Short Girl Names: 134 Short and Sweet Names

Short girl names range from top picks like Emma, Mia and Ava to 3 letter names like Ada and Eve and 4 letter names like Iris and Vera, and this list gives a checked origin and meaning for 134 of them.

Short girl names are easy to spell, easy to call across a playground and hard to get wrong on a form. Some are old names that were always short, some began as medieval pet forms, and some are short forms of longer names that now stand on their own.

We grouped them by length and style: most-loved picks, 3 letter girl names, 4 letter girl names, one-syllable names, classics, unique names, international names and nickname names. Every meaning was checked against the name’s own Behind the Name entry. Then come tips for pairing a short first name with a longer middle name and quick tests to help you choose.

Key Takeaways

Popular short girl names include Emma, Mia, Ava, Zoe, Ivy, Ella, Nora, Lucy, Ruby and Isla.
Emma ranked No. 3 and Mia No. 6 for U.S. girls born in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration.
3 letter girl names such as Amy (“beloved”), Uma (“flax”) and Zoe (“life”) have simple, clear meanings.
Many short names began as pet forms: Meg from Margaret, Nell from Eleanor or Ellen, Dot from Dorothy.
Wren, Blair, Quinn, Jade and Esme are used for both girls and boys, so check the gender label.

Table of Contents

Short Girl Names at a Glance

Quick Answer

Favorite short girl names: Emma, Mia, Ava, Zoe, Ivy, Ella, Nora, Lucy, Ruby and Isla (most-loved picks); Ada, Amy, Eve, Joy, Mae and Liv (3 letters); Alma, Cora, Iris, Nina, Vera and Opal (4 letters); Rose, Gwen, Nell, Wren and Maud (one syllable); Jane, Ruth, Grace and June (classics); Zuri, Nest, Ylva and Tali (unique); Siân, Tove, Roos, Hiba and Rani (international); and Meg, Tess, Edie and Liz (nickname names).

Every origin label and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown, uncertain or only possible, we print it that way, and where an entry only says a name is a short form of another name, that is exactly what we print.

These ten are the short girl names parents reach for first. Two of them are in the national top 10 right now: Emma ranked No. 3 and Mia No. 6 for girls born in the United States in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA). The others are familiar and well loved without sitting in the top 10.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Emma	English, French, Italian, Scandinavian and many more	Began as a short form of Germanic names starting with irmin, “whole, great”; Jane Austen used it for the heroine of her 1816 novel Emma
Mia	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, English and more	Diminutive of Maria; it shares its form with the Italian word mia, “mine”
Ava	English	Variant of Eve; the actress Ava Gardner is a famous bearer
Zoe	English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek	From a Greek word meaning “life”; Hellenized Jews used it as a translation of Eve
Ivy	English	From the climbing plant, from Old English ifig
Ella	English	A Norman short form of Germanic names containing alles, “other”; revived in the 19th century; borne by the singer Ella Fitzgerald
Nora	English, Irish, Scandinavian, German, Dutch and more	Short form of Honora or Eleanor; a character in Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play A Doll’s House
Lucy	English	English form of Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages
Ruby	English	From the gemstone, ultimately from Latin rubeus, “red”; a given name since the 16th century
Isla	Scottish, English	Variant of Islay; it is spelled like the Spanish word for “island,” though pronounced differently

Most-loved short girl names, with the origin and meaning given by Behind the Name.

Look closely and you will see that short names arrive by three different roads. Some were always short, such as Zoe (from a Greek word for “life”) and Ivy (from the plant). Some began as short forms and grew up into full names: Mia from Maria, Nora from Honora or Eleanor, Emma from old Germanic names beginning with irmin. And some are spelling variants of other names, like Ava (a variant of Eve) and Isla (a variant of the Scottish Islay). Knowing which road a name took tells you whether there is a longer name behind it that you might want to honor. For hundreds more names in every style and length, see our main list of baby girl names.

