Babies are natural rule breakers. They melt you with a sly smile, then use the distraction to get at whatever you just moved out of reach, and names meaning trickster suit that streak exactly.
Folklorists describe the trickster as a compendium of opposites, part fool and part culture hero, a figure who makes order out of chaos and teaches survival by bad example (1). Lewis Hyde writes: “The trickster is a boundary-crosser, or brings to the surface a distinction previously hidden from sight.”
The 100 names below run the whole range, from top 100 picks like Penelope, 22nd for U.S. girls in 2025, to names the federal data has never published even once, since the Social Security Administration lists a name only when at least five babies receive it in a year (2). Every popularity note here uses the latest U.S. figures, so you can tell a classroom-full name from a genuinely unclaimed one at a glance.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Penelope, Ella, Jacob, Maverick and Delilah.
- Penelope
- Ella
- Jacob
- Maverick
- Delilah
100 Playful Names That Mean Trickster for Boys and Girls
Don’t be surprised if you find a baby name on this list that you absolutely love!
Abiram
Abiram carries the memory of a rebellion. In the Old Testament he sided against Moses and Aaron, and the name has been shadowed by that betrayal ever since. It is rare to see biblical names pulled from the ranks of the adversaries rather than the faithful, which is exactly what gives this one its edge. The second half of the meaning, high father, pulls in the opposite direction and keeps the name from tipping into pure villainy.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: High father, father of deceit
- Pronunciation: ABHI-rum
- Variations: Abiron
- Popularity: Abiram last appeared in U.S. records in 2012, when seven boys received it, and it has not charted since.
Abuto
Abuto works as a first name mostly because so few people expect it to be one. Readers who know traditional African surnames will recognize the shape immediately and then have to reconsider it. The meaning, I have hidden, suits a baby who already seems to be keeping something back. The name is short, but the run of consonants gives every syllable something to push against, so it lands with more rhythm than its length suggests.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: I have hidden
- Pronunciation: ah-BOO-toh
- Popularity: Abuto has never met the U.S. federal publication threshold of five births in a year, so it does not appear in the American rankings at all.
Aella
Aella was one of Queen Hippolyte’s Amazon warriors who fought Heracles in Greek mythology. DC Comics borrowed her for Wonder Woman’s tribe, where she fights alongside her sisters against a long list of opponents. The meaning, whirlwind, does most of the work here. It sounds soft on first hearing and turns out to be anything but.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Whirlwind, tempest
- Pronunciation: AY-ellah
- Popularity: Aella ranked 4,068th in the U.S. in 2025, with 35 girls given the name, up sharply on the previous decade.
Aiden
Short, warm, and sneakier than it looks, Aiden means little fire, a meaning that fits a toddler who moves faster than you do. It has been a fixture on the boys’ charts for two decades and has softened enough at the edges that parents now use it for girls too, where it stays a genuinely unique name for girls. Familiar without being worn out is a hard balance, and this one holds it.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Little Fire
- Pronunciation: AY-den
- Variations: Aidan, Aden
- Namesakes: Aiden McGeady, the Scottish-born footballer.
- Popularity: Aiden ranked 62nd for U.S. boys in 2025 with 5,046 births per the Social Security Administration, down from its high of 9th in 2010.
Anansi
In Ghanaian folklore Anansi is a spider who wins every contest he has no business winning. Bigger, stronger opponents lose to him because he thinks two moves ahead and they do not, and the stories eventually promoted him to something like a god. He is one of the best known trickster figures anywhere, which makes the name a direct statement of the theme rather than a hint at it.
- Origin: Ghana
- Meaning: Spider
- Pronunciation: uh-naan-see
- Variations: Ananse
- Popularity: Anansi last charted in the U.S. in 2022, when seven boys were given the name; it first appeared in the data in 2021.
Anjani
Anjani means illusion, and it is still one of the prettier sounds on this list, so the name is beautiful on its own terms. In Hinduism she is the mother of Lord Hanuman, who commands the monkey army. Monkeys are clever, restless and famously hard to keep out of things, which makes the family connection feel earned rather than decorative.
- Origin: India
- Meaning: Illusion, Mother of Lord Hanuman
- Pronunciation: ae-NYAA-Nee
- Popularity: Anjani is the rarest name on this list that U.S. data still records, ranked 13,342nd in 2025 at roughly one birth in 250,000.
