Southern baby names are drawn from the people, places, and natural features of the American South.

Some Southern baby names are popular not just in the South but throughout US. Along with top Southern name Abigail, other Southern baby names in the US Top 300 include Austin, Brooks, Daisy, Eliza, Emmett, Faith, Georgia,.Grace, Peyton, Presley, Savannah, and Wyatt.

Unique Southern names on our recommended list range from the biblical Abner to the literary Faulkner, from sultry Talullah to buttoned-up Thaddeus.

Southern names honor Southern-born heroes like Flannery O'Connor and Martin Luther King. Fictional Southern heroes, such as Scarlett and Scout, can inspire Southern baby names too.

Elements of nature found in the South that make good baby names include Magnolia and Bayou. Place names like Georgia and Savannah also make good Southern baby names.

And then there are those names that simply feel Southern in some way that's harder to define. We'd count Clayton, Dolly, Josiah, Maribelle, and many others in this evocative group.

Southern Names for Girls and Boys

Somewhat dated Hebrew name that appears more modern when spelled Liora. 

Leora

Perhaps best associated today with the character from The Legend of Zelda game franchise, Link also has ties to the retro crime drama, The Mod Squad, to the presidential surname Lincoln, and of course, to links on the internet. Part fantastical, part retro cool, part futuristic, Link was chosen for 200 boys in 2022, and 144 in 2023.

Link

Loch is a watery word that sounds more like a name because it's one step removed from its English form. Pronounced as "lock," it's also a short form of the variously-spelled Lachlan.

Loch

southern baby names

Southern names for baby girls and baby boys from America's South with origins, meanings, and popularity. (Page 10)

180+ Southern Names for Girls and Boys

Leora

Link

Loch