3 Letter Girl Names

Three letters is about as short as a girl’s name usually gets, and these names manage to feel complete in very little space. Several of the most-loved picks above (Mia, Ava, Zoe and Ivy) are three letters long too; the table below adds 24 more, each with its own Behind the Name entry.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Ada	English, Italian, German, Polish and more	Short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide and Adelina, from adal, “noble”; borne by the mathematician Ada Lovelace
Amy	English	English form of the Old French Amée, “beloved”
Eve	English, Estonian, Biblical	From Hebrew Ḥawwa, linked to words meaning “to breathe” or “to live”; the first woman in Genesis
Joy	English	From the English word joy; a given name since the late 19th century
Mae	English	Variant of May; borne by the actress Mae West, whose birth name was Mary
Liv	Norwegian, Swedish, Danish	From the Old Norse name Hlíf, linked to “protection”; influenced by the Scandinavian word liv, “life”
Kay	English	Short form of Katherine and other names beginning with K
Ann	English, Manx	English and Manx form of Anne, used since the late Middle Ages
Lea	Hebrew, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish and more	Form of Leah used in several languages
Pia	Italian, Scandinavian, German, Slovene, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Pius
Gia	Italian (rare)	Diminutive of Gianna
Uma	Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hinduism	Means “flax” in Sanskrit; another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati
Ria	German, Dutch	Short form of Maria
Isa	German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese	Short form of Isabella
Ida	English, German, Scandinavian, Dutch, French and more	From the Germanic element id, which may mean “work, labor”; revived in the 1800s partly through Tennyson’s 1847 poem The Princess
Bea	English, Hungarian, Dutch	Short form of Beatrix or Beáta
Ola	Polish	Polish short form of Aleksandra
Ela	Turkish	Means “hazel (color)” in Turkish
Iva	Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian	From the South Slavic word for the willow tree
Tia	English	Short form of names ending in tia
Lyn	English	Variant of Lynn
Rae	English	Short form of Rachel; can also be a feminine form of Ray
Ina	German, Dutch, Scandinavian, English and more	Short form of names that end in or contain ina, such as Martina, Christina and Carolina
Rue	English	From rue, a bitter medicinal herb (the word traces back to Greek); sometimes a short form of Ruth

3 letter girl names, with origins and meanings.

Some of these 3 letter girl names carry a full meaning: Amy comes from the Old French for “beloved,” Uma means “flax” in Sanskrit, Ela means “hazel” (the color) in Turkish and Iva comes from the South Slavic word for the willow tree. Eve, from a Hebrew name linked to “to breathe” or “to live,” is one of the oldest names in use. Others are best described exactly as the reference describes them: short forms. Kay is short for Katherine, Ria for Maria, Isa for Isabella and Ola is the Polish short form of Aleksandra.

A few notes from the entries are worth knowing before you choose. Ida’s meaning is hedged: the Germanic element it comes from “may” mean work, so we print it that way. Rue has two roots: the bitter herb and, sometimes, a short form of Ruth. Liv blends an Old Norse name tied to protection with the modern Scandinavian word for life. And Mae and Lyn are listed simply as variants (of May and Lynn), so their meaning is the story of the longer name.

