Magical Names for Girls

Iris

Flower name; Greek

"rainbow"

Iris has so much going for it. It's a fashionable flower name. It's a mythological name, from the Greek goddess of the rainbow. And it's a classic name, always ranking in the girls' Top 1000 but now…

Athena

Greek

"from Athens"

Magical and distinctive but grounded and familiar too, it's no surprise that Athena has become one of the most widely used ancient goddess names in the contemporary Western world. Derived from the…

Freya

Norse

"a noble woman"

Freya has long been popular in the U.K. but has only taken off in the US in the last decade, along with the entire category of mythological names. Derived from the Old Norse name Freyja, meaning…

Artemis

Greek mythology

"safe; butcher"

Artemis, one of the key figures of the female Greek pantheon, is the ancient virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, childbirth, and a protector of young girls, later associated with the…

Ceridwen

Welsh

"beautiful as a poem; crooked women"

A mythological Welsh name with an intriguing sound, Ceridwen appears in several Welsh legends, in which she is an an enchantress and the owner of the cauldron of poetic inspiration. She is also…

Chandra

Hindi

"goddess of the moon"

Chandra is the name of the Hindu moon goddess last groovy when incense and meditation were hot new concepts but a new possibility with the resurgence of astrology and other non-Western spiritual…

Circe

Greek

"bird, hawk"

In Greek myth, Circe, daughter of Helios, the sun, was a sorceress living on the island of Aeaea (or Aiaia) who could turn men into animals with her magic wand, which is just what she did to…

Demeter

Greek

"earth mother"

Demeter, the Greek goddess of grain, agriculture, and the harvest, growth and nourishment, was Zeus's sister and Persephone's mother. Variation Demetria is the full name of actress Demi Moore. Though…

Enya

Irish

"fire"

This phonetic Anglicization of the Irish name Eithne was made familiar by the single-named Irish singer and composer. St. Eithne was the daughter of a king and an early Irish convert to Christianity.

Gaia

Greek and Latin

"earth mother; rejoicing"

Floral, bright, and subtly powerful, Gaia is a name with two separate origins. In Greek mythology, it is the name of the earth goddess and the universal mother, who takes her epithet from the Ancient…

Hecate

Greek mythology name

"willpower or far-reaching"

In Greek mythology, Hecate is associated with witchcraft and magic. The name may mean "willpower" or "far-reaching". She was often associated with the moon and with storms, making this name a good…

Isis

Egyptian

"throne"

Isis has gone from magical, feminist name on the rise to the forbidden list because of the extremist terror group called ISIS, an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Unsurprisingly, Isis was…

Idun

Swedish, Norse

"ever young"

Idun is a modern Swedish transcription of Iðunn, the Norse goddess of apples, fertility, and youth. She was responsible for guarding and keeping the apples from which the gods ate to renew their…

Juno

Latin

"queen of the heavens; young"

Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted, well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno , this lively but strong Roman goddess name…

Minerva

Latin

"of the mind, intellect"

Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the mythology names for girls that might appeal to adventurous feminist parents.…

Pallas

Greek

"youth, young woman"

An overlooked name from Greek mythology, Pallas is both an epithet for the goddess of wisdom and a name in its own right, borne by a daughter of the sea god Triton who was raised alongside the…

Tacita

Latin, feminine variation of Tacitus

"silence"

This Roman mythology name for the goddess of silence has the ancient Roman feel now coming into fashion, as boys begin to have names like Atticus and Aurelius.

Themis

Greek

"law of nature, divine law"

Themis was the Titan — one of the Elder Gods (or in this case Goddesses) — of Justice and Order, usually depicted blindfolded and holding the scales of justice. The mother of the Fates and the…

Venus

Latin

"love, desire"

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it. Associated with the Greek…

Zelena

Greek variation of Selena

See SELENA.