Anwir
Anwir means liar, with no softening and no second reading. It has Welsh origins and stays almost entirely within them. For parents who want the theme stated outright rather than implied, this is about as direct as the list gets.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Liar
- Variations: Anwar
- Popularity: Anwir has never reached the five births a year the U.S. requires before it publishes a name, so it has no American ranking.
Buster
Buster started as a nickname for loud boys and boisterous men, and enough Americans kept it into adulthood that it works as a legal name. The boxer Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in 1990 in one of the biggest upsets in the sport, which is a fair template for a kid who is going to surprise you. It is a name with its sleeves already rolled up.
- Origin: American
- Meaning: Tough Guy
- Pronunciation: BUS-ter
- Namesakes: Buster Posey, a U.S. baseball player. Buster Keaton, a U.S. actor and filmmaker. Buster Douglas, a U.S. boxer.
- Popularity: Buster ranked 6,871st in the U.S. in 2025 with 12 boys given the name, far off its 1913 high of 328th.
Briar
Anyone who has crossed a briar patch knows the deal. Watch your step and it is beautiful; hurry and it will let you know. That is a fair description of a baby with a prickly streak and a sweet one, and the name manages to hold both at once without leaning too far either way. Briar has moved steadily onto both the girls’ and boys’ charts, so it reads current rather than invented.
- Origin: British
- Meaning: Thorny bush of wild roses, brambles
- Pronunciation: BRY-er
- Variations: Brier, Bryar
- Namesakes: Briar Nolet, the Canadian actress best known for starring in the television series The Next Step.
- Popularity: Briar reached its highest U.S. rank yet in 2025 at 400th for girls and 686th for boys, having risen roughly fivefold over the past decade.
Calypso
Calypso is romantic, playful and a little musical, which is fitting since the name also belongs to a West Indian music style that Harry Belafonte carried worldwide. The goddess Calypso kept Odysseus on her island so long that Zeus had to order her to let him go. Charm as a holding tactic is a very trickster move.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: She who hides
- Pronunciation: kuh-LIP-so
- Namesakes: Calypso Rose, the Trinidadian singer and songwriter.
- Popularity: Calypso hit its best U.S. rank in 2025 at 2,865th, with 59 girls given the name.
Cameron
Your baby’s nose may be button-perfect, but the chaos behind it is what you will remember, and a name meaning crooked nose has a sense of humor about that. Cameron leans male on the charts and has never been fenced in by it, with Cameron Diaz among the women who wear it well. It is a name that ages easily from crib to resume.
- Origin: Scottish
- Meaning: Crooked nose
- Pronunciation: KAM-er-on
- Namesakes: Cameron Crowe, the American director. Cameron Diaz, the American actress. Cameron Russell, the American model.
- Popularity: Cameron ranked 76th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 614 girls also given the name that year.
Chisi
Among the Tumbuka of Malawi, Chisi is mostly a name used as a surname. Its meaning, darkness, gives it a hush rather than a threat, hinting at something held back or a birth story that stays in the family. Two syllables, easy to say, and short enough to double as a nickname for a girl or a boy.
- Origin: Malawi
- Meaning: Darkness
- Pronunciation: CHEE-see
- Popularity: Chisi has never met the five births a year the U.S. requires before publishing a name, so it carries no American ranking.
Claudia
The Latin root of Claudia goes back to ancient Rome and carries the sense of neither in nor out. Read one way that is two-faced; read another it is coy, playful and not remotely malicious. Claudia is the feminine of Claude, and both have held their shape across centuries without ever feeling fussy.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Lame, or neither in nor out
- Pronunciation: KLAW-dee-uh
- Namesakes: Claudia Schiffer, an American supermodel. Claudia Jordan, an American actress.
- Popularity: Claudia ranked 1,096th in the U.S. in 2025 and is the steepest faller on this list, down about half on the previous decade from its 1952 peak at 111th.
Cozbi
Cozbi means false or lying and is over almost before it begins. Short names carry their meanings more openly than long ones, and this one does not hide. Parents drawn to it tend to have a story ready, whether it is a gender guess that turned out wrong or a due date the baby ignored entirely.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: False, lying
- Pronunciation: cause-BEE
- Popularity: Cozbi has never been published in the U.S. rankings, which list a name only once at least five babies a year receive it.
