
Florinda	Spanish, Portuguese	Elaborated form of Spanish and Portuguese flor: “flower”
Filomena	Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Lithuanian	Form of Philomena, from Greek Philoumene: “to be loved”
Fortunata	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (rare), Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Fortunato, from Latin Fortunatus: “fortunate, blessed, happy”
Fiorenza	Italian	Italian feminine form of Florentius (see Florence): “prosperous, flourishing”

Long and elegant F girl names.

These vintage picks feel familiar from older generations. Most are pet forms of Frances, Florence, Flora and Frederica that were once used on their own, which is exactly why they sound cozy today.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Francine	French, English	Diminutive of Françoise, the French feminine form of François (Francis)
Fannie	English	Variant of Fanny, a diminutive of Frances, Françoise or Stéphanie
Flossie	English	Diminutive of Florence
Florrie	English	Diminutive of Florence or Flora
Freda	English	Short form of names ending in freda or fred, such as Winifred or Alfreda
Frieda	German, English	Variant of Frida, from Old German fridu: “peace”
Floretta	English	Latinate diminutive of Flora
Fleurette	French (rare), Dutch (rare), English (rare)	Diminutive of Fleur: “flower”
Florine	French	French feminine form of Florinus, a derivative of Florus, from Latin flos: “flower”
Fritzi	German	German diminutive of Friederike
Frannie	English	Diminutive of Frances

Vintage F names for girls.

One honest note: Fanny is the old pet form behind Fannie, and Behind the Name points out that the word has been vulgar slang in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century, which is why the name dropped out of common use. Frannie or Frankie gives you a similar vintage feel for Frances without that issue. For more names from this era, browse our old fashioned girl names.

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Nature F Names: Flowers, Gems, Seasons and Sky

Many pretty girl names that start with F come from the natural world. Alongside the flower names in the first table (Flora, Fleur), this group adds a plant, a young deer, a gemstone, a season and the first light of day. For more, see our flower names list.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Fern	English	The plant, from Old English fearn; used as a given name since the late 19th century
Fawn	English	From the English word for a young deer
Flower	English (rare)	From the English word, via Old French from Latin flos
Flor	Spanish, Portuguese	“Flower” in Spanish and Portuguese, or a short form of Florencia
Fiorella	Italian	Italian fiore, “flower”, plus a diminutive suffix
Ffion	Welsh	“Foxglove” in Welsh; a recently created Welsh name
Fayruz	Arabic	“Turquoise (gemstone)” in Arabic, ultimately of Persian origin
Firouzeh	Persian	“Turquoise (gemstone)” in Persian; it may also be a feminine form of Firouz
Fajr	Arabic	“Dawn, beginning” in Arabic; also the name of the daily morning prayer
Fūka	Japanese	“Wind, style” plus “flower, blossom” or “fragrant”, depending on the kanji
Fuyuko	Japanese	“Winter” plus “child” in one common spelling
Filiz	Turkish	“Sprout, shoot” in Turkish, borrowed from Greek phyllis

Nature inspired F names for girls.

Fayruz and Firouzeh are the Arabic and Persian names for the same blue-green stone, turquoise, and Behind the Name notes that the Arabic word is ultimately of Persian origin. Ffion is a newer name: its entry calls it a recently created Welsh name meaning “foxglove”.

For Japanese names such as Fūka and Fuyuko, the meaning depends on the characters (kanji) a family chooses, so treat each gloss as one common reading rather than the only one.

