They're creative, cheerful, and certainly charming, and 'C' names for little girls bring their own sense of panache to any baby name list. Whether you go with the hard 'c' or the 'ch' beginning, these names are often on the lists of most popular names in America.
From the extremely popular to the not-often-used, these 'C' names for baby girls are perfectly classy:
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Cadence: a love of every wordsmith, cadence is the flow of sounds within a word, sentence, poem, or song. It's also full of nicknames and different spelling options: Caedence, Kadence, Caddy, Cade, Kay, are all possibilities.
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Cady: it's not kah-dee; it's kay-tee. Just let Lindsay Lohan tell you in Mean Girls. It's also a popular nickname for Cadence, but is a spelling alternative to Katie.
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Caleigh: a different form of the more-common Callie, Caleigh takes on the popular -leigh ending that's been all the rage in recent years.
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Calliope: pronounced similarly to Peneleope, Calliope is also the famous Greek muse of poetry. Poppy, Allie, or Callie are all very popular nicknames for the long-form name. And for any Grey's Anatomy fans, it's the name of one of the main characters on Shona Rhimes' series.
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Cara: in Latin, it means "beloved," and in Gaelic, it means "friend," and has historically been used as a nickname for Caroline or Charlotte. Instead, however, it's become it's own independent name. Just take Cara Delevingne for example.
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Carrington: the famous artist Leonora Carrington rocked the name as a last name, but through her fame, she managed to turn it into its own first name. And with Carrie, Ring, and Toni as nicknames, the shortened options are endless.
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Casey: first taken from the Irish last name, Casey, it then developed into a version of Cassandra, and is now it's own name. It still remains fairly unisex, but the ladies are dominating it use, especially since the 1980s.
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Cassiopeia: the Greek name, which means "she whose words excel," is also remembered by the constellation Cassopleia. Will your little Cassi be a star? Naturally.
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Catalina: an Americanized version of the Spanish Catherina, the name means "pure" in Greek. And for any Step Brothers fans, we all know it's time for the Cataline Wine Mixer.
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Channing: though it started as another popular last name, just think of Stockard Channing or Carol Channing, Channing Tatum made the name famous for boys. But, believe it or not, the ladies have started to take it over.
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Charlaine: a feminized version of the classic male name Charles, it's also a combination of two other traditional names: Charmaine and Lorraine.
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Charlie: though it originally started as a nickname for the popular Charlotte (see below), it's also become a great first name for the ladies. Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell named one of their twin daughters Charlie Tamara Tulip.
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Charlize: made famous by Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron, the name peaked in popularity in the late 2000s, and follows the same phonetic styles as both Charlie and Charlotte.
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- Charlotte: based off the male Charles, which means "free man," it was first made popular by the British royal family. Now, it's one of the top pics for Kate Middleton and Prince William's possible future little girl.
- Cheyenne: it means "speak intelligibly" in Indian, and was made popular by the WB show Reba. Especially popular in the South, it's also the capitol of Wyoming.
- Ciara: it means "black haired one" in Irish, Ciara has peaked in popularity in recent years. It's possibly biggest in Ireland, but in America, is carried by famous R&B singer, Ciara Princess Harris.
- Cleo: taken from the Greek kleos, which means "glory and fame," it's also attributed to the Greek muse Clio, who represented history.
- Coco: Courtney Cox and David Arquette made the previously popular nickname a standalone name. If you're looking for even more celebrity inspiration, supermodel Coco Rocha should do it!
- Colby: pop singer Colby Caillat has brought the name to the mainstream for girls. In 2005, it actually peaked in popularity for boys, where Cole has become a commonly-used nickname.
- Columbia: named after the District of Columbia, the Columbia River, and even Columbia University, the name first originated as a feminized version of Christopher Columbus.
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- Cora: inspired by the Greek kore, which means "maiden," its become a nickname for the Spanish Corazon (which means "heart"). It was made popular in the U.S. after author James Fenimore Cooper used it as the name of his heroine in The Last of the Mohicans.
- Coral: it's a pinkish color, and every kid will recognize it as the name of Nemo's mom in Finding Nemo, guaranteed.
- Corinne: it's the American version of the Greek Korinna (which means "maiden"), and was also the name of a classic Greek poet. Nicknames include: Cory, Cora, and Rinny.
- Cressida: first created by Shakespeare, Cressida is actually based off the Greek Chryseis and means "golden." But in recent years, it's been in the mainstream thanks to Prince Harry's on-again-off-again love, Cressida Bonas.
- Cricket: sure, it's a chirping insect, but it originally stated as a nickname for Christine and Christina. But, Busy Philipps used the baby name for her second daughter, making everyone take notice of the rarely-used moniker.
Which 'C' name is your favorite?
Image via Petr Jilek/shutterstock; Evgeny Atamanenko/shutterstock
