One-Syllable Girl Names
84 one-syllable girl names with meanings, U.S. popularity, and audio pronunciation on every page.
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Say it once and it is done. That economy is the whole charm of one-syllable girl names — nothing to shorten, nothing to explain, no nickname negotiation waiting for you in a few years. The gentlest of them are the ones parents keep coming back to: Mae, Faye, Eve and Anne have a quiet, hand-stitched quality, the kind of names that look right on a birth announcement and equally right on a wedding invitation sixty years later. They also make wonderful middle names, which is why a short first name is so often a long name’s best partner.
Not every short name is a whisper, though. Brynn and Kate land with a bright, decisive snap; Blaire and Paige feel sleek and a little modern; Drew is cool and unbothered in a way that is hard to fake. Then there are the meaning-forward picks — Hope and Joy say exactly what they mean and never need a footnote — alongside the airier Skye and Brooke, both of which borrow their softness straight from the landscape.
Every name below opens to its full page — a sourced meaning, its U.S. popularity, and a clear audio pronunciation so you can hear it before you fall for it.
One-Syllable Girl Names
Brooke#313 in the U.S.From the Old English word 'broc', meaning a small stream or watercourse. Originally a topograph▶Paige#346 in the U.S.From Old French 'page', meaning a young male servant or attendant to a knight, ultimately from ▶Hope#352 in the U.S.From the Old English 'hopa', meaning hope — the expectation and desire for a positive outcome. ▶Blaire#384 in the U.S.From Scottish Gaelic blar meaning a plain or flat area of land; originally a Scottish surname a▶Brynn#407 in the U.S.From Welsh bryn meaning hill; used as a given name particularly in Welsh and Welsh-American com▶Joy#419 in the U.S.From Old French joie and Latin gaudia meaning joy, happiness, or delight; used as a word name e▶Mae#501 in the U.S.Spelling variant of May, the fifth month; also a pet form of Mary (meaning 'beloved' or 'bitter▶Faye#515 in the U.S.From Old French fae meaning 'fairy' or 'enchantment'; also possibly from the Middle English wor▶Jream#518 in the U.S.Modern American creative name, a phonetic respelling of the word 'dream,' using the letter J to▶Eve#519 in the U.S.From Hebrew Chavah (Havva), derived from the root chava meaning 'to breathe' or 'to live'; the ▶Kate#522 in the U.S.Short form of Katherine, from the Greek Aikaterine; the meaning is uncertain but was popularly ▶Skye#532 in the U.S.From the English word sky combined with or inspired by the Isle of Skye in Scotland, derived fr▶Anne#619 in the U.S.French form of Anna, from Hebrew Channah meaning 'grace,' 'favor,' or 'God has favored me'; the▶Noor#659 in the U.S.From Arabic nur meaning light; in Islamic tradition Nur al-Din means light of religion and the ▶Drew#706 in the U.S.Short form of Andrew, from Old Welsh Dryw meaning 'vision' or 'wise man'; or a diminutive of th▶Sol#722 in the U.S.From the Latin sol meaning 'sun'; in Spanish-speaking cultures Sol is a common given name and n▶Gwen#725 in the U.S.Welsh short form of Gwendolyn or Gwenllian, from the Welsh element gwen meaning 'white,' 'fair,▶Pearl#777 in the U.S.Pearl; from the Old French perle and Medieval Latin perla meaning the lustrous gem formed in oy▶Luz#839 in the U.S.Spanish name from the Latin lux (light), used as a Marian name in honor of Our Lady of Light (N▶Sloan#840 in the U.S.Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Sluaghan, from sluagh meaning 'warrior', 'army', or▶Liv#896 in the U.S.From Old Norse hlif meaning protection, shield, or shelter; in modern Scandinavian languages li▶Rayne#906 in the U.S.Likely a variant of French Reine (queen, from Latin regina) or of the English nature word rain;▶Clare#924 in the U.S.From Latin Clara/Clarus meaning bright, clear, famous, or illustrious; Clare is the medieval En▶Sky#949 in the U.S.From Old Norse sky meaning cloud, which gave the English word sky meaning the expanse of heaven▶Love#957 in the U.S.From the Old English lufu meaning love, affection, or deep devotion, used as a given name expre▶Tru#974 in the U.S.True; faithful; a phonetic spelling of the English word 'true', also used as a shortened form o▶Scout#997 in the U.S.From Old French escouter meaning to listen, via a military term for a person sent ahead to gath▶Belle#1005 in the U.S.Beautiful; from French belle (beautiful, lovely), from Latin bella (beautiful), feminine of bel▶Joyce#1042 in the U.S.Lord; from the Breton/Celtic personal name Iodoc (lord), via Norman French Josce; later folk-et▶Kai#1133 in the U.S.Sea; from Hawaiian kai (sea, ocean)▶Ann#1141 in the U.S.Grace, favor; English form of Anne/Anna, from Latin Anna, from Hebrew Hannah (grace, favor)▶Shay#1158 in the U.S.Gift; from Irish Gaelic séaghdha (admirable, fine) or from Hebrew shay (gift)▶True#1167 in the U.S.Faithful, genuine, true; from Old English treowe (faithful, loyal, trustworthy)▶Shea#1187 in the U.S.Admirable; from Irish Gaelic Séaghdha (admirable, fine); or from the