Mythology, Literature and Biblical F Names

Norse, Roman and Irish stories supply most of these, joined by two literary heroines and an English saint. Freya and Frigg are often mentioned together, and Behind the Name notes that some scholars believe the two goddesses share a common origin, even though their names are not linguistically related.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Freyja	Icelandic, Norse mythology	Icelandic and Old Norse form of Freya: “lady”
Frigg	Norse mythology	“Beloved”, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning “to love”; the wife of Odin and mother of Balder
Fauna	Roman mythology	Feminine form of Faunus, which possibly means “to befriend”; a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing
Fortuna	Roman mythology	“Luck” in Latin; the Roman personification of luck
Felicitas	Ancient Roman, Roman mythology, German, Spanish	“Good luck, fortune” in Latin; a Roman goddess, and a 3rd-century saint martyred in Carthage
Fionnuala	Irish, Irish mythology	“White shoulder”; one of the four children of Lir, who were turned into swans for 900 years
Fedelm	Irish mythology, Old Irish	Possibly a feminine form of Feidlimid, traditionally said to mean “ever good”; borne by several women in Irish legend
Fidelma	Irish	Latinized form of Fedelm
Fenella	Scottish	Form of Fionnuala used by Walter Scott in his novel Peveril of the Peak (1823)
Fantine	Literature	Used by Victor Hugo in Les Misérables (1862); Hugo may have meant it as a derivative of French enfant, “child”
Fiammetta	Italian	Diminutive of Fiamma, “flame”; a character in several works by the 14th-century author Boccaccio
Frideswide	History (ecclesiastical)	From Old English elements meaning “peace” and “strong”; an 8th-century English princess and saint credited with founding Christ Church in Oxford
Febe	Dutch, Italian, Spanish (rare), Portuguese (rare)	Form of Phoebe, from Greek phoibos: “bright, pure”
Fotini	Greek	Modern Greek form of Photine, from Greek phos: “light”; the name traditionally given to the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well (John 4)

F names from mythology, literature and religious history.

Biblical girl names that start with F are rare in English, because most of them begin with Ph instead. Febe is the Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Phoebe, and Fotini is the modern Greek form of Photine, the name tradition gives to the Samaritan woman at the well. If you love Phoebe or Philippa but want an F, these spellings are worth a look. Our Irish girl names guide has more names from the legends behind Fionnuala and Fedelm.

International F Names by Language

Origins below use the reference’s own usage labels. Western Europe is especially rich in F names, because Francis, Frederick, Ferdinand and Felicitas each have feminine forms in several languages.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Filippa	Greek, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Italian	Feminine form of Philip: “friend of horses”
Felipa	Spanish	Spanish feminine form of Philip: “friend of horses”
Francisca	Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Late Roman	Feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis): “Frenchman”
Franziska	German	German feminine form of Franciscus: “Frenchman”
Franca	Italian	Contracted form of Francesca
Franka	German, Dutch	German and Dutch feminine form of Frank, an Old German name for a member of the Franks
Fernande	French	French feminine form of Ferdinand
Florencia	Spanish	Spanish feminine form of Florentius (see Florence): “prosperous, flourishing”
Fabienne	French	French feminine form of Fabianus, from the Roman family name Fabius
Faustine	French	French feminine form of Faustinus, from Faustus: “auspicious, lucky”
Félicité	French	French form of Felicitas: “good luck, fortune”
Felicidad	Spanish	Spanish form of Felicitas; also the Spanish word for “happiness”
Felisa	Spanish	Spanish form of Felicia
Fidela	Spanish	Feminine form of Fidel: “faithful”
Fermina	Spanish	Spanish form of Firmina, from Latin Firminus: “firm”
Frederikke	Danish	Danish feminine form of Frederick: “peaceful ruler”
Friederike	German	German feminine form of Frederick: “peaceful ruler”
Fredrika	Swedish, Finnish	Swedish and Finnish feminine form of Frederick: “peaceful ruler”
Freja	Danish, Swedish	Danish and Swedish form of Freya: “lady”
Frauke	German	“Little lady”, from German frau plus a diminutive suffix
Finja	German (modern)	Probably a feminine form of Finn
Femke	Frisian, Dutch	Diminutive of Femme, a Frisian short form of names that begin with Old German fridu, “peace”
Fenna	Frisian, Dutch	Feminine form of Fen, a Frisian short form of Ferdinand and other names that begin with fridu, “peace”
Fruzsina	Hungarian	Diminutive of Eufrozina, the Hungarian form of Euphrosyne: “mirth, merriment, cheerfulness”
Faina	Russian	Meaning unknown; possibly from Phaenna, Greek for “shining”
Finola	Irish	Anglicized form of Fionnuala: “white shoulder”
Fflur	Welsh	Welsh form of Flora: “flower”

French, Spanish, German, Scandinavian, Dutch, Frisian, Hungarian, Russian, Irish and Welsh F names.