4 Letter Girl Names

Four letter girl names usually give you two syllables instead of one, which softens the sound and makes them easy to pair with almost any last name. Emma, Ella, Nora, Lucy, Ruby and Isla from the first table are four letters long as well; these seventeen round out the list.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Alma	English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Scandinavian and more	Rarely used before the 1854 Battle of Alma; probably inspired by Latin almus, “nourishing”; also the Spanish word for “soul”
Anna	English, Italian, German, Scandinavian, Russian and many more	Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament; a prophetess in the New Testament
Cara	English, Irish	May come from an Italian word for “beloved” or an Irish word for “friend”; popular only after the 1950s
Cora	English, German, Greek mythology (Latinized)	Latinized form of Kore; came into English use after a character in The Last of the Mohicans (1826)
Elsa	German, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English	Short form of Elisabeth; Elsa of Brabant appears in medieval German tales and Wagner’s opera Lohengrin (1850)
Iris	Greek mythology, English, German, Dutch, French and more	From the Greek word for “rainbow”; the goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods; can also honor the flower
Lila	English	Variant of Leila, or a short form of Delilah
Lena	Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Russian, English, Italian and more	Short form of names ending in lena, such as Helena, Magdalena and Yelena
Nina	Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Polish and more	Short form of names ending in nina, such as Antonina or Giannina; borne by the jazz musician Nina Simone
Vera	Russian, English, German, Scandinavian, Spanish and more	From the Russian word for “faith”; sometimes linked with Latin verus, “true”
Zara	English, Literature	Probably created by William Congreve for a 1697 tragedy, possibly from the Arabic name Zahra
Dina	Scandinavian, Russian, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Biblical	Form of Dinah used in several languages and in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin Old Testament
Yara	Arabic	From the Persian word yār, “friend, helper”
Zola	English	Meaning unknown, perhaps an invented name; matches an Italian surname borne by the author Émile Zola
Esme	English (feminine and masculine)	Variant of Esmé
Opal	English	From the gemstone, the October birthstone; the word traces back to Sanskrit upala, “jewel”
Lacy	English (feminine and masculine)	From a surname taken from Lassy, a town in Normandy; formerly more common for boys in America

4 letter girl names, with origins and meanings.

Several of these have stories you can tell your daughter one day. Alma was rarely used before 1854, when a British and French victory at the Alma River in Crimea made it fashionable. Cora entered English use through a character in The Last of the Mohicans. Iris comes from the Greek word for “rainbow” and was the name of the rainbow goddess, the messenger of the gods. Vera comes from the Russian word for “faith.”

Others come with honest uncertainty. Cara “may” come from an Italian word for “beloved” or an Irish word for “friend”: the reference does not choose. Zola’s meaning is unknown, and the entry suggests it may be an invented name. Esme’s entry says only that it is a variant of Esmé, so that is what we print. Lacy and Esme are listed as used for boys as well as girls.

One-Syllable Girl Names

One-syllable girl names are crisp, confident and hard to shorten, so the name you choose is the name she will hear. They sound especially good with a longer last name or a two or three syllable middle name. Many names already on this page are one syllable (Joy, Mae, Liv, Kay, Ann and Bea among them); these eleven add a few more, from garden names to surname names.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Rose	English, French	Norman French form of a Germanic name meaning roughly “famous type”; early on tied to the flower, from Latin rosa
Gwen	Welsh, English	Feminine form of Welsh gwyn, linked with “white, blessed”; also a short form of Gwendolen or Gwenllian
Nell	English	Medieval pet form of Eleanor, Ellen or Helen; possibly from “mine El,” later heard as “my Nel”
Wren	English (modern; feminine and masculine)	From the small songbird, from Old English wrenna
Blair	Scottish, English (masculine and feminine)	From a Scottish surname, from Gaelic blàr, “plain, field, battlefield”; usually masculine in Scotland
Quinn	English (masculine and feminine)	From an Irish surname, an anglicized form of Ó Cuinn, from the given name Conn
Pearl	English	From the word pearl (Medieval Latin); a given name since the 1800s; the traditional June birthstone
Claire	French, English	French form of Clara, from Latin clarus
Jade	English, French (feminine and masculine, now mostly feminine)	From the gemstone, from Spanish (piedra de) ijada, “(stone of the) flank”; in general use since the 1970s
Maud	English, French, Dutch, Swedish	Medieval English and French form of Matilda; revived in the 19th century, possibly through Tennyson’s 1855 poem Maud
Joan	English	Medieval English form of Johanne, a feminine form of John; borne by Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France

One-syllable girl names, with origins and meanings.

