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Names That Mean Maiden

Nameberry
By Nameberry
Updated Thu Nov 30 2023
Names that mean maiden include a handful of the top girl names today: Ella, Cora, and Imogen.

Along with Cora, girl names meaning maiden also include many Cora variations, such as Corinne, Corinna, and Kore.

Unique names that mean maiden include the Welsh Arwen and the august Parthenia.

All Nameberry's girl names meaning maiden are collected here. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
  1. Cora

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      Cora is a lovely, old-fashioned girls' that has been recently rejuvenated by its contemporary-feeling simplicity. In fact, Cora seemed headed straight for the top of the popularity list when the coronavirus pandemic somewhat weakened its appeal.
  2. Imogen

    • Origin:

      Celtic

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      Imogen has long been fashionable in England and is gaining favor in the US among stylish parents. Pronounced the British way — the initial i is short as in Kim, as is the final E as in Ken — Imogen is as pretty and classy as it is distinctive.
  3. Arwen

    • Origin:

      Literature, Sindarin, Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "noble maiden; fair, blessed"

    • Description:

      Best known as the princess of the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Arwen is a fantasy-inspired choice that feels perfectly down to earth. In 2022, it entered the UK Top 400, making it one of the fastest rising names, more than doubling in use from the previous year.
  4. Ella

    • Origin:

      German; English

    • Meaning:

      "all, completely; fairy maiden"

    • Description:

      Ella is a sweet, simple name that owes much of its current popularity to the popularity of other names, from Emma to Bella to Emily to Ellie.
  5. Corinne

    • Origin:

      French variation of Greek Korinna

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      Corinne is one of the names that, it might surprise you to learn, ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names until 2020, when it fell off the charts after 140 years. Its most popular year was 1926, when it ranked Number 249. Corinna is another pretty ancient form of the name, technically a diminutive.
  6. Ethel

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "noble maiden"

    • Description:

      Ethel is a name we once declared as 'So Far Out They'll Probably Always Be Out,' but with the return of other names on that list and with its new starbaby cred via Lily Allen, its soft sound and admirable meaning, we're not so sure.
  7. Jezebel

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "not exalted"

    • Description:

      Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad girl reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a strong woman, the power behind the throne. Previously avoided as a baby name, Jezebel is now, along with the also previously avoided Delilah and Desiree, coming into use, helped by its relation to other 'bel' name such as Isabel and Bella.
  8. Morwenna

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      Morwenna is an ancient Cornish name now being revived in Wales, deriving from a Celtic word meaning "maiden", although the Mor- syllable means that it's often associated with the sea. It's been heard in the British series Doc Martin and Poldark. Morwenna Banks is a British actress.
  9. Dagmar

    • Origin:

      Norse

    • Meaning:

      "Day maiden"

    • Description:

      This royal Danish name has long been used across Scandinavia, Germany and Slavic countries and somewhat in the US around the turn of the last century --it was #622 in 1888. There were two notable silent screen stars named Dagmar, one with Polish, the other with Danish roots.
  10. Riva

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      A modernization of the Hebrew Rivka, which doesn't sound so modern anymore.
  11. Idgie

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Imogen or Imogene, Celtic

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      This cutesy nickname is best known as that of Imogene Threadgoode in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.
  12. Corrine

    • Origin:

      Variation of Corinne, French from Greek

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      A spelling variant of Corinne, which ranked a little behind its sister spelling until the 1990s when it fell out of favor.
  13. Corinna

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      Delicate and gentle old-fashioned name, the kind found in early English poetry. While Corinna and the original Green Korinna are technically diminutives of the ancient Kore, now the popular Cora, this name will often be mistaken for other similar-sounding though unrelated names, such as Karenna. But it's pretty and is backed by more tradition than you'd guess.
  14. Miriel

    • Origin:

      English, Irish, Scottish, Icelandic, Literature

    • Meaning:

      "bright sea or jewel-garlanded maiden"

    • Description:

      Miriel is an English and Icelandic variant of Muriel, which in turn derives from Irish Muirgel or Scottish Muireall.
  15. Galadriel

    • Origin:

      Literary name

    • Meaning:

      "maiden crowned with a radiant garland"

    • Description:

      The name of the wise and beautiful elfin princess in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novels, best known through Cate Blanchett's immortal representation in the film series. This ethereal name has a gorgeous meaning and a lot of weight.
  16. Kora

    • Origin:

      Maori, English, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      As the softer-looking Cora of Downton Abbey fame charted highly in the US and the UK, some parents were looking for a way to make this name a little less common, a bit more trendy or far more Germanic by using a "K". We prefer the C version, but Kora is still an elegant name.
  17. Immy

    • Origin:

      Celtic

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      Diminutive of Imogen, rarely given as a standalone even in the UK, where Imogen is a Top 50 pick. 2023 however saw a slight spike in usage, when Immy was chosen for twelve girls — more than double the number ever given the name in a single year before — while Immie was also chosen for nine girls.
  18. Innogen

    • Origin:

      Celtic

    • Meaning:

      "daughter, maiden"

    • Description:

      Innogen is the Shakespearean name that never was. Most sources will tell you that Shakespeare intended to use Innogen for a character in Cymbeline, but his printer mistook the twos Ns for an M, thus inventing Imogen. This may or may not be true — Imogen seems to have existed before his time, and Shakespeare may have changed the spelling on purpose — but nevertheless, it makes for a great name story.
  19. Etheline

    • Origin:

      Variation of Ethel, English

    • Meaning:

      "noble maiden"

    • Description:

      Ethel is one of those vintage names that will always will be out...or will it? A generation ago we might have said the same for now-fashionable names like Florence and Ida. Even if Ethel rises, Etheline might sound too much like a chemical compound.
  20. Meinir

    • Origin:

      Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "maiden"

    • Description:

      A pretty Welsh name with potential, especially for those who enjoy Maven, Maeve, and Mira. Occasionally used in Wales, a notable bearer is Welsh singer Meinir Gwilym.