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Musical Baby Names

Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Mon Sep 25 2023
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.

RELATED:

Musician Baby Names

Artistic Baby Names

  1. Lyra

    • 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. Celeste

    • 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.
  3. Aria

    • 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. Harper

    • 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. Calliope

    • 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 debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016, and entered the Top 500 in 2023. Similar in rhythm and sound to Penelope with usable nicknames Callie, Clio, and Lola, it is no wonder it's on the rise.
  6. Reed

    • 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.
  7. Selah

    • 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.
  8. Viola

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "violet"

    • Description:

      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 Night. With a touch of international flair, it also avoids the violent/Violet some parents have.
  9. Piper

    • Origin:

      English occupational name

    • Meaning:

      "one who plays the pipes or flute"

    • Description:

      Piper's rising popularity for girls makes it an unlikely masculine choice.
  10. Calypso

    • 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.
  11. Seraphine

    • 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. Lark

    • 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.
  13. Melody

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "song"

    • Description:

      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 tomboyish daughter in The Little Mermaid sequel. Read more about Melody and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.
  14. Banjo

    • 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.
  15. Jazz

    • 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.
  16. Cadence

    • 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.
  17. Zimri

    • 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.
  18. Harmony

    • 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.
  19. Caprice

    • Origin:

      French from Italian

    • Meaning:

      "impulsive change of mind"

    • Description:

      Caprice is a word name with an appealing sound and a light-hearted meaning. Caprice is a rare name, used for only ten baby girls in the US in 2023.
  20. Lyric

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "of the lyre; songlike; a personal, emotive poem"

    • Description:

      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. Currently given to around 170 boys each year, for every baby boy called Lyric, there are three girls given the name.