Greek baby names include choices from ancient mythology along with modern Greek names both familiar to English speakers and those used mainly in Greece. As mythological and classic names become more popular, Greek names are found more often in nurseries and on playgrounds around the world. 
 
Greek names in the US Top 200 for girls include Alexandra, Chloe, Katherine, Sophia, and Zoe. For boys, Greek names in the US Top 300 include Alexander, Andrew, Elias, Lucas, and Phoenix. In Greece, popular names include Constantine, Nicholas, Eleni, and Vasiliki.
 
Many Greek baby names have traveled far and wide from their origins in Greece. But there are other Greek names that are attracting new interest that are more distinctly Greek: Cassia and Ione for girls, for instance, and Homer and Linus for boys. 
 
If you’re interested in Greek names for your baby, here is our full range. 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.

Greek Names

Anastasia is the feminine form on Anastasius, a Greek name derived from the word anastasis, meaning "resurrection." It was a common name among early Christians, who often gave it to daughters born around Christmas or Easter. There are handful of saints named Anastasia, including the patron saint of weavers.
 
Anastasia is no longer a forbidding regal Russian name, but is now seen as a viable—and increasingly popular—American option, elegantly beautiful.
 
Anastasia's greatest claim to fame is via the "lost" daughter of the last czar of Russia, whose story has been told and retold in books and movies.
 
Anastasia was well used in ancient Britain and in Ireland as well as Russia.

Anastasia

In addition to being the name of a Central American culture, Maya was the legendary Greek mother of Hermes by Zeus, and means "illusion" in Sanskrit and Eastern Pantheism. It can also be spelled Maia, though both names have so many possible origins and meanings that not all of them are related. To the Romans, Maia/Maya was the incarnation of the earth mother and goddess of spring, after whom they named the month of May.
 
Maya, which has an almost mystical image, has been steadily climbing in popularity. 
 Famed author Maya Angelou was born Marguerite; Maya was coined by her brother saying "mya sister." Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke's daughter is Maya Ray; British designer Phoebe Philo also has a Maya, named for Angelou. Its best known current bearers include performer Maya Rudolph and architect Maya Lin.

Maya

Orion is a rising star, with both mythical and celestial overtones.
 The Greek mythological Orion was the legendary hunter who pursued the seven daughters of Atlas, was slain by the goddess Artemis, and then placed as one of the brightest constellations in the night sky by Zeus.
 Mark Twain had a brother named Orion, and Chris "Big" Noth picked the name for his son. It is also a Harry Potter name.
 Orion's Gaelic connection to O'Ryan/Ryan makes it familiar as well as unusual.

Orion

Lucas is the Latin derivation of the Greek name Loukas. The meaning of the name references Lucania, an ancient territory in Southern Italy. Lucas is related to the names Luke and Luca; however, Lucius and Lucian derive from a different root and have a different meaning.
 
Lucas is steadily inching up in popularity with parents who want something similar to but more substantial than Luke, and occupies a high rank on the charts.
 Lucas has long been a favorite of TV scriptwriters, from the early black-and-white days of The Rifleman (Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain) to the schoolteacher series Lucas Tanner to the more contemporary One Tree Hill, and the name appears as Lucas Beauchamp in William Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust and Light in August.
 Lucas Cranach was an important German Renaissance painter and printmaker; Lucas Samaras is an eccentric Greek-born American contemporary artist. Some will associate the name with director George Lucas.
 At the moment Lucas is enjoying a tremendous international success. It is currently very popular in Sweden and in the Netherlands.

Lucas

We all heard it on Seinfeld as the long-concealed first name of Kramer, then considered a punchline. Now some pioneering parents are embracing this expansive Greek name, which makes a creative and cool choice for a baby. Influential celebrity couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost chose it for their son, born in 2021, which will likely drive Cosmo up in popularity. In the UK, it currently ranks within the Top 1000 boy names and is trending upwards.

 In literature, Baron Cosmo Bradwardine is a character in Sir Walter Scott's novel Waverly and Cosmo Topper is the befuddled banker in Thorne Smith's humorous novel Topper. In modern times Cosmo has become the short form for Cosmopolitan – both the magazine and the cocktail. And for those wishing to honor a medic in the family, Cosmo is also the name of the Arabian-born patron saint of doctors.

Cosmo

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.'
 Athena is a distinctive name that could appeal to enlightened parents who particularly prize intelligence. It's one of the most widely used of the ancient <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/433/Goddess-Baby-Names">goddess names</a> that are finding such favor in the contemporary Western world.
 Athene is another version, and Athena's Roman counterpart is Minerva.
 In the Disney movie The Little Mermaid, Athena is the mother of Ariel.
 Tina Fey turned to her Greek heritage for both of her second daughter's names: Penelope Athena—and this has spurred interest in Athena, even though it's in middle place.