Two notes on this table. Faina is one of the few names on this page whose meaning Behind the Name gives as unknown; it only suggests a possible link to Phaenna, “shining”. And the Frederick family is easy to mix up: Federica is Italian, Frederica is Portuguese and English, Fredrika is Swedish and Finnish, Frederikke is Danish and Friederike is German. Italian forms such as Fiorella, Fiamma and Francesca are collected in our Italian girl names guide.

Beyond Europe, F names come from Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Yoruba, Shona, Swahili, Japanese and Chinese. Several of them carry happy meanings: Fadzai, Funmilayo and Furaha are all about joy or making someone happy.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Farida	Arabic, Urdu, Indonesian, Bengali, Tatar, Bashkir	Feminine form of Farid: “unique, precious”
Fatma	Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kurdish	Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kurdish form of Fatima, as well as an Arabic variant
Faiza	Arabic, Urdu	Feminine form of Faiz: “triumphing, victorious”
Feray	Turkish	Persian far, “brilliance, splendor”, plus Turkish ay, “moon”
Füsun	Turkish	“Charm, incantation”, from Persian afsun
Fariba	Persian	“Charming, enticing”
Fereshteh	Persian	“Angel”
Folasade	Yoruba	“Rule with nobility”
Funmilayo	Yoruba	“Give me joy”; also a short form of Olufunmilayo
Funke	Yoruba	Short form of Olufunke: “God gives care”
Fadzai	Shona	From Shona fadza: “please, make happy”
Furaha	Swahili	“Joy, happiness”, borrowed from Arabic
Fumiko	Japanese	“Writing” plus “child” in one common spelling
Fumie	Japanese	“Writing” or “history” plus “bay, inlet”, “favor, benefit” or “picture”, depending on the kanji
Fengying	Chinese	“Phoenix” plus “flower, petal, brave, hero” in one common spelling

Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Yoruba, Shona, Swahili, Japanese and Chinese F names.

Print accents and special letters exactly as the name is spelled (Félicité, Füsun, Fūka). U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents or special characters, so decide ahead of time whether you are comfortable seeing the name without them. If a name comes from a culture outside your own family, learn how it is pronounced and used before you commit.

Gender Neutral F Names

Behind the Name lists each of these as both feminine and masculine. Several are short forms of Francis and Frederick, a few are Irish, Shona or Yoruba names, and the Chinese names change gender with the character chosen. You will find more in our gender neutral names guide.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Finley	English	Variant of Finlay, from Scottish Gaelic Fionnlagh: “white warrior”; in the U.S. it has lately been more common for girls
Frankie	English	Diminutive of Frank or Frances
Francis	English, French	From Late Latin Franciscus: “Frenchman”; borne by Saint Francis of Assisi
Fran	Spanish, English, Croatian, Slovene	Short form of Francis, Frances or related names
Franny	English	Diminutive of Francis or Frances
Freddie	English	Diminutive of Frederick or Freda
Farah	Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay	“Joy, happiness” in Arabic
Fortune	French, English (rare)	From the word fortune, from Latin fortuna: “luck”
Favour	English (African)	From the English word favour; most common in Nigeria and other parts of Africa
Fiore	Italian	“Flower” in Italian; also an Italian form of Flora and Florus
Floor	Dutch	Dutch form of Florentius or Flora
Flann	Irish, Old Irish	“Blood red” in Irish; the name of a 9th-century high king of Ireland
Fidelis	Ancient Roman	Original Latin form of Fidel: “faithful”
Fu	Chinese	“Abundant, rich”, “hibiscus, lotus” or “begin, man, father”, among other characters
Fen	Chinese	“Fragrance, aroma” (usually feminine) or “strive, exert” (usually masculine)
Fang	Chinese	“Fragrant, virtuous, beautiful”, among other characters
Farai	Shona	From Shona fara: “rejoice, be happy”
Fungai	Shona	From Shona funga: “think, judge”
Folami	Yoruba (rare)	“Respect and honor me”

Gender neutral names that start with F.

