Girl names that end with an L-sound

Girl names that end with an L-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with an L-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Abigail
From the Hebrew name Avigayil, which is made up of elements meaning “father” and “joy.” Here’s the popularity graph for Abigail.

Hazel
From the type of tree, or from the color (which is the hue of a ripe hazelnut). Here’s the popularity graph for Hazel.

Brielle
A short form of the French name Gabrielle. Here’s the popularity graph for Brielle.

Isabelle
Based on Elizabeth, which is derived from a Hebrew name made up of elements meaning “god” and “oath.” Here’s the popularity graph for Isabelle.

Noelle
A feminine form of the French name Noel, meaning “Christmas.” Here’s the popularity graph for Noelle.

Camille
A French feminine form of the Roman name Camillus, which is of unknown meaning. Here’s the popularity graph for Camille.

Ariel
A Hebrew name meaning “lion of god.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ariel.

Rachel
A Hebrew name meaning “ewe.” Here’s the popularity graph for Rachel.

Lucille
A French feminine form of the Roman name Lucius, meaning “light.” Here’s the popularity graph for Lucille.

Kendall
From the English surname, which is derived from the place name Kendal, meaning “Kent valley” (i.e., valley by the River Kent). Here’s the popularity graph for Kendall.

Mabel
A Medieval feminine form of the late Roman name Amabilis, meaning “lovable.” Here’s the popularity graph for Mabel.

Nicole
A French feminine form of Nicholas, which is derived from an Ancient Greek name made up of elements meaning “victory” and “people.” Here’s the popularity graph for Nicole.

Annabelle
A form of the Medieval feminine name Amabel (derived from the late Roman name Amabilis, meaning “lovable”), influenced by the name Anna and French word belle (meaning “beautiful”). Here’s the popularity graph for Annabelle.

Giselle
From a Germanic word meaning “hostage.” Here’s the popularity graph for Giselle.

Michelle
A French feminine form of Michael, which is derived from a Hebrew name meaning “who is like god?” Here’s the popularity graph for Michelle.

Elle
A diminutive of names that start with El-, or a short form of names that end with -elle. Here’s the popularity graph for Elle.

Miracle
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Miracle.

Danielle
A French feminine form of Daniel, which is derived from a Hebrew name meaning “god is my judge.” Here’s the popularity graph for Danielle.

Itzel
Might be based on the Mayan name Ixchel, which may mean “rainbow lady.” Here’s the popularity graph for Itzel.

Gabrielle
A French feminine form of Gabriel, which is derived from a Hebrew name meaning “man of god.” Here’s the popularity graph for Gabrielle.

Bristol
From the English place name, which means “bridge place.” Here’s the popularity graph for Bristol.

Angel
From an Ancient Greek word meaning “messenger.” Here’s the popularity graph for Angel.

Opal
From the type of gemstone. Here’s the popularity graph for Opal.

April
From the name of the month. Here’s the popularity graph for April.

Janelle
A diminutive of Jane. Here’s the popularity graph for Janelle.

Laurel
From the type of tree. Here’s the popularity graph for Laurel.

Estelle
An Old French name meaning “star.” Here’s the popularity graph for Estelle.

Pearl
From the type of gemstone (which is actually a nacreous concretion produced by mollusks). Here’s the popularity graph for Pearl.

Joelle
A feminine form of Joel, which is derived from a Hebrew name meaning “Yahweh is god.” Here’s the popularity graph for Joelle.

Adele
From a Germanic word meaning “noble.” Here’s the popularity graph for Adele.

Marisol
A short form of the Spanish name María Soledad (from the Marian title María de la Soledad). Here’s the popularity graph for Marisol.

Sol
A Spanish and Portuguese word meaning “sun.” Here’s the popularity graph for Sol.

Royal
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Royal.

Aubrielle
An elaboration of Aubrey. Here’s the popularity graph for Aubrielle.

Chanel
From the French fashion house Chanel, named for founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Here’s the popularity graph for Chanel.

