Greek Names for Girls

Ilena-style variants have all been considered more stylish than Helen for many years. 

Ilena

Lexus, an automotive newcomer, has recently entered the Top 1000 -- more because of its association, we fear, with the status symbol car than its relation to the name Alexis. If you love this name, do your child a favor and make it Alexis or at least spell it Lexis.

Lexus

Like Gwenyth and Issac, Pheobe is one of those names that many a delivery-dazed parent has accidentally spelled "wrong". It just doesn't make sense that the o comes before the e! If you really mean Pheobe, great, but if you mean Phoebe, the classic name pronounced fee-bee, it's spelled Phoebe.

Pheobe

The sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, popularized by Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones -- Zeta was her grandmother's first name.  Zeta can also refer to the letter Z, the last in the Roman alphabet, or be a spelling variation of Zita, a name with several possible origins and meanings.

Zeta

A thirteenth-century Tuscan saint, patron of homemakers, Zita is the kind of name that sounded really creative in an earlier era. 

Zita

Caris is either a variation of the Carys, a modern Welsh name meaning "love", or a spin on the Greek Charis, meaning "grace, kindness", and used to describe the Three Graces collectively. It briefly made the England and Wales Top 1000 in the late 90s.

Caris

Eirene, modernized to Irene, was the Greek goddess of peace. Eirene or Irene was also the name of an early empress and several saints.

Eirene

This unusual Greek flower and color name has gained considerable recent attention via actress Ione Skye, who is the daughter of sixties folksinger Donovan.
 Ione was one of the fifty sea nymphs — Nereids — in ancient Greek mythology.
 Parents attracted to newer I-names like Isla might want to consider the distinctive Ione. The English pronunciation usually starts with the long I, while in the Latin languages such as Italian it starts with the long E sound.

Ione

This is one case where removing a letter makes a name more complicated, not more simple.

Kathrine

Biblical name long associated with the fallen-yet-redeemed Mary Magdalen, now rising improbably into the ranks of the fashionable among parents hungry for classic yet distinctive girls' names. The Magdalene and Magdalena versions are perhaps even more stylish. Can be shortened to Maggie or Magda but the full version is prettiest. One of our new favorites!
Madeleine and its variations is a form of Magdalen. The meaning of both names sometimes varies as place name Magdala is Aramaic for "high tower," so that may be considered an alternate meaning.

Magdalen

This name of a tragic figure in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Minos, sister of Ariadne and wife of Theseus, has a mysterious and intriguing appeal, and would make a dramatic choice.

 Phaedra has been a persistent theme in literature, both ancient and modern. There have been plays by Euripedes, Racine, Unamuno, and O'Neill, novels, poetry, operas and film--as recently as the 2011 Immortals starring Freida Pinto.
 One celebrity pulled a gender switch when she named her son Phaedra Bloom Forever.

Phaedra

Tansy is a flower name rarer than Rose, livelier than Lily and a lot less teasable than Pansy. 
 Tansy is a perennial herbaceous plant of the aster family that has clusters of small bright yellow blossoms. It was cultivated by the ancients for medicinal purposes, and has found a variety of other uses over the ages, associated with health and immortality.
 There have been a couple of eponymous novels titled Tansy, and it was the name of a character on Hart of Dixie,

Tansy

X marks the spot in names these days, usually at the middles or ends of names, but here is one that puts it squarely up front.
 This extravagant name, which, like many Greek names beginning with X, is pronounced as if it were a Z in English, is derived from the Greek word for the color yellow. A Homeric epithet of Demeter, Xanthe would be a striking choice, thanks to its "golden" meaning.
 
A consistent member of the UK Top 1000 since 2005, Xanthe was chosen by the social media star Emily Clarkson in 2024.

Xanthe

Alexandra, Alexa, and Lexi are more commonly used as feminine forms of this classic name, but Alexander has been appearing in the US stats for girls since the early 20th-century. While a some of these cases are certainly been down to data-entry errors, more recent uses of the name may reflect the trend of "boys-names-for-girls", with James, Maxwell, Ryan, and Wyatt also being considered. 
 
Given to 10 girls in a recent count, it peaked back in the 80s when as many as 330 were given the name. It is however more common to see it in the middle spot for girls, likely as a direct honor for an Alexander.

Alexander

One of the coolest girls in the class of '73, still cute but not quite as youthful.

Christie

This feminine form of Damian projects a positive and lilting image, a distinct contrast to its male counterpart. 

Damiana

Introduced via Sopranos star Drea (born Andrea) de Matteo, and catching on with a wider audience. 

Drea

The name of an ancient country located in South Asia Minor, perfect for someone looking for a rare and feminine name with history.

Isaura

This version of the name of a Greek nymph, based on the ancient city of Larisa, is widely used in Russia thanks to a martyr saint venerated by the Eastern Church.

Larisa

You might think Artemisia is the feminine form of the name, but in fact the original Artemis is feminine too, the name of the Greek mythological goddess of the moon.  Artemisia Gentileschi was an esteemed Italian Baroque painter, unusual in an era when not many women were acknowledged.  Artemisia is also a genus of plants which include sagebrush and tarragon.

Artemisia

Greek girl names include several classic names that have ranked highly in the US for its entire history, most notably Catherine, Helen, and Margaret.

 in recent times, not only in the US but around the world, is Sophia, the name of the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom. Sofia, the name’s alternate spelling, also ranks in the Top 25, along with the Greek name Penelope.

include Alexandra, Arianna, Chloe, Cora, Evangeline, Iris, Lydia, Maya, Ophelia, Thea, and Zoe. 

 popular in Greece include Konstantina, Katerina, Dimitra, and Eleni.

 currently in style include Anastasia, Anthea, Calypso, Cassia, Dorothea, Eulalia, Ione, Lyra, and Phoebe. But there are so many other Greek girl names worth consideration, from Acacia to Zephyrine, that the entire list bears a closer look.

 were a big favorite of Shakespeare's, with such Greek names as Desdemona and Cressida playing a major part in some of his greatest tragedies. If Greek girl names are good enough for the Bard, surely our list of Greek names for girls is worth exploring!

Greek girl names with meanings and popularity, including top Greek names for girls and unique girls names from Greece and of Greek origin. (Page 13)

Greek Girl Names