From girl, a cry of surprise (3)
I believe the answer is:
amy
'from girl' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'a cry of surprise' is the wordplay.
'cry of surprise' becomes 'my' (expression of surprise).
'a'+'my'='AMY'
(Other definitions for amy that I've seen before include "-- Johnson, female flyer" , "so-called little woman" , "- Johnson, Eng. aviator" , "Youngest of Little Women" , "- Johnson, Eng. aviatrix" .)