Delilah
The story of Samson and Delilah is one long act of persuasion. She coaxed his secret out of him and then used it, which is betrayal by any measure and also a masterclass in patience. Despite the ending, Delilah has stayed one of the loveliest classic names for girls, and it has been climbing steadily rather than trading on nostalgia. A beguiling spirit needs a name that can carry it.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Delicate
- Pronunciation: dih-LY-luh
- Namesakes: Delilah Cotto, an American entertainer. Delilah Dawon, an American author.
- Popularity: Data from the Social Security Administration puts Delilah 51st for U.S. girls in 2025 with 4,137 births, just off her best rank of 50th in 2024.
Diablo
It would be difficult to get more devilish than this. Diablo is the direct Spanish translation for devil, with no ambiguity to hide behind. For a family with Spanish heritage, or one that simply loves the sound of the language, it is a confident pick for a handsome little troublemaker.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Devil
- Pronunciation: DEE-ah-blo
- Namesakes: Diablo Cody, an American film writer.
- Popularity: Diablo appears in U.S. records only once, in 1975, when five boys were given the name.
Dionysus
Dionysus is the Greek god of wine and revelry, which is a grander way of saying he knew how to enjoy himself. The giddiness of new parenthood is not far off, and neither is the way a baby can talk you into anything with a look. He is also the god of fertility and pleasure, so the name carries a quiet nod to how the whole thing started.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: God of wine and revelry
- Pronunciation: DIE-yun-I-sus
- Popularity: Dionysus ranked 7,808th in the U.S. in 2025 with 10 boys given the name, up about half on the previous decade.
Ella
Ella Enchanted gave the name a heroine cursed with obedience who spends the whole story working out how to break it, which is a more mischievous premise than it first sounds. The name itself is plain and pretty, just two syllables meaning she. It has sat near the top of the charts for two decades without wearing thin.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: She
- Pronunciation: EL-uh
- Namesakes: Ella Fitzgerald, an American singer.
- Popularity: Ella ranked 29th for U.S. girls in 2025 with 5,831 births, down from its high of 12th in 2011.
Eris
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife, which makes for a short, sharp, powerful name with real weight behind it. It reads as a sweet name until you know the story, and then it does not. She is also the central figure of Discordianism, a religion built around chaos with a straight face.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Strife
- Pronunciation: EHR-iss
- Namesakes: Eris Paton, a Swiss footballer. Eris Paton, a New Zealand cricketer.
- Popularity: Eris ranked 1,623rd for U.S. girls in 2025, well off its 1923 peak at 457th.
Fae
A shortened form of fairy, Fae is one syllable of pure mischief. Fairies in folklore are not gentle helpers so much as sly operators who slip between the real world and the imagined one because it amuses them. The name is light on the page and heavier in what it implies.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Fairy, elf
- Pronunciation: FAY
- Namesakes: Fae Myenne Ng, an American novelist.
- Popularity: Fae ranked 3,794th for U.S. girls in 2025 with 39 births, up nearly threefold on the previous decade.
Foley
Small children plunder. They work through drawers, bags and cupboards until they find the thing they were not supposed to have, and they will charm you along the way to get there. Foley, with Irish origins and a meaning of plunderer, names that behavior with a straight face.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Plunderer
- Pronunciation: FOH-lee
- Popularity: Foley last charted in the U.S. in 1955 and reached its best rank, 3,349th, back in 1922.
Fox
Crazy as a fox is a compliment dressed as an insult. The animal earned it by playing helpless until the moment it stops being helpless, which is roughly the strategy of every toddler at bedtime. Fox is far more common as a surname, and that is part of the appeal, because it still sounds unclaimed on a first name.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Wild animal in a dog family
- Pronunciation: FOKS
- Popularity: Fox ranked 1,411th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 129 births, up about 143 percent on the previous decade.
Gizem
There is no mystery about what this name does for a girl, which is a little joke given that it means one who is mysterious. This Turkish name is ordinary in Turkey and almost unheard of elsewhere, so it arrives with an edge built in.
- Origin: Turkish
- Meaning: One who is mysterious
- Pronunciation: GIHZ-em
- Popularity: Gizem appeared in U.S. records between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 9,773rd, and has not charted since.
Gunner
Gunner sounds like a boy with a plan. The meaning, battle or warrior, points at a winning streak rather than a fight, and the softer reading is a kid who gets what he wants by being quietly strategic about it. It has stayed comfortably in the top thousand for years without ever tipping into overuse.