Notice how varied the roots are. Rose began as a Germanic name and only later became tied to the flower. Gwen is the feminine form of the Welsh gwyn, linked with “white” and “blessed.” Wren is the small songbird. Blair comes from a Scottish surname meaning “plain, field, battlefield,” and Quinn from an Irish surname built on the given name Conn. Pearl and Jade are gemstone names, and Maud and Joan are medieval forms of Matilda and Johanne.

If you want a name used mostly for girls, check the labels: Wren, Blair, Quinn and Jade are all listed as used for boys too, while the reference notes that Jade is now mostly feminine. For more names that cross over, see our gender neutral names list.

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Short Classic Girl Names

Classic short girl names are the ones you find in family Bibles, on great-aunts and in old novels: steady, well known and rarely misspelled. They tend to have long histories, with queens, saints and literary heroines behind them. If this style speaks to you, our old fashioned girl names list has many more.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Jane	English	Medieval English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (John); the most common feminine form of John from the 17th century
Mary	English, Biblical	Usual English form of Maria, from Hebrew Miryam; the meaning is uncertain, and one theory traces it to an Egyptian word for “beloved” or “love”
Anne	French, English, Scandinavian, German, Dutch and more	French form of Anna; it reached England in the 13th century; borne by the diarist Anne Frank
Ruth	English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Spanish, Biblical	From Hebrew, probably linked to “female friend”; the central figure of the Old Testament Book of Ruth
Kate	English, Croatian	Short form of Katherine, used in England since the Middle Ages and common on its own
Grace	English	From the word grace, from Latin gratia; a Puritan virtue name from the 17th century
Hope	English	From the word hope (Old English hopian); first used as a given name by Puritans in the 17th century
June	English	From the month, named after the Roman goddess Juno; a given name since the 19th century
Edna	English, Hebrew, Biblical	Means “pleasure” in Hebrew; Raguel’s wife in the Book of Tobit
Lois	English, Biblical	May come from Greek loion, “more desirable, better”; the grandmother of Timothy in the New Testament
Enid	Welsh, English, Arthurian Cycle	Probably from Welsh enaid, “soul, spirit, life”; a heroine of Arthurian legend

Short classic girl names, with origins and meanings.

A few of these have meanings that surprise people. Mary is one of the most-used names in history, yet its meaning is uncertain: the reference lists several theories rather than one answer, including a possible Egyptian root meaning “beloved” or “love.” Ruth is probably linked to a Hebrew word for “female friend.” Edna means “pleasure” in Hebrew, and Lois “may” come from a Greek word meaning “more desirable” or “better.” Jane, Joan and Siân (in the international table) all trace back to John.

Grace and Hope are Puritan virtue names from the 17th century, and June comes from the month, which was named after the Roman goddess Juno. Ruth, Edna and Lois all appear in the Bible or its Apocrypha; our biblical girl names guide covers that tradition in depth.

Short Unique Girl Names

If you want a short name that few other girls in her class will share, these ten are a good place to start. All are real given names with their own Behind the Name entries; they are simply uncommon in the United States. We describe them as uncommon or rare in general terms only, because we do not print rank data beyond the SSA’s 2025 top 10.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Zuri	Swahili	Means “beautiful” in Swahili
Ziva	Hebrew	Feminine form of Ziv
Nava	Hebrew	Means “beautiful” in Hebrew
Nest	Welsh	Medieval Welsh diminutive of Agnes
Edda	Icelandic, Old Norse	Possibly Old Norse, with a meaning linked to “great-grandmother”; shared with the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda
Hedy	German, Dutch	Diminutive of Hedwig
Moa	Swedish	May come from the Swedish word for “mother”; the pen name of the author Moa Martinson
Ylva	Swedish, Norwegian	Means “she-wolf,” from Old Norse úlfr, “wolf”
Liat	Hebrew	Means “you are mine” in Hebrew
Tali	Hebrew	Means “my dew” in Hebrew

Short unique girl names, with origins and meanings.

