Latin Names for Girls

Familiar in the 19th- and early 20th-centuries, Alta is little heard today, but it does have that four letter, A-a formula of Alma, Alba, Anna, Ayla, and Anya. Derived from the Latin altus, it has an elevated meaning that might boost a child's confidence or reflect how much you value them. 
 
Occasionally used as a short form of Alberta, the name has been notably borne by poet Alta Gerrey and First Lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird " Johnson. It is also a place name in Norway, Canada and the US.
 
A few things to bear in mind, which could explain why Alta is currently rare: it may remind English speakers of the words "alter" or "altar", and in turn, alternatives and alter-egos, along with religious rituals, offerings, and sacrifices. Additionally, in Spanish, alta is the feminine word for "tall", which could make it harder to wear.

Alta

A combination name that might be dismissed as a clown and cow name. The sounds are nevertheless pretty and the meaning is good - though spellings Claribel or Clarabel might help distance it from the cow association. 

Clarabelle

Seneca was both a Roman philosopher-statesman and is a Native American Iroquois tribe. Occasionally used for both girls and boys, Seneca is now a Hunger Games character.

Seneca

Vital and vivacious, Vita is stirring back to life along with many of her V-themed sisters -- Vivian, Vivica -- and is becoming a new celebrity baby favorite. 

Vita Sackville-West was a British author and garden designer in the early 20th century, most famous as the friend and lover of Virginia Woolf.

Vita

J.K. Rowling is a modern master of naming who brought a whole constellation of ancient and celestial names to modern parents. Bellatrix, of one of the stars of Orion, combines fashionable names Bella and Beatrix to make a convivial and original name. The down side: the Harry Potter character Bellatrix, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is a character so evil she's called a Death Eater, killing one beloved character and being murdered by another. And the name Bellatrix is so closely associated with that character that it might be challenging to sidestep the association.

Bellatrix

This simplified spelling of Claire does not improve on the more popular version.

Clair

A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing, by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence and Neil Gaiman. In real life, her two most well known representatives are writer Ursula Le Guin and actress Ursula Andress. In literature, there is also Ursula Iguaran, a key, long-lived character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's major work, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
 Caveat: Today's kids might associate this name with the campy, corpulent octopus in Disney's The Little Mermaid.
 Ursula ranked in the Top 1000 through 1983. Time for a comeback?

Ursula

Eliane is a melodic name with the very fashionable El- beginning. Lovely and lilting as it is, be aware that there are many El- variations around these days, and little girls called Ellie as a result.


Eliane

Men may be from Mars as the saying goes, and the name may derive from the Latin maris meaning male, but soul singer Erykah Badu and Workaholics star Blake Anderson have given it potential as a unisex name after they both used it for their daughters. 
 
Ticking the boxes as a mythological name and as a space-related choice, Mars first appeared in the US stats for girls in 2016. Chosen for 36 girls in 2023, it has been quietly gaining more attention, though it does remain 4 times more popular for boys at last count.
 
Connected to the month of March and to one of the brightest objects in the sky - The Red Planet - Mars could fit in with the likes of Mae and Winter, Luna and Nova, Juno and Freya, Sloane and Quinn.

Mars

Derived from the Ancient Roman family name, Augustinus, itself a form of Augustus, this elaborate form is less familiar than August and Augusta, but it has the flair of Georgiana and Evangelina. Briefly popular in the US, France and Czechia a century ago, Augustina blends clunky and frilliness. 

Augustina

Hilary (also spelled with two 'l's) is a hot potato of a name, so closely identified with Sen. Clinton that it's hard for most parents to see it as a baby name. A pity, really, as it's got so much going for it: the popular, rhythmic three-syllable structure, the fact that it's strong but light, proper but jaunty, with an irresistible meaning -- having the same root as hilarious. 

Hilary

Lucienne is a soft and ultra-sophisticated French-accented option in the Lucy family, one that could provide a fresh alternative to such fatigued Gallic choices as Danielle and Michelle.
 So if you're looking for a more elegant take on Lucy, this could be it. The original male Lucian is a Latin name while Lucien is the French form and Lucienne is a female spin on that.

Lucienne

This golden Saint name was familiar in Spain during the first half of the 20th century, however, it fell out of favor in the 60s. Usually written as Áurea, the similar sounding Aurora is often preferred today.

Aurea

Lunaria is a magical, moon-related option that also doubles up as a floral name. It only entered the US stats in 2020 when it was chosen for six girls, while in a more recent year, that number had risen to 23. As such, Lunaria is a little used option that shares the sounds of popular choices like Luna and Aria.
 
Meaning "moon-like" in Latin, Lunaria is the name of a genus of flowering plants in the fern family, notable for their seed pods which resemble little silver moons. The term has occasionally been used in science fiction to refer to someone who inhabits the moon and to maritime navigators who use the moon to find their way. 
 
You could even see it as a smoosh name, if you wish, blending Luna and Aria, giving it the meanings "moon air", "moon song", or "moon lion".

Lunaria

A lacy, lucky name very popular in the Hispanic community a decade ago, less so now. 

Felicia

An elaborate and pretty alternative to Lucia, Lucy, and Cecilia, Lucilia is a variation of the Ancient Roman Lucilius, itself adapted from Lucius. As such, it has same glowing meaning of "light".
 
Familiar in Brazil and Portugal (where it can be spelled as Lucília), the name is also (perhaps less favorably?) associated with a genus of blow flies, more commonly known as green bottle flies. Make of that what you will.

Lucilia

A 3rd century saint's name sometimes used in Catholic communities, and in Western European countries like Portugal and Italy. 

Perpetua

Risa

Viva la baby with this life-affirming name, one of the appealing group of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/607/girls-names-that-mean-life">girl names that mean life</a>. Other related life-giving names on the rise: cousins Vida and Vita, and Vivian, Aviva, and even Zoe.
 Viva (born Janet Susan) was one of Andy Warhol's single-named superstars.

Viva

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy. December gets its name from the number ten as the old Roman calendar only had ten months, and as now, December was the last.


December

Latin names for girls derive, ultimately, from ancient Rome, which stretched from Spain to Iraq at its height. Latin girls’ names, for that reason, reflect a multitude of cultures and languages. Current favorites in the US include Olivia and Ava.

Along with Olivia and Ava, other

 include Camila, Clara, Eliana, Lillian, Lucy, Ruby, Stella, and Valentina.

Baby girl names popular in Rome include Viola — the

 in Italy — Cecilia, Gloria, and Celeste.

Some Latin names for girls have been altered somewhat from their original form by the passage of time. But other Latin girls’ names can be found carved into rocks from thousands of years ago. 

Popular modern girls’ names with Latin roots

 include Beatrice, Cecilia, Felicity, Hillary, Julia, Laura, Patricia, Violet, and Vivian, but there are dozens of other Latin girls’ names worth exploring for your baby girl.

Below, our full menu of Latin names for girls, ordered by popularity on Nameberry.

Latin names for baby girls, including top girl names and unique girl names of Latin origin, with meanings and popularity. (Page 11)