Short Baby Names: One and Two Syllable Names

Why choose a short name?

Short baby names pack character into just one or two syllables. They are easy to say, spell, and remember, and they pair well with longer surnames. Short names also have a practical advantage: they cannot be shortened further, so your child will always be called exactly what you chose.

Here are over 100 short names for all genders, grouped by style.

One-syllable names for girls

Bea, Belle, Blair, Bree, Claire, Dawn, Elle, Eve, Faith, Faye, Fleur, Gail, Grace, Hope, Jade, Jane, Joy, June, Kate, Leigh, Mae, Maeve, Nell, Niamh, Paige, Quinn, Rain, Rae, Ruth, Skye, Tess, Wren, Zara

One-syllable names for boys

Ash, Blake, Bram, Bryn, Cade, Cole, Cruz, Dean, Drew, Finn, Flynn, Grant, Hale, Heath, Hugh, Jace, Jude, Kai, Kit, Knox, Lance, Laith, Luke, Max, Ned, Nile, Reid, Rex, Rhys, Ross, Saif, Seth, Troy, Wade, Zain

One-syllable gender-neutral names

Bay, Bo, Brook, Cass, Dale, Drew, Fern, Glen, Grey, Jade, Jem, Jo, Kai, Lake, Lark, Lee, Lou, Mars, Neve, Noor, Quinn, Rain, Reed, Sage, Shay, Sol, Storm, Tate, True, Vale, Wren, Zion

Two-syllable names for girls

Ada, Alma, Alice, Ayla, Bonnie, Chloe, Clara, Cora, Daphne, Edie, Elsie, Emma, Esme, Freya, Hattie, Ida, Isla, Ivy, Lena, Lila, Lottie, Lucy, Lyra, Mabel, Maisie, Mila, Nora, Olive, Orla, Phoebe, Ruby, Sadie, Sophie, Stella, Thea, Tilly, Vera, Zara

Two-syllable names for boys

Arlo, Atlas, Bodhi, Caleb, Dexter, Dylan, Eli, Ethan, Felix, Gideon, Hugo, Isaac, Jasper, Jesse, Leo, Luca, Magnus, Milo, Noah, Oscar, Otis, Owen, Reuben, Roman, Rupert, Sonny, Theo, Tobias, Wyatt, Zayd

Two-syllable gender-neutral names

Aiden, Alex, Arden, Aspen, Avery, Casey, Charlie, Darcy, Eden, Ellis, Ember, Emery, Harley, Haven, Jordan, Lennox, Logan, Marley, Morgan, Parker, Peyton, Remy, Riley, River, Robin, Rowan, Sawyer, Taylor, Winter

How to choose the right short name

• Say it with your surname. Short first names can sound clipped with very short surnames, so check the flow
• Consider the initials, especially important with short names where the initials stand out more
• Short names work particularly well as middle names too, so you can pair a longer first name with a short middle name, or vice versa
• Check that the name does not rhyme with your surname in an awkward way
• Short names tend to age well, sounding appropriate from childhood through adulthood

Sources

• Office for National Statistics (ONS). Baby names in England and Wales. ons.gov.uk
• Nameberry. Short baby names. nameberry.com