735 Baby Names That Start With Y (With Meanings and Popularity)

735 Baby Names That Start With Y (With Meanings and Popularity)

Baby names that start with Y are beautiful but uncommon, with only ten ranking in the US Top 1000. The most common Y name for girls is Yara, a multicultural names with origins in Arabic, Portuguese, and Persian, among others. For boys, the Arabic name Yusuf tops the list — this and spelling variation Yousef rank considerably higher in England than in the US.

Along with Yara, other girl names beginning with Y in the US Top 1000 include Yaretzi, Yareli, and Yamileth. In addition to Yusuf, other boy names starting with Y in the US Top 1000 include Yosef, Yahya, Yehuda, Yahir, Yousef, and Yael.

Y names are heating up for boys in the US, driven primarily by Yiddish and Hebrew names like Yehuda, Yisroel, Yitzchok, Yaakov, and Yeshua.

Unique names with the Y initial include prepster names Yardley, Yale, Yeats, and York. Among the international options that begin with the letter Y we recommend are the Russian Yasha, Japanese Yoko, Arabic Yasir, and Israeli Yonit and Yarden, the original name from which Jordan derived.

Here, our full selection of names that start with Y, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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  1. Yara
    • Origin:

      Arabic, Persian, Brazilian, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "friend, helper; strength; water nymph; honeycomb"
  2. Yuna
    • Origin:

      Japanese, Breton, Korean, Chinese, Dutch
    • Meaning:

      "superiority, gentleness, or citrus fruit; lamb; willow, abundant, child, happy + to reach, to hold; jade + elegant, beautiful; June"
  3. Yvette
    • Origin:

      French, feminine of Yves
    • Meaning:

      "yew tree"
  4. Yvaine
    • Origin:

      Female variation of Yvain or Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "evening star"
  5. Yves
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "yew wood"
  6. Yvonne
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "yew wood"
  7. Yannick
    • Origin:

      Breton
    • Meaning:

      "God is gracious"
  8. Yana
    • Origin:

      Slavic variation of Jana, feminine variation of John
    • Meaning:

      "God is gracious"
  9. Yasiel
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "whom God made"
  10. Yolanda
    • Origin:

      Spanish from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "violet flower"
  11. Yareli
    • Origin:

      Native American, Spanish variation of Yara, Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "water lady; small butterfly"
  12. Yasmine
    • Origin:

      Arabic variation of Jasmine
    • Meaning:

      "jasmine flower"
  13. Yuli
    • Ymir
      • Origin:

        Norse
      • Meaning:

        "cry"
    • Yunay
      • Origin:

        Indian, "the son of Anjana"
      • Meaning:

        "the son of Anjana"
    • Yukio
      • Origin:

        Japanese
      • Meaning:

        "snow boy"
    • Yossarian
      • Origin:

        Literary name
    • Yuki
      • Origin:

        Japanese
      • Meaning:

        "snow; happiness"
    • Ysella
      • Origin:

        Cornish
      • Meaning:

        "modest"
    • Yuni

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