Comments on: 25 Frills-Free Names for Girls

By: Name of the Day: Ingrid « Appellation Mountain

Name of the Day: Ingrid « Appellation Mountain — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:15:57 +0000

[...] Ingrid has regained a few places in the rankings, coming in at #626. We named her one of our 25 Frills-Free Names for Girls. [...]

By: Name of the Day: Tamar « Appellation Mountain

Name of the Day: Tamar « Appellation Mountain — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:23:26 +0000

[...] then Tamar is fair game, too. We like her frills-free style (in fact, she’s included on our 25 Frills-Free Names for Girls list) and find her both current and [...]

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:04:10 +0000

Great suggestions! I particularly like Irene (my grandmother’s name), Io and Zelda, but I think this is just a category of which I’m quite fond. And DH, Kiersten is the kind of authentic K name that is so much more appealing than Kylee, Kaylie and so on!

And Catherine, I think you’re exactly right – there’s something flat-out wrong about feeling that the only “strong” name choices for daughters are those that we’d also consider for our sons. On the one hand, I know girls named Ryan and Evan, and I don’t think they’ve been scarred for life by their appellations. But why bother, when there are so many great names that don’t cause everyone to refer to your kid as “Dylan the Girl”!?

By: Another

Another — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:38:36 +0000

I still love Carys and Maren best! Sarai has a pleasing sound to it, too. Not sure of Esther, queenly name or not, to me it just sounds elderly. Ever gives me a little thrill (along with Harlow, these are two starbaby names I actually like) but I highly doubt husband of mine would ever let me use Ever. No pun intended. Nice article!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:01:26 +0000

Some lovely names – i particularly like : Brier (i spell it with an “E”), Esme, Iris and Ivy.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:51:36 +0000

That’s really interesting. Frills free is usually my favourite category for girls, since I hate frilly names and equally hate putting boy’s names on girls. It’s just so WRONG to me, you know? It just enforces that masculine is positive, (a “strong” name, we wanted a “strong” name) and feminine is negative and weak. =P As well, you guys have managed to include a wide variety of styles. These are the ones from your list I like: Ailis, Daphne, Elspeth, Hazel, Iris, Ivy, Margo, Olive, Tamsin. An interesting point, though: I never considered Willow no frills. It’s such a feminine name that it always struck me as a bit fussy.

Anyway, some of my favourite no frills that fit your criteria:

Alice
Bridget
Bronwen
Deirdre
Dorothy
Eleanor
Frances
Io
Marta/Martha
Penelope
Zelda

I can’t speak for all of these not being feminisations, though. Beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana by Rosenkrantz and Satran has a great section on no-frills names.

By: !!!DirtyHippy!!!

!!!DirtyHippy!!! — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:51:30 +0000

Hooray! I think this a much needed and well-compiled list. Here are a few that I think make the no-frills grade and will appeal to parents who might be tempted by Ryan, Dylan etc.:

Kiersten: I love the clean, nordic sound of this one. Admittedly, it doesn’t work with every last name, but it does have the potential for the super-cute nickname Kirstie (all of the fun of Kylie or Callie but with a bit more substance).

Irene: A bit too old lady chic for some, but I really like the strong sounds in this one. I think it’s a celebrity baby away from from being hot.

Willa: I keep hearing this one thrown around more and more and it strikes me as soft but not frilly. I could imagine parents who like Kate, Jack, Claire, Max, Sam, etc. going for the ease of Willa.

Phoebe: This one might be a tad more popular than the other choices mentioned, but it’s got the same spunky vibe as Chloe, Daphne, Zoe, all those fabulous greek mythology names.

There are more that I just can’t think of at the moment. Oh, mommy brain!