Belle
A short form of names that end with -belle. Here’s the popularity graph for Belle.

Raquel
The Spanish and Portuguese form of Rachel. Here’s the popularity graph for Raquel.

Crystal
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Crystal.

Jewel
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Jewel.

Abril
The Spanish form of the name April. Here’s the popularity graph for Abril.

Amal
An Arabic word meaning “hope.” Here’s the popularity graph for Amal.

Campbell
From the Scottish surname, which is derived from a nickname made up of elements meaning “crooked” and “mouth.” Here’s the popularity graph for Campbell.

Azul
The Spanish word for “blue.” Here’s the popularity graph for Azul.

Maple
From the type of tree. Here’s the popularity graph for Maple.

Xochitl
The Nahuatl word for “flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Xochitl.

Maribel
A short form of the Spanish name María Isabel. Here’s the popularity graph for Maribel.

Yael
From a Hebrew name meaning “ibex” (a type of wild goat). Here’s the popularity graph for Yael.

Mirabel
From the Old French word mirable, meaning “admirable.” Here’s the popularity graph for Mirabel.

Sybil
From the Ancient Greek word sibylla, which referred to a type of prophetess. Here’s the popularity graph for Sybil.

Nell
A Medieval diminutive of names that start with El- or a similar sound. Here’s the popularity graph for Nell.

Less-common girl names that end with an L-sound include Coral, Liesl, Jill, Eshaal, Marvel, Ciel, Layal, and Kestrel.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

P.S. Here are lists of girl names that end with D-, K-, M-, R-, S-, T-, V-, and Z-sounds.

Sources:

  • SSA
  • Wikipedia
  • Wiktionary
  • Behind the Name
  • Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle and Flavia Hodges. (Eds.) A Dictionary of First Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Girl names that end with a V-sound

Girl names that end with a V-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with a V-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Maeve
An Anglicized form of the Irish name Medb, meaning “intoxicating.” Here’s the popularity graph for Maeve.

Olive
From the type of tree. Here’s the popularity graph for Olive.

Genevieve
Based on the medieval name Genovefa (which belonged to a 5th-century French saint). Here’s the popularity graph for Genevieve.

Eve
From the Hebrew name Chavvah, which may mean “life.” Here’s the popularity graph for Eve.

Liv
A nickname for Olivia (or Olive). Here’s the popularity graph for Liv.

Love
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Love.

Dove
From the type of bird. Here’s the popularity graph for Dove.

Cove
From the English vocabulary word that refers to a small, sheltered bay. Here’s the popularity graph for Cove.

Neve
An Anglicized form of the Irish name Niamh, meaning “bright.” Here’s the popularity graph for Neve.

Brave
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Brave.

Aviv
A Hebrew word meaning “spring.” (It’s a component of Tel Aviv, the name of the city in Israel.) Here’s the popularity graph for Aviv.

Clove
From the type of spice. Here’s the popularity graph for Clove.

Arev
An Armenian word meaning “sun.” Here’s the popularity graph for Arev.

Reeve
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person employed as a reeve (“an official responsible for the administration of a manor”). Here’s the popularity graph for Reeve.

Believe
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Believe.

Less-common girl names that end with a V-sound include Merav, Tatev, Lyubov, Einav, Jasneev, Viv, and Wave.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

P.S. Here are lists of girl names that end with D-, K-, L-, M-, R-, S-, T-, and Z-sounds.

Sources:

  • SSA
  • Behind the Name
  • Hanks, Patrick, Simon Lenarcic and Peter McClure. (Eds.) Dictionary of American Family Names. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.


West Virginia family with 17 children (16 consecutive sons!)

The Jones family of West Virginia (in 1942)
The Jones family (in 1942)

From the late 1910s to the mid-1940s, Grover Cleveland Jones and Annie Grace Jones (née Buckland) of Peterstown, West Virginia, welcomed 17 children — 16 boys in a row, followed by a single girl.