Finley is the most interesting case: its entry says that in the United States it has lately been more common as a feminine name. Florence, from the first table, is also listed as both feminine and masculine, though the reference says it is mostly feminine in modern times. For brothers and cousins, our same-day list of boy names that start with F covers the masculine side of the letter.

Why F Names Are Loved: Sounds and Nicknames

A few plain reasons parents keep coming back to names that start with F:

F is a soft, breathy opening sound that pairs gently with almost any surname.
The letter is full of meaning-rich word names: Faith, Felicity, Fern, Fable, Fawn and Fortune.
It spans many languages, from French, Italian and German to Irish, Welsh, Arabic, Persian, Yoruba and Japanese.
Most long F names come with an easy nickname, and many short F names already are one.

In English, an F at the start of a name is usually just an F sound. Spelling is where the surprises are: Welsh writes the F sound as ff (Ffion, Fflur), Irish adds silent letters (Fiadh), and Italian Fi often glides into a Y sound. This table shows how a dozen F names are said, using the pronunciation printed on each name’s Behind the Name entry.

Name	Pronunciation	What to know
Fiona	/fi.ˈoʊ.nə/ (English)	Three syllables, stress on the middle
Freya	/ˈfɹeɪ.ə/ (English)	Sounds like FRAY-uh
Freja	FRAY-ah (Swedish), FRIE-ah (Danish)	Same name, two Nordic sounds
Fiadh	/ˈfʲiə/ (Irish)	Sounds like FEE-uh; no D sound
Ffion	/ˈfiː.ɔn/ (Welsh)	Welsh ff is an F sound
Fflur	/ˈfliːr/ (Welsh)	Welsh ff is an F sound
Fiamma	/ˈfjam.ma/ (Italian)	Fi glides into a Y sound
Fiorella	/fjo.ˈrɛl.la/ (Italian)	Fi glides into a Y sound
Frauke	/ˈfʁaʊ̯.kə/ (German)	Frau rhymes with “how”
Fruzsina	/ˈfru.ʒi.nɒ/ (Hungarian)	zs sounds like the s in “measure”
Faina	/fɐ.ˈi.nə/ (Russian)	Three syllables: fa-EE-na
Fumi	/ɸɯᵝ.mi/ (Japanese)	A soft F made with both lips

How a dozen F names are pronounced, per Behind the Name.

The “ph” question comes up with F names too. Febe, Filippa, Filomena and Fotini are the F spellings of Phoebe, Philippa, Philomena and Photine in other languages. If relatives will meet the name on a card before they hear it, tell them how it is said.

Full name	Nickname ideas
Frances	Fran, Franny, Frannie, Frankie, Fannie (via Fanny)
Florence	Flo, Flossie, Florrie, Floy
Flora	Flo, Florrie, Floy, Floretta
Francesca	Franca
Françoise	Francine
Friederike	Fritzi
Frederica, Freda	Freddie
Fay	Fae, Faye
Fleur	Fleurette
Fiamma	Fiammetta
Fionnuala	Finola, Fenella
Fabia	Fabiola
Flo	Floella
Serafina	Fina
Joséphine, Josefien	Fifi, Fien

Nickname ideas for F names, each listed as a short form, pet form or variant on Behind the Name.

Sibling, Twin and Middle Name Ideas

These pairings are ideas, not rules. Sister or twin sets that share a letter work best when the names differ in length, ending or first sound:

Flora and Fern
Fiona and Freya
Frances and Felicity
Florence and Faye
Fiorella and Francesca
Fiadh and Finola
Freja and Frida
Fable and Fawn
Farida and Fatima
Fleur and Félicité

If you want the names to match without rhyming, pair a short name with a long one (Fae and Florentina) or a word name with a classic (Fern and Frances). Pairs from one language, such as Fiorella and Francesca or Fiadh and Finola, share a style without sharing a meaning.

For a brother, keep the letter with Francis, Freddie or Finley from the gender neutral table, or look through our full list of boy names that start with F.

For a middle name, contrast helps. A short middle balances a long first name (Florentina Fay, Francesca Fern), and a longer middle gives a short first name some weight (Fae Florence, Flo Felicity). A double F is a classic choice: Fiona Faye, Freya Frances, Flora Felicity or Faith Fiorella. If you would rather vary the initials, try Freya Anne, Fiona Grace or Frances Eliana.

