If you’ve reviewed the Top 20 Boys’ Names of the Day, you might recall that it was a mix of names that are, indeed, rising in use for our sons and those that are probably mere curiosities.

The girls’ list tends more towards the wearable, but there are a few surprises.

The most read Names of the Day posts for Girls were as follows:

1. Esme – For the second year in the row, Esme is undeniably top of the tops on AppMtn.  Some chalk this up to Twilight, but she was already finding favor with fashionable parents years earlier.  Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan christened their daughter Esme Annabelle back in 2001.
2. Isla – Her sound is quite current, and she’s big in the UK.  Isla could catch on in the US, boosted by actress Isla Fisher.
3. Ayelet – Speaking of actresses, Tom Hanks’ Angels and Demons co-star Ayelet Zurer may have given Ayelet a lift in the rankings at AppMtn.  The name also fits with popular ends in -et names like Violet and Bridget.
4. Poppy – Just like Isla, Poppy is big in the UK, and heard more and more often as American parents seek out alternatives to the mega-popular Lily.
5. Lorelei – I think Lorelei is going places, helped by the use of Lorelai as the given name of not one, but three, characters on television’s Gilmore Girls.
6. Noa – Noa isn’t just Noah sans -h.  She’s a legitimate Biblical girls’ name, one that fits right in with Mia and Zoe.
7. Genevieve – The Jolie-Pitts have une petite fille qui s’appelle Vivienne, and plenty of today’s mamans answer to Jennifer.  Genevieve seems like a natural choice, in the first or middle spot.
8. Eulalie – Another French choice, Eulalie was recently used by Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” for her younger daughter.
9. Eithne – Parents have moved beyond Erin to name their daughters Maeve and even Niamh in recent years.  Eithne is more familiar, thanks to singer Enya, but still presents a pronunciation challenge.
10. Svetlana – This one surprised me.  Sure, v- names are The Next Big Thing.  But are modern American parents really taking inspiration from Soviet cosmonauts?  Or is the rise of names like Anya and Natasha encouraging parents to look more closely at all things Russian?
11. Ophelia – It’s a lovely, literary name.  But her tragic tale probably keeps Ophelia out of serious consideration for parents in the English-speaking world, even as they seek an alternative to Olivia.
12. Oona – Her double O is cool.  Oona Chaplin lends this Irish appellation a Hollywood vibe, too.
13. Natasha – Thanks to the First Daughter better known as Sasha and late actress Natasha Richardson, this name has been in the news much in 2009.  While she’s a Russian diminutive for Natalia, in the English-speaking world, she stands on her own as an alternative to Alexandra.
14. Elodie – She’s more sophisticated than the musical Melody and leads the the nickname Ellie.
15. Beatrix – Along with Beatrice, she’s the new Eleanor – the classic name that no one else is using.  Except that lots of us are thinking just that.
16. Sylvia – Mash up Sophia and Ava, and you arrive at Sylvia.  Along with Sylvie, she’s a name headed up the charts.
17. Romilly – Not so long ago, Mallory was a novel surname choice perfectly wearable for girls.  Then it was Delaney.  Today, she’s passing the torch to Romilly.  But none of those names have ever become epidemic, so it is possible Romilly may remain comfortably underused.
18. Pandora – While Dora is darling, Pandora seems even less wearable than Ophelia.
19. Lena – She could be a nickname for a dozen names, but Lena also stands on her own as a surprisingly distinctive choice.
20. Emmeline – Along with Emme, Emerson, Emilia and many other Em- names, Emmeline is sure to benefit from parents’ quest to find something just a little bit different than Emily or Emma.

Curious to compare 2009 to last year? Click here for the 2008 list.