Names from the Arts and Pop Culture · Nature, Place and Word Names
Musical Baby Names
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About this list
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.
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The names
Harper
English
"harp player"
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. Victoria and David Beckham's choice of Harper for their…
Aria
Italian and Hebrew
"air; song or melody; lion"
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…
Melody
Greek
"song"
A melodious choice big in the 60s, Melody is now starting to pick up tempo again. It cracked the Top 100 for the first time ever in 2024. Melody is also the name of Ariel's equally curious and more…
Celeste
Latin
"heavenly"
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…
Selah
Hebrew
"praise, pause"
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…
Harmony
Word name
"harmony"
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…
Reed
English
"red-haired"
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…
Lyra
Greek
"lyre"
Lyra is a name with ancient and celestial roots that's found new popularity thanks to its starring role in Philip Pullman's book series, His Dark Materials and its subsequent movie and TV adaptions.…
Calliope
Greek mythology
"beautiful voice"
Melodic and beautiful but with a touch of sass, Calliope is the name of the muse of epic poetry — and perhaps less glamorously, the musical instrument on the merry-go-round. Bold and creative, it…
Rock
Word name or diminutive of Rocco
"rock or rest"
Rock definitely has a macho image, if a somewhat caricatured one, ala The Rock. But with the rise of word names and also of tough guy names, Rock feels more plausible than it did a generation ago.
Alto
Latin
"high"
With its musical allusions, a harmonious possibility.
Caprice
French from Italian
"impulsive change of mind; lively music"
Caprice is a word name with an appealing sound and a light-hearted meaning that may well put parents off. While it was given to just 10 girls in a recent year, the name did have a moment back in the…
Cadence
Latin
"rhythm, beat"
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…
Octave
French form of Octavius, Latin, or English word name
"eighth; musical and poetry term"
Octave shortens Octavius to a more manageable length, keeping the "eighth" meaning. In English speaking countries, however, people could easily confuse this with the musical and poetrry term octave .…
Lyric
Greek
"of the lyre; songlike; a personal, emotive poem"
Associated with poetry, pop music, and the Greek lyre, Lyric has a light and zippy sound to it. Currently more popular for girls in the US, it was in the Top 1000 for boys between 2007 and 2020.…
Viola
Latin
"violet"
Viola has plenty of 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…
Bell
English and Scottish occupational name
"ringer of the bell"
These days, it's more likely you'd call your daughter the popular Belle or Bella.
Cadenza
Italian, musical term
Cadenza takes the popular CADENCE and gives it a more operatic flourish.
Rebop
Word name
Chosen by one musician, Todd Rundgren, for his son, but unlikely to be emulated by others.
Blues
English word name
"slow, sad, songs of lamentation; a music genre of black American folk origin"
While Ivy Blue has made the color a more popular choice for girls, Blues — as in the musical style — could feel more masculine. While some may find it a sad and gloomy choice, thanks to the phrase…