- Origin: Scandinavian
- Meaning: Battle, warrior
- Pronunciation: GUN-er
- Variations: Gunnar, Gunther
- Namesakes: Gunner Kiel, an American football player. Gunner Wright, an American actor.
- Popularity: Gunner ranked 506th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 597 births, holding steady, though well below its 2014 high of 235th.
Gus
Goofy Gus. Greedy Gus. The name attracts adjectives the way a magnet attracts filings, which tells you something about how much personality it carries on its own. It is usually short for Augustus, meaning majestic and exalted, a very grand original for such an unpretentious nickname. If your little guy already has more character than he knows what to do with, Gus fits.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Majestic, exalted, of Augustus
- Pronunciation: GUHS
- Namesakes: Gus Grissom, an early NASA scientist. Gus Van Sant, an American film director.
- Popularity: Gus ranked 1,331st for U.S. boys in 2025 with 145 births, well up on the previous decade though far below its 1913 high of 276th.
Hanzo
Hattori Hanzo was a Japanese samurai whose skill has been retold for centuries. Kill Bill put his name on a sword and built a whole sequence around characters hiding it, stealing it back and outmaneuvering one another with it. The meaning, half hidden, was already there before the movies got hold of it.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Half hidden
- Namesakes: Hattori Hanzou, a samurai warrior.
- Popularity: Hanzo ranked 5,283rd for U.S. boys in 2025 with 18 births, roughly double its rate a decade earlier.
Harlow
Harlow reads as a modern girls’ name now, but between 1882 and 1900 it belonged mostly to boys. The best known bearer remains the Hollywood actress Jean Harlow. Meaning rock or army hill, it has a solidity underneath the softness that keeps it from feeling like a passing trend.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Rock or army hill
- Pronunciation: HAR-loh
- Namesakes: Harlow Shapley, an American astronomer. Jean Harlow, the American actress. Jack Harlow, an American rapper.
- Popularity: Harlow ranked 309th for U.S. girls in 2025 and 1,214th for boys, roughly tripling on the previous decade.
Hermes
The luxury fashion house has made Hermes shorthand for expensive taste, but the name came from the Greek god of travel, writing and athletics, all of them ways of carrying a message. He was barely born before he stole two sacred cows from Apollo and offered them up to the higher gods, which is either theft or diplomacy depending on who is telling it. Few names announce a cheerful troublemaker this efficiently.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Messenger of the gods
- Pronunciation: EHR-mez
- Popularity: Hermes ranked 3,209th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 37 births, a little behind its best-ever rank of 2,607th in 1969.
Hulda
Hulda comes from the Hebrew name Chulda, meaning weasel or mole. Both animals get their reputation from working out of sight and coming out ahead, which is a gentler description of deception than most on this list. The name has an antique warmth to it that the meaning does nothing to spoil.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Hiding, secrecy, weasel
- Pronunciation: HUL-dah
- Namesakes: Hulda Berger, an American figure skater.
- Popularity: Hulda was a top 600 U.S. name in 1913 and last appeared in the records in 1980.
Indra
Indra held onto his position as king through tricks and supernatural ability rather than sheer force, which is the sort of resume that lands a god on a list like this one. Although the deity is male, the name is used more often for girls, particularly within Hindu families. It is the god of war and weather, so nothing about it is quiet.
- Origin: India
- Meaning: The god of war and weather
- Pronunciation: IN-drah
- Namesakes: Indra, the Swedish singer.
- Popularity: Indra ranked 9,713rd for U.S. girls in 2025 and 6,597th for boys, making it a genuine unisex rarity.
Jacob
Jacob talked his father into handing over the blessing meant for his brother Esau, and the meaning, supplanter, refers directly to that piece of scheming. It is remarkable how little that has hurt the name. Jacob has spent generations at or near the top of the American charts, which makes it the rare pick here that is both a trickster name and a completely safe one.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Supplanter
- Pronunciation: JAY-kub
- Namesakes: Jacob Elordi, an Australian actor. Jacob Latimore, an American singer.
- Popularity: According to Social Security Administration data, Jacob ranked 43rd for U.S. boys in 2025 with 6,152 births, down about half on the previous decade after holding the number one spot in 1999.
