Confession: I play name games. When stuck cooling my heels waiting for something, or in a meeting so deadly dull I think my soul might leave my body, I find my pen scrawling names.
Here’s a recent one – an A-to-Z list of Single Syllable Names for Girls. I stalled out on a few letters. Any ideas?
A is for Ann.
B is for Blythe.
C is for Claire.
D is for Dee.
E is for Elle.
F is for Fern.
G is for Greer.
H is for Hope.
I is for …
J is for June.
K is for Kate.
L is for Liv.
M is for Mae.
N is for Nell.
O is for …
P is for Paige.
Q is for Quinn.
R is for Ruth.
S is for Sloane.
T is for True.
U is for …
V is for Vrai.
W is for Wren.
X is for Xan.
Y is for …
Z is for Zelle.
Okay, some of those are a stretch, especially Xan and Zelle. But I do love the spare simplicity of these names. On a playground packed with girls called Olivia and Isabella, June or Sloane really stands out.
What do you think of single-syllable names for girls? Got anything for I, O, and Y? And what would make your list?
I have a friend who goes solely by Yaz. It’s short for Yasmine of course, but before the birth control drug, it did work well on its own!
Most of my favorite names are single syllables, Maude, Mae, Nell, Pearl, Jane, Eve, Blythe, and George.
Vrai is a stretch, but I’ve always loved the idea of Vrai! (It would be borderline pretentious to name your daughter the French word for true, I think … maybe in the middle spot it would be fine.)
How could I forget Maude and Pearl!?
I just found out the little girl down the street is named Lillian Blanche. No clue if the Blanche honors someone or if it was just a choice the parents liked … I’m going to ask the very first chance I get!
I think Yael is pronounced with two syllables: ya-ELL.
Since you already have some nicknames on your list (Kate and Nell), what about Val or Vy? Vrai strikes me as a bit of a stretch as a given name.
I like short and sweet names. A few more suggestions:
Belle
Blanche
Faye
Gail
Joan
Jade
Jean
Jeanne
Joy
Joyce
Lise
Maude
Pearl
Yse
Ina
Ina is pronounced EE-nuh [‘i?.n?] or EYE-nuh [‘a?.n?].
For the letter Y:
the Chinese name Yi (pronounced like the letter “E” in English).
maybe the name Yve
Nice.
I like single syllables, even though I usually lean toward longer names. Fern is definitely a favorite.
I have no idea what to suggest for your blanks, outside of “made up” stuff – blerg. But if I *were* to get a little inventive…
I is for Inge (IHNJ) or Iune (YOON)
– Inge is a surname with a lot of references including sporting and literary
– Iune is Hawaiian for June (and also Russian for June if you take of the ending of the Russian word)
O is for Om (OHM)
– Sanskrit. Often used as a mantra. Meaning in several religions that have a seat the Indian subcontinent. What could be better for mom than a meditative name for a 2 year old?
U is for Ule (YOOL) or Urn (URN) or Uave (WAYV)
– I pretty much hate all of these, but being as I found something I was alright with for I and O, I felt compelled to put something down for U. 2 syllables and U? There are plenty of nice ones Una, Uma, Ulia, etc.
I thought about Om for a split second, but it seemed TRULY outrageous. Then again, I left Vrai on the list!
Love the idea of Inge. It seems like it SHOULD be a name.
Urn, no. It fits the list, and I appreciate it for that. But it seems quite funereal. I’d much prefer Una or Uma, both of which I truly enjoy.
Iune intrigues me. It would be tough to wear, but it appeals anyway.
And yes – love Fern.
Inge is a name…but it’s pronounced ING-eh. However Ing is a legimate (but obscure) Swedish name. It’s more common as a compound name.
I got these from the Nordic names website. They’re all obscure and I wouldn’t actually name a child any of these, but they fit the game:
Ils- Swedish short form of Ilse.
Iv- Swedish short form of Ivi (Ivy.)
Iune is pronounced ee-OO-neh [i’u?.ne?].
Ah, then Iune is off the list. Too bad – I liked the looks of her!
Well, in Russian, it’s still just YOON or EEOON’ (???? with a palatalized n, but we don’t have an equivalent in english, so YOON is as close as it gets…)…. So if you like it, it can still stand 🙂
Argh, I realised afterward that I should have added “in Hawaiian”!
Inge as a a nn for Ingrid is different from what I was intending… Inge is a surname and it is, at least by some wearers, pronounced IHNJ.
Hmm, have to go into noun names, gender neutral, or other cultures for those. I is for Isle maybe (nn for Isla though…)? O for Ove, or Oakes. U is for Unn (Norwegian) Y is for Yuan (I know one, Chinese).
I thought of Isle or Ile – but eel? Maybe not. And I love Io, but it’s two syllables.
Oakes is a good suggestion, and Unn and Yuan work!
Funny, because I just suggested Blythe for NOTD! I agree the these clean, simple names are a perfect antidote to the sometimes overwrought Audriana, Melania, Arabella type names that abound these days. My DH and mom worry that Blythe isn’t “pretty,” but that spareness is what attracts me. Others I like from your list are Greer, June, Liv, Mae, and Sloane. And I LOVE Jane for a FN. Too bad I already used it in the middle.
With some help from behindthename.com, I found: Ibb, Urd, Yael. All pretty obscure, though I had heard of Yael. Nothing for O, though.
Yael is pronounced yah-EL [ja’el].