Two of these mean “beautiful”: Zuri in Swahili and Nava in Hebrew. Tali means “my dew” and Liat “you are mine,” both in Hebrew. Ylva, “she-wolf,” gives a soft-sounding name a fierce meaning. Nest is a medieval Welsh pet form of Agnes, and the reference gives its pronunciation as /ˈnɛst/, just like the English word.

Two of these come with hedges that we keep: Edda is “possibly” Old Norse with a meaning linked to “great-grandmother,” and Moa “may” come from the Swedish word for “mother.” For more rare picks of every length, see our unique girl names list.

Short International Girl Names

Short names travel well, and many languages have their own compact names and pet forms. The usage labels below are the reference’s own, so you can see exactly where each name is used. Many are local versions of familiar names: Siân is the Welsh form of Jane, Mair the Welsh form of Maria, Kaja a Scandinavian diminutive of Katarina and Roos the Dutch form of Rosa.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Siân	Welsh	Welsh form of Jane
Mair	Welsh	Welsh form of Maria (Mary)
Tove	Norwegian, Danish, Swedish	Modern form of the Old Norse Tófa, a short form of Þórfríðr
Siv	Swedish, Norwegian, Norse mythology	From Old Norse Sif, “bride, kinswoman”; in Norse myth, the wife of Thor
Kaja	Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Estonian, Slovene	Scandinavian diminutive of Katarina
Hedda	Norwegian, Swedish	Diminutive of Hedvig; the title character of Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler (1890)
Inga	Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, German, Polish, Russian and more	Strictly feminine form of Inge
Ute	German	Variant of Oda; the mother of Kriemhild and Gunther in the Nibelungenlied
Elke	Low German, Frisian, German, Dutch	Pet form of Adelheid
Anke	Low German, Dutch, German	Diminutive of Anna and other names beginning with An
Imke	Frisian, Dutch, Low German	Diminutive of Ime
Femke	Frisian, Dutch	Diminutive of Femme
Fenna	Frisian, Dutch	Feminine form of Fen
Roos	Dutch	Dutch form of Rosa; also the Dutch word for “rose”
Olga	Russian, Polish, German, Scandinavian and many more	Russian form of the Old Norse Helga; Saint Olga ruled Kievan Rus as regent in the 10th century
Zina	Russian	Short form of Zinaida
Pola	Polish	Short form of Apolonia
Iga	Polish	Diminutive of Jadwiga or Ignacja
Nada	Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian	Means “hope” in South Slavic
Hiba	Arabic	Means “gift” in Arabic, from wahaba, “to give”
Huda	Arabic	Means “guidance” (toward what is right) in Arabic
Nur	Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Malay and more (feminine and masculine)	Means “light” in Arabic
Rana	Arabic	Means “to gaze, to look intently” in Arabic
Rima	Arabic	Variant of Rim
Asel	Kyrgyz, Turkish	From the Arabic word ʿasal, “honey”
Eda	Turkish	Means “behavior, style, demeanor” in Turkish
Vida	Persian	Means “visible” in Persian
Shir	Hebrew	Means “song” in Hebrew
Inbar	Hebrew	Means “amber” in Hebrew
Rani	Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Urdu, Indonesian	From Sanskrit rāṇī, “queen”
Mala	Hindi	Means “necklace” in Sanskrit

Short international girl names, with origins and meanings as given by Behind the Name.

The Arabic, Hebrew and Sanskrit names here often carry a full word meaning: Hiba is “gift,” Huda “guidance,” Nur “light,” Shir “song,” Inbar “amber,” Rani “queen” and Mala “necklace.” The Dutch, Frisian and Low German names (Anke, Elke, Imke, Femke and Fenna) are mostly pet forms, so their entries point back to a longer name. Nada means “hope” in South Slavic, and Asel, used in Kyrgyz and Turkish, comes from the Arabic word for “honey.”