Here are the names of all 17 siblings, from oldest to youngest:

  1. William Pinkney (born in 1917)
  2. Robert D. (b. 1919)
  3. Richard Buckland (b. 1920)
  4. Thomas L. (b. 1921)
  5. John (b. 1923)
  6. Paul Leslie (b. 1924)
  7. Woodrow Wilson (b. 1925)
  8. Tad (b. 1928)
  9. Willard Wilson (b. 1929)
  10. Pete (b. 1930)
  11. Rufus B. (b. 1932)
  12. Grover Cleveland, Jr. (b. 1935)
  13. Buck (b. 1936)
  14. Franklin D. (b. 1938)
  15. Leslie H.
  16. Giles Monroe (b. 1942)
  17. Charlotte Ann (b. 1946)

The odds of having 16 babies of the same gender in a row are approximately 1 in 65,500.

After boy #15, the family became relatively famous. They were invited to the White House, for instance, and had lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt (“because President Roosevelt was at a war meeting”).

Surprisingly, though, this wasn’t the only thing the Jones family was known for.

In 1928, dad Grover and oldest son William (whose nickname was “Punch”) were pitching horseshoes in the yard when they came across an unusual diamond-like stone. They put it in a cigar box in the tool shed, where it stayed for the next 14 years — right through the Great Depression.

At the start of World War II, Punch got a job at a nearby army ammunition plant. Working with carbon (one of the components of gunpowder), he was reminded of the diamond-like stone (as diamonds are a crystalline form of carbon) and decided to send the stone to a geology professor at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute for analysis.

The professor concluded that the stone was indeed a diamond — a 34.46-carat blue-white diamond that happened to be the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in North America.

In 1944, Punch sent the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where it was put on display near the Hope Diamond.

Sadly, Punch was killed in action in Germany the very next year.

The diamond was returned to Jones family in 1968. It was stored in a safe deposit box until 1984, when it was sold at auction for an undisclosed amount.

P.S. Thank you to Destiny for letting me know about the Jones family a few months ago! (Destiny also gave us an update on the Schwandt family of Michigan, which currently consists of 14 consecutive boys followed by a single girl.)

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Detroit Times (27 Sept. 1942)

Girl names that end with a Z-sound

Girl names that end with a Z-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with a Z-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Eloise
An English form of the French name Héloïse, which may be derived from a Germanic name made up of elements meaning “healthy, whole” and “wide.” Here’s the popularity graph for Eloise.

Rose
From the type of flower. Here’s the popularity graph for Rose.

Collins
From the surname, which has various possible derivations. Here’s the popularity graph for Collins.

Liz
A nickname for Elizabeth. Here’s the popularity graph for Liz.

Inez
An English form of the Spanish name Inés. Here’s the popularity graph for Inez.

Aries
From the zodiacical constellation (whose name means “ram” in Latin). Here’s the popularity graph for Aries.

Hayes
From the surname, which has various possible derivations. Here’s the popularity graph for Hayes.

Primrose
From the type of flower. Here’s the popularity graph for Primrose.

Praise
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Praise.

Blaise
The French form of the Roman name Blasius, meaning “lisping.” Here’s the popularity graph for Blaise.

Melrose
From the Scottish surname, which is derived from a place name made up of elements meaning “bare” and “moor.” Here’s the popularity graph for Melrose.

Rivers
A variant of the English surname River, which has several possible derivations. Here’s the popularity graph for Rivers.

Jewels
A form of the name Jules influenced by the English word jewel. Here’s the popularity graph for Jewels.

Rawlings
A variant of the English surname Rawling, which is derived from the name Raul. Here’s the popularity graph for Rawlings.

Harnaaz
A Hindi name made up of elements meaning “every” and “pride.” Here’s the popularity graph for Harnaaz.

Less-common girl names that end with a Z-sound include Mills, Rhodes, Jazz, Ceres, Mumtaz, Rollins, and Turquoise.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

P.S. Here are lists of girl names that end with D-, K-, L-, M-, R-, S-, T-, and V-sounds.

Sources: SSA, Behind the Name, Aries – Wiktionary