225+ Royal Names

Mike Tyson put a twist on his own name by naming a son Miguel. It's the first name of Cervantes, the great Spanish novelist and poet who wrote Don Quixote.

This spelling of the classic name is found in France, Germany, Greece, and other cultures, and is worn by such notables as Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth Shue, Elisabeth Moss, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The name's pronunciation is usually just like the Z version, but some parents choose this because they want to discourage the Liz or Lizzie short forms and so pronounce it as if it has Lisa in the middle.

This streamlined variation of Eleanor is common in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, particularly Portugal itself, where it has ranked among the Top 3 baby girl names for over a decade.

A chic and sassy French choice, popular in France but likely to be confused with the more prosaic Alex in English-speaking countries. Although sometimes used in the US as a variant spelling of Alex, the French name Alix actually derives from a medieval French form of the name Alice or Adelaide.

A royal name in Spain that could make a lively alternative to our Philip/Phillip. Despite its status as an international version of a English name, it has ranked on the US Top 1000 almost every year since the beginning of the twentieth century, with 1904 the only exception.

Talullah or Talulla, the old Irish name of two early saints, is almost identical to the Native-American Tallulah. A modern hipster favorite, however it's spelled.

Very popular on its native turf, foreign-sounding here.

Most religious form of this name, fading from use now.

In the slipstream of Luna, this everywhere-and-nowhere international name, with its attractive liquid sound, is popular in several European countries along with Hawaii.

As heavy as a marble bust of Beethoven.

Juan, the Spanish version of John, is ubiquitous in the Spanish-speaking world, and is familiar internationally via such references as Don Juan and San Juan.

Juan, the Spanish version of John, is ubiquitous in the Spanish-speaking world, and is familiar internationally via such references as Don Juan and San Juan.

Classic French name that becomes pretentious when used for an American baby.

Eugenie enjoyed a major dusting off when Fergie and Prince Andrew chose it for their daughter, restoring a patina of royal sheen it hadn't had since the time of Napoleon III's glamorous empress--who spent much of her life in England. It was also borne by Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, after whom Prince Andrew's younger daughter was named.

The chic Euro spelling of Henry is rising along with the original form.

The Prophet Muhammad's first wife and the first convert to Islam, and a very popular name in the Muslim community. It ranks in the Top 200 girls' names in France, Italy and England & Wales (alongside variant Khadijah just below the Top 200).

In the US, this spelling is less common than mid-century favorite Jeffrey, and it has faded from popularity faster. This more British spelling is the usual form for historical figures like Geoffrey Chaucer and the Welsh historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, and as such it may feel more rooted and enduring.

Depending on your cultural references, you may think of Phantom of the Opera author Gaston Leroux, or the macho villain of Beauty and the Beast. While he's hardly a role model (unless you too use antlers in all of your decorating), his name was likely chosen because it's a classic in France. It's been used there since the middle ages, partly in honor of the Frankish bishop St Gaston. It went out of style in France mid-century, but now it's having a revival, entering the Top 300 in 2017.

An intriguingly wild alternative to Sven.

The name of the third U.S. President sounds, like Harrison and Jackson, more modern and stylish now than its root name. Used as a first name long before our surname-crazed era, Jefferson was most famously used as a first name by the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, which may justifiably make you not want to use it. Jefferson is the middle name of another Prez, William Clinton.