Jareth
Jareth is the goblin king from Labyrinth, played by David Bowie in a performance nobody has managed to shake off since. He sends the heroine through a maze of puzzles and dead ends purely to keep her where he wants her. The origin of the name itself is unknown, which somehow suits a character built out of misdirection.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Unknown
- Pronunciation: JAIR-eth
- Popularity: Jareth ranked 1,879th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 84 births, steady over the past decade.
Kokopelli
Kokopelli is a flute player and a trickster in several Native American traditions, usually drawn with a humpback and an instrument at his lips. He is tied to fertility and childbirth as well as mischief, which is an unusual combination to find in one figure. As a name it is long, distinctive and completely unbothered by convention.
- Origin: Indigenous American
- Meaning: Kachina hump
- Pronunciation: KOW-kuh-peh-lee
- Popularity: Kokopelli has never met the U.S. threshold of five births in a year, so it has never been published in the rankings.
Kuma Lisa
Kuma Lisa turns up across Macedonian, Bulgarian and Russian folk tales as the trickster of the story, outwitting whoever is unlucky enough to be in it. Illustrators almost always draw her as a fox in an elegant dress, which tells you exactly how much she enjoys herself. The meaning, godmother fox, is affectionate and wary in equal measure.
- Origin: Macedonian
- Meaning: Godmother Fox
- Pronunciation: KOO-mah LEE-sah
- Popularity: Kuma Lisa does not appear in U.S. name records, which publish only names given to at least five babies in a year.
Laverna
Laverna is the Roman goddess of cheating and thievery, which is a job description more than a title. The name is derived from the Latin word laternio, meaning thief. It sounds far more elegant than any of that suggests, and the gap between the sound and the story is most of the appeal.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Goddess of thievery
- Pronunciation: luh-VUR-nah
- Variations: Laverne
- Namesakes: Laverne Cox, an American actress best known for her role in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black.
- Popularity: Laverna was a top 700 U.S. name in 1919 and last appeared in the records in 1985.
Leesi
Leesi is soft, quick and entirely innocent-sounding, which is the joke. The meaning, bad woman, arrives a beat later and changes the whole picture. For parents who want a name that behaves itself on the surface and misbehaves underneath, this African pick does it in two syllables.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Bad woman
- Pronunciation: LEE-see
Leta
Leta means hidden or forgotten treasure, and the name has spent most of the past century living up to that literally. It has never come back from its early 1900s run, so it stays quietly available. Rare, pretty and easy to say is a hard combination to find, which makes this one worth a second look for a one in a million baby.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Hidden, forgotten treasure
- Pronunciation: LEE-tah
- Popularity: Leta ranked 9,827th for U.S. girls in 2025, a long way from its 1915 high of 403rd.
Lilith
Lilith appears in non-traditional Christian folklore as Adam’s first wife, who refused to obey him and was recast as a night demon for it. That is a lot of history for four letters to carry. The name has been climbing steadily for years, up nearly fourfold in the last decade, and the meaning, night monster, still gives it a dark shine.
- Origin: Assyrian
- Meaning: Night monster
- Pronunciation: LIL-ith
- Namesakes: Lilith Nagar, the Israeli singer. Lilith Saintcrow, the American writer.
- Popularity: Lilith ranked 277th for U.S. girls in 2025 with 1,111 births, up nearly fourfold on the previous decade.
Liraz
Liraz means I have a secret, which is a complete sentence disguised as a name. It stays rare almost everywhere, and where it is used it goes equally to boys and girls. The sound is soft at the front and sharp at the end, so it never quite settles.
- Origin: Jewish
- Meaning: I have a secret
- Pronunciation: LEE-rahz
- Popularity: Liraz has never met the U.S. publication threshold of five births in a year, so it carries no American ranking.
Loki
Loki is the Norse god of mischief, and the Marvel films have turned him into the most recognizable trickster on the planet. Parents noticed. The name climbed steeply through the past decade and has settled into regular use rather than fading with the franchise. For the cutest little agent of chaos you know, there is no more direct pick on this list.
- Origin: Nordic
- Meaning: Airy
- Pronunciation: LOH-kee
- Popularity: Loki ranked 1,858th for U.S. boys in 2025, up about 80 percent on the previous decade after peaking in 2021.
Mac
Mac is short for a lot of things. It works as a nickname for Mackenzie or Macintosh, and it carries the alternate meaning of son from Scottish origins. As a standalone first name it has been climbing quietly. The meaning listed here, wise guy, is the one that fits a kid who has an answer for everything.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Wise guy
- Pronunciation: MAK
- Namesakes: Mac Miller, an American rapper.