A few pronunciation notes, taken only from the entries’ pronunciation lines: Siân is given as /ˈʃaːn/, Mair as /ˈmai̯r/, Ute as /ˈuː.tə/ and the Swedish Tove as /ˈtuː.vɛ/. Where an entry gives no pronunciation, it is worth asking a speaker of the language before you decide.

Spelling matters here. Siân carries a circumflex over the a, and names such as Tove and Olga come from Old Norse forms with marks of their own. U.S. paperwork does not always carry accent marks, so decide early how you will write the name on forms.

Short Names That Are Also Nicknames

Many of the friendliest short girl names began as nicknames. Each name in this table has its own Behind the Name entry, and the meaning column says exactly what the entry says: in most cases, simply that it is a short form or diminutive of a longer name.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Meg	English	Medieval pet form of Margaret; now also a short form of Megan
Liz	English	Short form of Elizabeth
Liza	English, Russian, Greek, Georgian	Short form of Elizabeth (and of its Russian, Greek and Georgian forms)
Beth	English	Short form of Elizabeth, or sometimes Bethany
Tess	English, Dutch	Short form of Theresa; the heroine of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891)
Edie	English	Diminutive of Edith
Dot	English	Diminutive of Dorothy
Peg	English	Short form of Peggy
Pam	English	Short form of Pamela
Deb	English	Short form of Deborah
Bev	English	Short form of Beverly
Abi	English	Diminutive of Abigail, typically British
Gail	English	Short form of Abigail
Roz	English	Short form of Rosalind, Rosamund and other names beginning with the same sound
Lori	English	Pet form of Laura, Lorraine and other names beginning with Lor
Demi	Greek, English (modern)	Short form of Demetria; also a transcription of related Greek names
Cat	English (feminine and masculine)	Pet form of Catherine; may also come from the word for the animal
Pat	English (masculine and feminine)	Short form of Patrick or Patricia
Val	English (masculine and feminine)	Short form of Valentine, Valerie and other names beginning with Val
Dee	English (feminine and masculine)	Short form of names beginning with D; may also honor the River Dee

Nickname names for girls, with the longer name each one comes from.

This is where you get to choose. Some parents put the full name on the birth certificate (Margaret, Elizabeth, Dorothy) and use Meg, Liz or Dot at home. Others love the short form and give it on its own, which avoids confusion later. Both are common. If you choose the long name, say the likely nickname out loud too, because it will probably stick. Elizabeth alone gives you Liz, Liza and Beth from this table, and Abigail gives you both Abi and Gail.

Four of these (Cat, Pat, Val and Dee) are labeled by the reference as used for boys as well. For dozens more pet forms and the full names behind them, see our guide to nicknames for girls.

Pairing a Short First Name With a Longer Middle Name

Short first names leave room for a longer middle name, and the contrast usually sounds good. A simple rule of thumb: if the first name has one syllable, try a middle name with two or three, and check the rhythm with your last name.

Use the middle for a family name: a short first name such as Ann, Kate or Nell can carry a longer grandmother’s or great-aunt’s name in the middle without making the full name heavy.
Vary the ending sounds: if the first name ends in a vowel (Ada, Mia, Nina), a middle name that starts with a consonant keeps the two names from running together.
Mind the stress: one-syllable names are stressed by default, so a middle name stressed on its second syllable gives the full name a nice bounce.
Check the initials: write all three initials together and make sure they do not spell a word you would rather avoid.

A few pairings built only from names on this page, with the longer or softer name in the middle: Ivy Claire, Nell Alma, Mae Iris, Ruth Hedda, Liv Cora and Kate Elsa. If you love long names as well, our long names guide has plenty of middle name candidates, and our middle names guide covers rhythm, flow and family traditions.