Athena

Lydia is a very early place name, that of an area of Asia Minor whose inhabitants are credited with the invention of coinage and of having strong musical talent—as well as great wealth. 
 Although mentioned in the New Testament (Lydia was the first European convert of Saint Paul), it didn't really emerge as a viable first name until the eighteenth century, promoted via the character of Lydia Languish in Sheridan's popular 1775 play The Rivals, and the youngest of the Bennett girls in Pride and Prejudice.
 Lydia continued to be a literary favorite, found in the novels of George Eliot and D. H. Lawrence. And there's also the iconic Groucho Marx ditty: "Lydia the Tattooed Lady."
 Lydia is rising in popularity and is increasingly appreciated for its history and haunting quality. Cute nickname: Liddy or Lydie.

Lydia

Luke originated as a short form of Lucas, a Latin derivation of the Greek name Loukas. The most famous bearer of the name is the first-century Greek physician—an evangelist and friend of Saint Paul, as well as the author of the third Gospel of the New Testament—who was also supposed to have been a portrait painter. He thus became the patron saint of doctors and artists.
 
Luke is a cool-yet-strong Biblical name with a relaxed cowboy feel, which has been on the rise since the advent of Luke Skywalker.
 
Later Lukes have included Luke Duke of The Dukes of Hazzard, Cool Hand Luke, half of the classic soap opera duo of Luke and Laura, contemporary actors Luke Wilson and Luke Perry, and a number of star athletes.
 Luke charts highly in the U.S., and is even more popular in Ireland.
 Other attractive forms of the name are Lucas and the French Luc. Lucius and Lucian have a different origin and meaning.

Luke

Sophie is the French form of the Greek Sophia, for which it is also commonly used as a nickname. Sophies are scattered throughout European royal history, including Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of Brabant, Princess Sophie of Sweden, and in modern times, Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, the wife of Britain's Prince Edward. German-born Catherine the Great was born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, but changed her name to Catherine upon her conversion to Russian Orthodoxy.
 
Sophie is Sophia's cuter, more irreverent near-identical twin. Which do you like better? And do you see them as virtually the same name or very different? While you definitely couldn't name sisters Sophie and Sophia, you may have both on your short list and consider them distinctly separate choices. Sophie is lively and down-to-earth, while Sophia is more sophisticated and buttoned-up. 
 
Sophie was the choice of both Eric Clapton and Luke Perry, as well as of Bette Midler for her now-grown daughter.
 Sophie Zawistowska is the Polish heroine of the iconic William Styron novel Sophie's Choice, played in the 1982 film by Meryl Streep—who would play the mother of a Sophie decades later in Mamma Mia!.

Sophie

Sophia was derived from sophia, the Greek word for wisdom. The name was first famous via St. Sophia, venerated in the Greek Orthodox church—St. Sophia was the mother of three daughters named Faith, Hope and Love. It was first used in England in the seventeenth century and was the name of George I's both mother and wife.
 
Sophia, which was the Number 1 girls' name in the US from 2011 to 2013, is among the top girl names in the Western World, with a sensuous sound and high-minded meaning. Sophia's been chosen by several celeb parents and reached the top of the charts without losing any—okay, much—of its sophisticated beauty. Sophia's a real winner. 
 
Like its sister <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a> Isabella and Olivia, Sophia has gained widespread favor by appealing to a broad range of parents: Intellectuals who like it for its meaning and those attracted to its femininity, parents who want a classic name and those looking for a name with Latin roots—the Sofia spelling is also popular. Sophie is the French version of the name, more popular than Sophia in some parts of the world. Legend Sophia Loren was originally Sofia.
 
Sophia has been an author favorite from the days of early novelists like Henry Fielding (Tom Jones) and Jane Austen (Persuasion) to the TV scriptwriters of today (The Walking Dead, Orange is the New Black).
 
Sophia's only downside is its huge popularity; it's actually even more popular than it appears, because alternate spelling Sofia falls at Number 14 on the US popularity chart. Alternative <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a> you might want to consider: Sophie, Seraphina, Susannah, Zofia.

Sophia

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.


Calliope

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.
 Despite the mixed message of her mythological past, Persephone has a light and lyrical aura, and pleasant associations with springtime and the harvest; she was also goddess of spring growth. Persephone was seen in the Matrix movies, played by Monica Bellucci, and could make an interesting replacement for the overused Stephanie.
 Persephone's meaning is in dispute: While some sources give it as the worrisome "bringing death," others indicate that's it's associated with dark blue and with speaking. Persephone was called Kore in childhood; in Roman mythology, she is Proserpina.
 Persephone is popular on Nameberry, ranking in the Top 100.

Persephone

If you're looking for a name that's light and breezy, this could be it. A name from mythology: Zephyrus/Zephyr was the Greek god of the west wind-- with many European variations, it's a name that's frequently seen in computer and video games, is a character in the children's book Silverwing, and appears in the Babar books--as a monkey.
 Robby Benson and Karla De Vito named their son Zephyr in 1992, and Zephyr Benson is now an actor himself. More recently it was chosen by tech entrepreneur Sean Parker for his baby boy.

