Badass Girl Names
Updated Thu Mar 07 2024
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Badass girl names are saucy choices with attitude and sass. It’s an ultra-hot category for baby girls, with names such as Nova, Lilith, and Scarlett ranking higher than ever before on the US popularity charts.
Along with Nova, other badass girl names in the US Top 1000 include Elsa, Harley, Jolene, Milan, and Ramona. Unique badass girl names such as Billie, Hollis, and Jupiter are on the rise.
Badass names for girls include those connected to badass figures, both real, historical and fictional, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Cleopatra, Wednesday Addams, and Khaleesi.
Many badass girl names are mythological names, including Pandora, Artemis, and Venus.
Explore our collection of badass girl names below, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
RELATED:
- Luna
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"moon"Description:
The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
- Ruby
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"deep red precious stone"Description:
Ruby, vibrant red, sassy and sultry, outshines other revived vintage gem names, with its sparkling resume of cultural references. Ruby is proof of the 100 Year Rule, trending again for the first time since its last heyday in the 1920s.
- Matilda
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"battle-mighty"Description:
Matilda is a sweet vintage name that has been gently climbing the popularity list for the past 15 years, after a half-century slumber. The spunky children's book heroine Matilda is one factor in its rise, along with others of its class like Eloise and Caspian.
- Lyra
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"lyre"Description:
Lyra is a name with ancient and celestial roots that's finding new popularity thanks to its starring role in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, seen in the movie The Golden Compass. Simple yet unique, Lyra hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual.
- Lilith
Origin:
Assyrian, SumerianMeaning:
"ghost, night monster"Description:
Lilith is derived from the Akkadian word lilitu meaning "of the night." In Jewish folklore she is portrayed as Adam's rejected first wife, who was turned into a night demon for refusing to obey him. Lilith is unrelated to most other Lil- names, with the exception of Lilita, which is the Latvian variation.
- Nova
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"new"Description:
Nova has the feel of both newness, from its meaning, and great energy as an astronomical term for a star that increases suddenly in brightness before fading.
- Calliope
Origin:
Greek mythology nameMeaning:
"beautiful voice"Description:
Calliope is the name of the muse of epic poetry -- and also the musical instrument on the merry-go-round. Bold and creative, it would not be the easiest name for a girl lacking such qualities. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. While Americans usually pronounce this name with a long I sound and the emphasis on the second syllables, Greeks pronounce it with the emphasis on the third syllable -- ka-lee-OH-pee.
- Cleo
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"glory"Description:
Cleo, one of the few girls' names to boast the cool-yet-lively o ending, is of course short for Cleopatra, the name of one of the most powerful women in history.
- Tallulah
Origin:
Choctaw, IrishMeaning:
"leaping water, lady of abundance"Description:
This hauntingly euphonious Choctaw name has re-entered the public domain, as memories of the outrageous actress Tallulah Bankhead have faded. For years, Tallulah was a name associated only with Bankhead, named for her paternal grandmother who was named after the Georgia town of Tallulah Falls.
- Quinn
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"descendent of Conn"Description:
Quinn is the Anglicized version of the Irish patronymic surname Ó Cuinn, meaning "descendent of Conn." Conn has two possible derivations—the Old Irish cond, meaning "intellect," or cenn, meaning "chief." One of the most notable Quinn clans was from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.
- Persephone
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"bringer of destruction"Description:
Persephone is the esoteric name of the Greek mythological daughter of Zeus by Demeter, the queen of the harvest. After she was kidnapped by Hades to be Queen of the Underworld, it was decreed by Zeus that she would spend six months of the year with her mother, allowing crops to grow, and six in mourning, thus accounting for the seasons.
- Delilah
Origin:
Hebrew or ArabicMeaning:
"delicate"Description:
Melodic and lively, Delilah has cut itself (mostly) free from its treacherous past to become a contemporary favorite.
- Nyx
Origin:
Greek mythology nameMeaning:
"night"Description:
In Greek mythology, Nyx was a powerful goddess and the embodiment of the night, but when spoken, its negative meaning can't be ignored.
- Juno
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"queen of the heavens"Description:
Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted — well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno, this lively but strong o-ending Roman goddess name has become more and more prominent as a potential baby name — Coldplay's Will Champion chose Juno for one of his twins (whose brother is the kingly Rex).
- Lavinia
Origin:
Latin, from ancient place name LaviniumDescription:
Lavinia is a charmingly prim and proper Victorian-sounding name which actually dates back to classical mythology, where it was the name of the wife of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was considered the mother of the Roman people.
- Calypso
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"she who hides"Description:
This hyper-rhythmic name has two evocative references. In Greek mythology, she was an island nymph, a daughter of Atlas, who delayed Odysseus from returning home. It is also a genre of West Indian music, originating in Trinidad and Tobago and largely popularized in the States by Harry Belafonte.
- Ariadne
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"most holy"Description:
This name of the Cretan goddess of fertility is most popular now as the more melodic Ariana, but Ariadne has possibilities of its own. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2014. The renewed interest in the name falls in line with the revival of other mythological names like Apollo and Athena. The trendy nickname Ari doesn't hurt either.
- Beatrix
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"she who brings happiness; blessed"Description:
Beatrix has a solid history of its own apart from Beatrice, with that final x adding a playful, animated note to the name's imposing history.
- Athena
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"from Athens"Description:
The given name Athena was derived from the city name Athens, which is of uncertain origins. In Greek mythology, Athena is the name of the daughter of Zeus who was the goddess of wisdom, warfare, handicrafts, mathematics, and courage, among others. She was the great patroness-goddess of the city of Athens. In the Odyssey, Homer describes her as 'sparkling-eyed Athena.'
- Scarlett
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"scarlet, red"Description:
Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most popular girls' names starting with S, right after longtime favorites Sophia and Sofia.