The Initials Check and Other Quick Tests

Before you settle on girl names that start with F, run each finalist through four quick tests:

Initials: write out first, middle and last initials. Some F combinations spell words you would not choose, so swap the middle name if you spot a problem. A monogram like F.F. or F.A.E. can be a fun bonus.
Say it out loud: call the full name across a room. Check whether an F first name runs into a surname that starts with F, Ph or V, and whether the ending of the first name blurs into the start of the last name.
Spelling: many F names have a twin spelling (Fae, Fay and Faye; Farah and Farrah; Freya, Freja and Freyja; Frida and Frieda). Decide whether you mind spelling it out for years.
Nicknames: check the table above. If you dislike the obvious short form (Fran for Frances, Flo for Florence), assume someone will use it anyway.

One more check is optional: how common the name is. Because no F name sits in the SSA’s 2025 girls’ top 10, an F name is less likely to be shared by several classmates. For any name, the SSA’s Popularity of a Name search lets you look a name up by sex and range of years, which is a quick way to tell familiar from truly rare.

If you are stuck between two finalists, try each one in the sentences you will say most: calling her to the table, introducing her to a neighbor, spelling it for a receptionist. The name that feels easy after a few days of that is usually the one.

Related Betteroo Guides

The Bottom Line

The letter F covers nearly every style: classics like Frances, Florence and Fiona, virtue names like Faith and Felicity, rare finds like Fable and Fiadh, nature names like Fern, Fawn and Ffion, and names from French, Italian, Irish, Welsh, Arabic, Persian, Yoruba, Shona and Japanese. Shortlist three to five, check the meaning, test the initials and the sound, and say each one out loud for a week.

Then give yourself permission to stop looking. A name you have checked, said aloud and still like after a week is a good name.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most popular girl names that start with F?

None of the ten most popular girl names for 2025 on the Social Security Administration list starts with F. Well known F names in the United States include Freya, Fiona, Florence, Frances, Faith, Felicity, Fatima and Francesca. To check any single name, use the SSA’s Popularity of a Name search by year and sex.

What are rare girl names that start with F?

Rare F names include Fable, Fancy, Flannery, Floella and Fleurette, which Behind the Name marks as rare in English, plus Fiadh and Fianna, labeled modern Irish. Italian Fiamma and Fiammetta, Roman Fausta and Fulvia, and Russian Feodora are also uncommon in the United States. The SSA leaves names with fewer than 5 occurrences out of its lists.

What are pretty girl names that start with F with nice meanings?

Taste is personal, but meaning can help. Fiorella, Fleur and Flora all mean flower, Felicity means happiness, Farah and Furaha mean joy, Fereshteh means angel in Persian, Fajr means dawn in Arabic, and Frigg means beloved. Freya, from the Norse goddess, means lady, and Fotini comes from the Greek word for light.

What are short girl names that start with F?

Short F names include Fe, Fae, Fay, Faye, Flo, Fifi, Fina, Fien, Fumi, Floy and Fanni, plus Fern, Fawn, Flor and Fajr from the nature list. Several began as pet forms: Flo is short for Florence or Flora, Fina for Serafina, and Fifi for Joséphine. Fe is the Spanish word for faith.

What are old fashioned girl names that start with F?

Vintage F names include Frances, Florence, Flora, Freda, Frieda, Francine, Flossie, Florrie, Floy, Fannie, Frannie and Floretta. Many of them are pet forms of Frances, Florence and Flora that were once used as names on their own. Faith and Felicity are older still: Behind the Name lists both as Puritan virtue names from the 17th century.

Which F names work for both girls and boys?

Behind the Name lists Finley, Frankie, Francis, Fran, Franny, Freddie, Farah, Fortune, Favour, Fiore, Floor, Flann and Fidelis as both feminine and masculine. So are the Chinese names Fu, Fen and Fang, the Shona names Farai and Fungai, and Yoruba Folami. Its Finley entry notes the name has lately been more common for girls in the United States.

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