Zephyr

Margaret is derived from the French Marguerite, which in turn came from Margarita, the Latin form of the Greek Margarites. Margarites was based on the Old Persian word margārīta, meaning "pearl." 
 
Margaret has been one of the most Christian and royal of <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">female names</a>—attached to the patron saint of women in childbirth and to various queens and princesses in England, Scandinavia, Austria, and the Netherlands, and to the first female prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher.
 
Margaret is a rich, classic name used for queens and saints. Margaret was replaced for decades by less starchy forms like Maggie and Meg, but some stylish parents are reviving Margaret in full, attracted by its strong sound and classic status, as an alternative to Elizabeth or Katherine. 
 
Margaret is also an important family name for many people, having ranked near the top through the first half of the 1900s. An extremely well used name since medieval times, Margaret is still considered the Scottish national name.
 
If you're honoring an ancestral Margaret, there are many fresh and new alternatives, from the French Marguerite—very stylish in Paris—to the diminutive Margo (or Margot). In French, Marguerite is another word for daisy, making Daisy another appropriate Margaret short form or honorific, as is Maisie. Other offspring of Margaret include Madge, Marjorie/Margery, Megan, Molly, Polly, Peggy, Greta, and Rita.

Margaret

Phoenix rolls a lot of cool trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the oh-so-hip letter x, and as the mythic bird that rose from the ashes, it's a symbol of immortality. It's also got celebrity chops, via the acting family that includes Joaquin and the late River, and as the child of an ex-Spice Girl.

Phoenix

Alexandra is the feminine form of Alexander, which ultimately derived from the Greek components alexein, meaning "to defend," and anēr, "man." In Greek mythology, Alexandra was an epithet of the goddess Hera. International variations include Alessandra and Alejandra.
 
Alexandra fell out of the Top 100 for the first time since 1983 in 2015 but is still a popular choice. Strong, tasteful, and elegant, Alexandra maintains a chic aura despite its popularity, has a solid historic pedigree, and offers an array of softer nicknames, from the boyish Alex to the bouncy Lexi to the more dramatic Alexa and Xandra.
 
Alexandra was made fashionable in the English-speaking world by the Danish princess who married England's King Edward VII in 1863, and there have been other royal bearers in both Britain and Russia. Alexandra is the present queen's first middle name. Widely used in Russia, Alexandras can be found in the works of Dostoevsky and Chekhov.

Alexandra

With mythological names rising, the handsome son of Zeus and god of medicine, music, and poetry among many other things might offer an interesting, if high-pressure, option. But if Romeo and Venus are now deemed baby-appropriate, why not Apollo? Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's name—Kingston—has.
 Other cool associations include NASA's Apollo program, from 1961-72, that succeeded in putting the first humans on the moon when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their lunar module and walked on the moon's surface. There's also the historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem, on whose stage the careers of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Artetha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, the Jackson 5, and countless others were launched.

Apollo

Amara is the Italian word for bitter, from the same root as Mary and Miriam. It has separate roots in West Africa as a name that means "grace" in the Igbo language. These two meanings are the best-known, but Amara is also a Sanskrit name meaning "immortal", an Arabic word meaning "tribe" and a Mongolian name meaning "peaceful".
 
Strong, attractive, and stylish, Amara is a true multicultural choice enjoying some popularity in both the US and the UK. With so much going for it, this once-unusual choice could well be the Amanda or even the Mary of tomorrow.

Amara

Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at Wimbleton. 
 Althea appears in Greek mythology as the mother of the hero Meleager and was revived by the seventeenth century poet Richard Lovelace as a poetic pseudonym for his beloved.
 These days, parents would also appreciate the short form Thea.

Althea

Andrew is a variant of the Greek name Andreas, ultimately derived from the element aner, meaning “man.” In the New Testament, Andrew was one of the twelve apostles and the first disciple to be called by Jesus. Although the origins of the name are Greek, Andrew is the patron saint of both Scotland and Russia, as well as Greece. It has associations with two of America's most famous artists, Wyeth and Warhol.
 
Andrew is among the most appealing classic boys' names, with more character and charm than James or John. And there's a host of Andrew-inspired nicknames: Andy makes it friendlier, while Drew adds to its sophistication.
 
Though it has slipped a bit—dropping out of the Top 20 in 2013—Andrew was firmly in the Top 10 for more than two recent decades. And in one Harvard research study by sociologist Stanley Liberson, it was the leading boys' name chosen by highly educated parents.
 
Andrew also has several appealing foreign manifestations that are sometimes used in the U.S., including Andre (French), Andrei (Russian), Andres (Spanish), Andrea (Italian), Andreas (German, Dutch and Greek) and Anders (Norwegian and Swedish).

Andrew

Greek names

Names of Greek origin for baby girls and boys with meaning and popularity