Cool Baby Names That Start with L

Cool Baby Names That Start with L

Baby names that start with L are intrinsically lovely, luscious, lilting — and among the most stylish of our era. Liam, the top L name for boys, is also the most popular name for boys in the US overall. The most common L name for girls is Luna, the name of the Roman goddess of the moon.

Along with Luna, other cool girl names that start with L in the US Top 400 include Lucy, Leilani, Lucia, Lila, and Lyric. In addition to Liam, other cool boy names that start with L in the US Top 400 include Luke, Levi, Lincoln, Leo, and Luca. Among the most unique of the cool L names are Lettice, Laredo, and Leatrice, which were each given to fewer than 5 babies in the most recent year on record. Internationally popular baby names qualify as cool L names. Among them, Leonie in France, Lior in Israel, and Leonor in Portugal. Here, our collection of the most intriguing L-starting cool baby names, organized by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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Cool Girl Names

Baby Names A-Z

  1. Luna
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "moon"
    • Description:

      The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
  2. Liam
    • Origin:

      Irish short form of William
    • Meaning:

      "resolute protection"
    • Description:

      Liam is the top boys' name in the US, holding the Number 1 spot for the past seven years and also ranking as one of the most popular boys' names around the western world.
  3. Lucy
    • Origin:

      English variation of Lucia, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "light"
    • Description:

      A versatile classic, Lucy is both sweet and solid, a saint's name, and the heroine of several great novels. First fashionable in England and Wales, Lucy is now a popular choice in the US, The Netherlands, and New Zealand.
  4. Leo
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "lion"
    • Description:

      Leo is a strong-yet-friendly name that was common among the Romans, used for thirteen popes, and is now at its highest point ever in the US thanks in part to Leonardo "Leo" DiCaprio.
  5. Lucas
    • Origin:

      Latin form of Luke
    • Meaning:

      "man from Lucania"
    • Description:

      Lucas is a Top 10 boys' name with a slightly-less-popular almost-identical twin brother, Luke. Like Elijah and Elias, Lucas and Luke come from the same root and have the same meaning and so feel even more popular than they are.
  6. Lilith
    • Origin:

      Assyrian, Sumerian
    • Meaning:

      "ghost, night monster"
    • Description:

      Lilith is derived from the Akkadian word lilitu meaning "of the night." In Jewish folklore she is portrayed as Adam's rejected first wife, who was turned into a night demon for refusing to obey him. Lilith is unrelated to most other Lil- names, with the exception of Lilita, which is the Latvian variation.
  7. Levi
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "joined, attached"
    • Description:

      Levi, lighter and more energetic than most biblical names, with its up vowel ending, combines Old Testament gravitas with the casual flair associated with Levi Strauss jeans.
  8. Lysander
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "liberator"
    • Description:

      Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as one of the twin sons (the other being Lorcan) of Luna Lovegood, whom we learn about in the Harry Potter epilogue.
  9. 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.
  10. Luca
    • Origin:

      Italian variation of Luke and Lucas
    • Meaning:

      "man from Lucania"
    • Description:

      The related Lucas and Luke are both hugely popular boy names in the US and internationally, and now Luca has joined them on boys' popularity lists around the world.
  11. Lydia
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "woman from Lydia"
    • Description:

      Lydia is one of the first place names, after an area of Asia Minor whose inhabitants are credited with strong musical talent great wealth. Always among the US Top 1000 girl names, Lydia is a quietly fashionable classic.
  12. Lachlan
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "from the fjord-land"
    • Description:

      Lachlan is as Scottish as haggis and tartan plaid kilts—a favorite used throughout England, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand—and just beginning to be noticed in the US: it reached the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013. An ancient name, Lachlan was originally used to describe the Viking invaders of Scotland, those from the land of the lochs.
  13. Louis
    • Origin:

      German and French
    • Meaning:

      "renowned warrior"
    • Description:

      Kate and William shocked the world when they announced that they'd named their third child Louis -- Prince Louis Arthur Charles, to be more precise. But we've been predicting a comeback for this classic name for a long time.
  14. Luke
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "man from Lucania"
    • Description:

      Luke is a cool-yet-strong Biblical name with a relaxed cowboy feel, which has been on the rise since the advent of Luke Skywalker.
  15. Lila
    • Origin:

      Arabic, Sanskrit
    • Meaning:

      "night; play"
    • Description:

      Lila is one of the girl names with a double l sound — Lila, Lola, Layla, Leila, Lily et al — that have caught on in a major way., Delicate yet dynamic, Lila has a slightly international flair.
  16. Lucian
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "light"
    • Description:

      Lucian is a sleeker, more sophisticated version of Lucius that is climbing in tandem with other Lu-starting names.
  17. Lavinia
    • Origin:

      Latin, from ancient place name Lavinium
    • Description:

      Lavinia is a charmingly prim and proper Victorian-sounding name which actually dates back to classical mythology, where it was the name of the wife of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was considered the mother of the Roman people.
  18. Leon
    • Origin:

      Greek variation of Leo
    • Meaning:

      "lion"
    • Description:

      Currently overshadowed by the bright and lively Leo, Leon feels a slightly more serious, more quietly confident than its short and trending counterpart.
  19. Louise
    • Origin:

      French and English, feminine variation of Louis
    • Meaning:

      "renowned warrior"
    • Description:

      Louise has for several decades now been seen as competent, studious, and efficient—desirable if not dramatic qualities. But now along with a raft of other L names, as well as cousin Eloise, Louise is up for reappreciation—sleek and chic, stylish in Paris, and starting to become so in the US as well. Louisa is perhaps more in tune with the times, but Louise has more edge. Louise has been on the rise lately, and reentered the US Top 1000 for the first time in a quarter century in 2016.
  20. Lucia
    • Origin:

      Italian, feminine variation of Lucius, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "light"
    • Description:

      Lucia is a lush, rich Latinate equivalent of Lucy, popular in Spain and throughout Latin America and also a cross-cultural favorite. You might be surprised to know that Lucia has ALWAYS ranked among the Top 1000 girl names in the US, though she's really taken off only since the turn of this century.