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34 Remarkable and Intriguing Brand-New Names for Girls

May 18, 2023 laurawattenberg 5 Comments

34 Remarkable and Intriguing Brand-New Names for Girls

May 18, 2023 LauraWattenberg 5 Comments
Makkari, Medusa, Tiabeanie

Every year, American parents bring hundreds of new baby names into the world. Some are ultra-modern: anime names, video game names, brand names. Others have ancient roots but are new to the baby name family. Meet 34 names that were given to five or more American girls for the first time last year.

NAMENOTES
AloThe trendy Yoga clothing brand Alo says its name stands for “air, land, ocean.”
AmihanA Tagalog word meaning “north wind.” Queen Amihan is a character in the Filipino fantasy franchise Encantadia.
AnacaonaAnacaona was a poet and chief of the Taíno people of the Caribbean in the 15th Century.
ApricityThe word apricity means the warmth of sunlight in winter.
BardotThis new hidden O name is inspired by 1950s-’60s French “sex symbol” Brigitte Bardot.
BeautiiA contemporary riff on the word beauty, this is one of 18 new names ending in ii.
BellissimaAn Italian word meaning “beautiful.”
CastaliaIn Greek mythology, Castalia was a nymph who inhabited the Castalian spring in Delphi.
CosmoAs a boy’s name, Cosmo is Italian and retro-traditional. But “cosmo” is also an informal version of “cosmopolitan,” as in the magazine and the cocktail.
CoyoteThis nature name breaks with the usual trend of predator names going only to boys. (Though male Coyotes are still in the majority.)
HanabiHanabi is the Japanese word for fireworks. It has been used as a name for game and anime characters, most notably a Naruto ninja team leader.
HecateThe ancient Greek witch-goddess Hecate is a complex figure, portrayed in many ways both good and evil across the millennia. One Hecate is a fan favorite character in the mythological comic Lore Olympus.
IdunThe Norse goddess of rejuvenation, Idun was the keeper of the apples of eternal youth.
KatlaKatla is a volcano in Iceland, and the title of an Icelandic tv series in which long-dead people mysteriously reappear from within the volcano’s ash.
KheumaniKheumani Stevenson is a social media fashion influencer.
Makkari, SersiSuperheroes from the Marvel Eternals franchise. On film, Makkari became the MCU’s first deaf superhero; in previous comics, the character had been hearing (and male).
MedusaThe legendary gorgon Medusa had snakes for hair, and her gaze could turn men to stone.
NynaeveHealer Nynaeve al’Meara is featured in the Wheel of Time fantasy series.
OzmaPrincess Ozma was ruler of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum’s classic books. The character has appeard in the webcomic Namesake, in which characters can travel to fictional worlds.
PoshThis British term means luxurious or upper-class. Victoria Beckham was called “Posh Spice” as a member of the Spice Girls.
QetsiyahQetsiyah was an ancient and powerful witch on The Vampire Diaries.
QueenEstherThis two-part biblical name has deep African-American roots.
RanniRanni is a witch inhabiting the body of a doll in the game Elden Ring.
Rhaenyra, VisenyaIn the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen idolizes her predecessor Visenya Targaryen.
SeoulK-pop meets “soul” in this place name.
SkipperThe Skipper doll is Barbie’s younger sister.
TiabeanieIn the the satirical animated series Disenchantment, Tiabeanie Mariabeanie de la Rochambeau Grunkwitz is a rebellious, hard-drinking princess who falls in love with a mermaid.
TissaiaTissaia de Vries is a sorceress who teaches at a magic academy in The Witcher.
TomyrisTomyris was an ancient warrior queen who defeated Cyrus the Great.
VelourVelour fabric is a stretchy cousin of velvet.
VillanelleA villanelle is a rhyming poetic form. The “villain” sound of the word was put to good use as the name of a vicious assassin in Killing Eve.
YumekoYumeko Jabami is the protagonist of the manga/anime series Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler.
LauraWattenberg
LauraWattenberg

Namerology founder and "Baby Name Wizard" author Laura Wattenberg is a globally recognized name expert, known for her scientific approach to understanding name trends and culture.

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5 Comments

  • Elizabeth May 18, 2023 at 10:01 pm

    I like to think that you have all this information at your fingertips, but imagine it actually takes you hours of research and lots of wrist slapping so you don’t go down too many internet rabbit holes as you discover the pop culture inspirations for all these new names. Think about all the things you have learned!

    Wouldn’t it be fun if at least some of the little Castalias were granddaughters of the elusive Casterdels?

    • LauraWattenberg
      LauraWattenberg May 19, 2023 at 12:51 am

      Elizabeth, I do learn all sorts of things from this each year! I have to research many hundreds of names to winnow it down, and they come from everywhere. For instance, this year I learned that long male names ending in -ensky like Marvensky, Woodensky and Dawenksy are usually Haitian.

      • Elizabeth May 19, 2023 at 12:12 pm

        Wow! I don’t know Creole, but am surprised as that ending doesn’t fit with my prior knowledge of the language. I read Woodensky as wooden sky, which is interesting for different reasons.
        And is it Dawensky or Dawenksy?

  • Padenful May 25, 2023 at 4:34 am

    Cosmos are a common garden flower too, which parents might pull from when they’re looking for the next new feminine -o name.

  • ConcernedCitizen May 30, 2023 at 6:38 am

    At this point people are trying their hardest to slap uniquely special names on a more then regular child. People keep it simple and stop pissing off school teachers.

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