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Musical Baby Names

Musical Baby Names

Musical baby names can be soothing, lyrical, rhythmic, rousing, and melodious. There are musical names to suit everyone’s taste and genre preference, from classical music and opera to blues and rock-and-roll.

Musical names are a branch of creative baby names that include musical terms such as Lyric and Tempo, as well as musical occupational names like Harper and Strummer.

Along with Harper and Lyric, other musical baby names in the US Top 1000 include Aria, Cadence, Celeste, Harmony, Piper, and Reed. Musical instruments, though less popular as names than musical terms, make lovely middle names, including Banjo, Cello, Marimba, and Piano.

Here, some musical names you might want to consider, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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Musician Baby Names

Artistic Baby Names

  1. LyraHeart
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  2. CalliopeHeart
    • Origin:

      Greek mythology name
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  3. AriaHeart
    • Origin:

      Italian and Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "air; song or melody; lion"
    • Description:

      Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones. There were about 6400 baby girls named Aria in the US last year alog with 2400 named Arya, which counted together places the name in the Top 10.
  4. HarperHeart
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "harp player"
    • Description:

      You might think of Harper as the hottest name of the last decade, jumping from obscurity to the Top 10, where it remained until last year.
  5. CelesteHeart
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "heavenly"
    • Description:

      Celeste is a softly pretty and somewhat quaint name with heavenly overtones, which kids might associate with Queen Celeste of Babar's elephant kingdom. She's a light and lovely choice that's finally getting noticed.
  6. SelahHeart
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "praise, pause"
    • Description:

      The name is derived from the term commonly used in the Book of Psalms, which has a many Hebrew scholars in confusion over its meaning. Given its context in the Bible, Selah is likely to mean "to praise" or "pause and reflect upon what has just been said." Lauryn Hill used this name for her daughter. It is the last word in Anita Diamant's novel The Red Tent.
  7. CalypsoHeart
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  8. ViolaHeart
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "violet"
    • Description:

      Viola has several positive elements going for it: the rhythm of the musical instrument, the association with the flower, the trending 'Vi' beginning and its leading role in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
  9. LarkHeart
    • Origin:

      English bird name
    • Description:

      Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.
  10. ReedHeart
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "red-haired"
    • Description:

      A slim, elegant, silvery surname, Reed could be a banker or a sculptor, and therein lies the appeal of this simple yet distinctive name. The versatile Reed can be seen as a grass-like nature name and a musical name.
  11. SeraphineHeart
    • Origin:

      French from Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "burning ones"
    • Description:

      Seraphine is the Gallic version of the angelic name Seraphina. But while Seraphina has been rising rapidly since Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck chose it for their second daughter, Seraphine has been largely ignored, though we believe the French vowel-sound ending will soon be more stylish than the a-endings that have predominated in girls' names for years.
  12. MelodyHeart
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "song"
    • Description:

      A melodious choice big in the sixties, Melody is now starting to pick up tempo again. It cracked the Top 150 for the first time ever in 2015. Melody is also the name of Ariel's equally curious and more tom-boyish daughter in The Little Mermaid sequel. Read more about Melody and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.
  13. ZimriHeart
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "my music, my praise"
    • Description:

      This unusual and spunky biblical name was one of the Kings of Israel as well as one of Judah's grandsons and has a wonderful meaning. We'd like to see Zimri being used more, and we think it has potential — "traveling lite" names, or 2 syllable names ending in -i, such as Zuri, Ezri, and Rafi are red-hot right now.
  14. CadenceHeart
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "rhythm, beat"
    • Description:

      The musical word name Cadence, seemed to come out of nowhere to zoom up the charts; it rose over 700 spots between 2002 and 2004, and showed up in the Top 200 in 2007. It's gone down in the popular names list since then, though. Some might see it as a feminine relative of the popular Caden. Kadence and Kaydence are also rising.
  15. HarmonyHeart
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "harmony"
    • Description:

      If Melody and Lyric are on your style sheet, the peaceful Harmony, popularized by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, should be too. Girls names starting with the "Har" sound like Harper, Harley, and Harlow have been trending in recent years. This musical choice fits right in, and it is no wonder that Harmony has been in the Top 200 since 2014.
  16. BanjoHeart
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      When actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention. But a noted Australian poet (Griffiths is an Aussie) is known by this name.
  17. LyricHeart
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "lyre"
    • Description:

      A musical name that's more popular for girls, but has been hovering just inside the Top 1000 for boys since 2007.
  18. EllingtonHeart
    • Origin:

      English place-name and surname
    • Meaning:

      "Ellis's town"
    • Description:

      Ellington is a swinging musical name, evoking the jazzy and elegant persona of the Duke (born Edward Kennedy Ellington). While that reference may seem to make Ellington a male name, it is also occasionally used for girls.
  19. MadrigalHeart
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "song for unaccompanied voices"
    • Description:

      Madrigal might be a pretty and highly distinctive choice for a child of a musical family--or for the parent looking for a less conventional path to the nickname Maddie than Madeline or Madison . Definitely more striking than Cadence or even the increasingly popular Aria.
  20. JazzHeart
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Jazz as a full name is used slightly more often for boys than girls and has a distinctive, well, jazzy feel. Jazz is also occasionally used as a nickname for Jasper, much more often for Jasmine or Jazlyn. Could work as a middle name.