shea tree (Vitellaria para▶Joan#1238 in the U.S.God is gracious; English feminine form of John, from Hebrew Yohanan (Yahweh is gracious) via La▶Kit#1240 in the U.S.Pure; English pet form of Katherine (Greek Aikaterine: pure) or Christopher (Greek: bearer of C▶Rue#1241 in the U.S.The rue herb (Ruta graveolens); or sorrow, regret; from Old French rue and Latin ruta (the bitt▶Fern#1261 in the U.S.The fern plant; from Old English fearn (the fern — a flowerless vascular plant that reproduces ▶Rae#1265 in the U.S.Ewe; ray of light; short form of Rachel (Hebrew: ewe, female sheep) or a feminine variant of Ra▶Layne#1274 in the U.S.A narrow road or path▶Reem#1305 in the U.S.White gazelle, graceful and beautiful▶Jayde#1347 in the U.S.The jade gemstone; stone of the flank believed to cure kidney ailments▶Liz#1348 in the U.S.My God is an oath; devoted to God▶May#1357 in the U.S.The month of May; also pearl or beloved as a pet form▶Rain#1394 in the U.S.Rain, the falling of water from the sky▶Reece#1431 in the U.S.Ardor, enthusiasm, passionate spirit▶Raine#1447 in the U.S.Rain; also queen in French (reine)▶Nell#1460 in the U.S.Bright, shining, ray of sun; short form of Eleanor or Helen▶Tate#2260 in the U.S.cheerful, glad▶Ren#2272 in the U.S.lotus, water lily▶Cove#2279 in the U.S.a small sheltered bay or inlet▶Jules#2286 in the U.S.belonging to the Julian gens, youthful▶Emme#2325 in the U.S.whole, universal▶Jean#2411 in the U.S.God is gracious▶Mar#2994 in the U.S.From the Latin mare and Spanish/Catalan mar, meaning sea or ocean. Used independently or as a s▶Bloom#3077 in the U.S.Flower, blossom; to flourish and thrive; from Old Norse blom and Old English bloma▶Grey#3085 in the U.S.Grey-haired or of grey colour; from Old English graeg, originally a surname for someone with gr▶Jind#3089 in the U.S.Life, soul, vitality; from the Punjabi jind meaning life or the animating spirit of a person▶Niamh#3148 in the U.S.From Old Irish 'níamh', meaning 'bright', 'lustrous', or 'radiant'.▶Truth#3208 in the U.S.From Old English treowth or triewth, meaning 'faithfulness, fidelity, truth'; the English abstr▶Kenz#10660 in the U.S.A one-beat short form of Mackenzie or Kenzie, from a Scottish surname read as 'son of the fair/▶Klair#10672 in the U.S.A K- variant spelling of Claire, from the Latin clarus, 'clear; bright; famous.' The K- gives a▶Koir#10674 in the U.S.A modern American coinage with an uncertain source, read variously as a respelling of 'choir,' ▶Lun#10718 in the U.S.A short modern name read as a clip of Luna ('moon,' from Latin) or as a standalone one-beat pic▶Yi#12078 in the U.S.A one-syllable name from Chinese, where the sound Yi maps to many characters with meanings such▶Zo#12112 in the U.S.A one-syllable short form or spare spelling of Zoe, from the Greek zoe, 'life.' Minimal and bri▶Klarke#12789 in the U.S.Klarke is a modern respelling of Clarke, an English surname from 'clerk' — a cleric or scholar.▶Klee#12791 in the U.S.Klee is a short name tied to the German surname Klee, meaning 'clover' — famously borne by the ▶Kleigh#12828 in the U.S.Kleigh is a modern American stylized spelling, most likely built to echo Kaylee or the word 'cl▶Bell#13685 in the U.S.Bell is a word name — the ringing bell — and doubles as a short form of Isabel, Belle and Annab▶Blayr#13704 in the U.S.Blayr respells Blair, a Scottish surname and place name from the Gaelic blar, 'plain; field' — ▶Brenn#13718 in the U.S.Brenn is a clipped modern form of Brenna or Brennan — Irish names from the Gaelic Braonan, ofte▶Dwan#13780 in the U.S.Dwan is a short modern name of uncertain origin, plausibly a respelling of Dawn (Old English fo▶Light#14460 in the U.S.The English word light, used directly as a name. From Old English leoht, 'brightness, radiance,▶Croix#15756 in the U.S.From the French croix, 'cross' — familiar from place-names like St. Croix. A short, single-syll▶Jynx#16409 in the U.S.A respelling of the English word jinx, which means a person or thing that brings bad luck. The ▶Ngoc#16939 in the U.S.The Vietnamese Ngoc (diacritics dropped here), 'jade; gem; precious' — a treasured, luminous im▶Tegh#17387 in the U.S.From the Punjabi tegh, 'sword' — a word of courage and honor, borne in the Sikh tradition (as i▶Wave#17491 in the U.S.The English word wave — a swell of water, a gesture, or a surge of energy — used as a modern na▶Phuong#18624 in the U.S.Phuong is a common Vietnamese girl's name. With one tone (Phuong/phoenix) it means 'phoenix,' t▶Thuy#18875 in the U.S.Thuy is a Vietnamese feminine name from thủy, meaning 'water'. It is a genuine heritage name ev▶KanzFrom Arabic kanz, 'treasure, hoard.' The word appears in classical Arabic and in the Quran with▶VaiFrom Polynesian languages (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan), vai means 'water' — a simple, elemental w▶YusrFrom the Arabic yusr, 'ease; prosperity; relief' — a Quranic term (as in 'with hardship comes e▶
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Frequently Asked
What are good one-syllable girl names?
Short, complete names that need no nickname — Mae, Brynn, Kate and Eve are among the most loved in the United States.