How to Choose a Short Girl Name

Once you have a shortlist of short girl names, a few quick tests can help you pick:

Say the full name out loud: short first names can sound abrupt with a one-syllable last name. Say first, middle and last together several times, the way you would call her in from the yard.
Read the meaning: some names have more than one root, and a few have uncertain or unknown origins. Read the table entry so the story behind the name is one you are happy to tell her.
Think about nicknames: a three letter name is hard to shorten, which many parents like. A four letter name with two syllables (Nina, Cora, Lena) may still pick up a pet form.
Check how common it is: only Emma (No. 3) and Mia (No. 6) on this page are in the SSA’s 2025 girls’ top 10, so most of these names will feel familiar without being everywhere. The SSA’s popularity tool shows how a name has been used over time.
Decide on spelling and accents: Siân and Esmé show how an accent mark can matter. U.S. paperwork does not always carry accent marks, so settle on the spelling early.
Check the gender label: Esme, Lacy, Wren, Blair, Quinn, Jade, Nur, Cat, Pat, Val and Dee are listed by the reference as used for both girls and boys.

Choosing names for siblings? Short names pair well with each other: our short boy names list uses the same checked format if you are naming a brother too. And if a short name honors someone you love or comes from your family’s language, that connection often matters more than any list. Use these tables as a starting point and let the name earn its place.

Related Betteroo Guides

The Bottom Line

Short girl names cover a lot of styles: most-loved picks like Emma, Mia, Ava and Zoe; 3 letter girl names like Ada, Amy and Eve; 4 letter girl names like Alma, Iris and Vera; one-syllable names like Rose, Gwen and Wren; classics like Jane, Ruth and Grace; rare finds like Zuri, Nest and Ylva; international names like Siân, Tove and Hiba; and nickname names like Meg, Tess and Edie. Shortlist three to five, read each meaning, say each one with your last name, and pick the one that still feels right a week later.

Looking for a theme instead? Our same-run guide to names that mean moon collects names with a night-sky meaning.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some popular short girl names?

Popular short girl names include Emma, Mia, Ava, Zoe, Ivy, Ella, Nora, Lucy, Ruby and Isla. Emma ranked No. 3 and Mia No. 6 for girls born in the United States in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration. Mia began as a diminutive of Maria, and Emma as a short form of old Germanic names.

What are some good 3 letter girl names?

Good 3 letter girl names include Ada, Amy, Eve, Joy, Mae, Liv, Kay, Ann, Pia, Uma, Ida, Bea and Rae. Amy comes from the Old French for beloved, Uma means flax in Sanskrit and Eve comes from a Hebrew name linked to breathing or living. Mia, Ava, Zoe and Ivy are three letters too.

What are some pretty 4 letter girl names?

Pretty 4 letter girl names include Alma, Anna, Cara, Cora, Elsa, Iris, Lila, Lena, Nina, Vera, Zara and Opal. Emma, Ella, Nora, Lucy, Ruby and Isla are four letters too. Many of them have two syllables, which gives them a softer sound than three letter names and makes them easy to pair with a last name.

What are some one syllable girl names?

One syllable girl names include Rose, Gwen, Nell, Wren, Blair, Quinn, Pearl, Claire, Jade, Maud and Joan, along with Joy, Mae, Liv, Kay, Jane, Ruth, Grace and June. Their roots vary widely: Wren is a songbird, Pearl a gemstone, Blair a Scottish surname and Maud a medieval form of Matilda.

What are some unique short girl names?

Uncommon short girl names include Zuri, which means beautiful in Swahili; Nest, a medieval Welsh pet form of Agnes; Ylva, Swedish and Norwegian for she-wolf; Tali, Hebrew for my dew; Moa, which may come from the Swedish word for mother; and Hedy, a diminutive of Hedwig. Each meaning comes from the Behind the Name entry.

Can I use a nickname as a full name?

Yes, many families do. Names such as Meg, Tess, Edie, Liz and Beth each have their own entry as a short form of a longer name, and they work well on their own. Others prefer to give the full name, such as Margaret or Elizabeth, for formality and use the short form at home. Both choices are common.

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