- Popularity: Mac ranked 696th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 390 births, nearly triple its rate a decade earlier.
Matilda
Roald Dahl’s Matilda is a small girl who uses cleverness and a little magic to even the score with the adults around her, and the film sent the story further still. The name itself means battle mighty, which is a fair summary of that plot. It has been on a long, steady climb back, so it now sounds both bookish and current.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Battle mighty
- Pronunciation: muh-TIL-duh
- Popularity: Matilda ranked 365th for U.S. girls in 2025 with 838 births, roughly double its rate a decade earlier.
Maui
In Polynesian mythology Maui is the trickster god, and Disney’s Moana handed him to a generation of children in 2016. The Hawaiian name means god of fire. Its popularity spiked with the film and has stayed in use, though below its 2017 peak, which suggests parents liked the sound as much as the character.
- Origin: Hawaiian
- Meaning: God of fire
- Pronunciation: MOW-ee
- Popularity: Maui ranked 5,332nd for U.S. boys in 2025, up sharply on the previous decade after a 2017 peak.
Maverick
Top Gun has kept this one aloft for four decades. The character is reckless, funny and consistently right when it counts, which is a flattering thing for a name to carry. Maverick also means nonconformist in ordinary English, and it has become one of the fastest climbers on the boys’ charts.
- Origin: American
- Meaning: Nonconformist
- Pronunciation: MAV-rik
- Namesakes: Maverick Thompson, an American actor.
- Popularity: Maverick ranked 49th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 5,894 births, up almost sixfold on the previous decade.
Maximon
Maximon is a Mayan deity of the underworld who represents the light and the dark at once. He is called a trickster, a womanizer and a protector of couples, sometimes in the same story. The meaning is simply trickster, so nothing here is hidden.
- Origin: Mayan
- Meaning: Trickster
- Pronunciation: mah-shee-MOHN
- Popularity: Maximon does not appear in U.S. name records, which publish only names given to at least five babies in a year.
Maya
Maya Angelou could do more with a sentence than most writers manage with a chapter, and that command of words sits well under a name meaning illusion and magic. The Indian name is also used for the goddess Lakshmi, who brings love, beauty and joy. It has been a top 100 fixture for years and shows no sign of moving.
- Origin: Indian
- Meaning: Illusion, Magic
- Pronunciation: MY-uh
- Namesakes: Maya Angelou, an American writer. Maya Rudolph, an American actress.
- Popularity: Maya ranked 62nd for U.S. girls in 2025 with 3,712 births, holding steady over the past decade.
Medea
Medea was a sorceress who deceived her own father to help Jason take the Golden Fleece, a ram with golden hair and one of the most loaded symbols in Greek myth. The name means to ponder or cunning, so the plotting is built into it. It is a heavy story for a small child, and also an unforgettable one.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: To ponder, cunning
- Pronunciation: meh-DEE-ah
- Popularity: Medea last appeared in U.S. records in 2008 and reached its best rank, 4,210th, in 1967.
Merlin
Merlin is the wizard behind King Arthur, part historical figure and part invention, and the invented parts are all magic, sorcery and sleight of hand. The name itself means sea fortress, which has nothing to do with any of that and somehow suits him anyway. It has been drifting back into use after decades near the margins.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Sea fortress
- Pronunciation: MUR-lin
- Namesakes: Merlin, a British rapper. Merlin Bronques, an American musician.
- Popularity: Merlin ranked 2,343rd for U.S. boys in 2025 with 59 births, up about 69 percent on the previous decade.
Mestra
Mestra could change her shape at will, a gift from Poseidon, who was also her lover. A name meaning the one who plays the lover is unusual on any list, and this one arrives with the myth attached.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: The one who plays the lover
- Pronunciation: MES-truh
Mohini
Mohini comes from the root moha, meaning to delude, enchant or perplex. That makes her the Hindu goddess of enchantment almost by definition, and an alluring pick among names meaning trickster. The sound is gentle enough that the meaning arrives as a surprise.
- Origin: India
- Meaning: Delusion personified
- Pronunciation: moh-HEE-nee
- Popularity: Mohini last charted in the U.S. in 2023, at 11,867th, having peaked at 6,626th in 1996.
Moritz
Max and Moritz have been getting into trouble in German storybooks for generations, and the pranks are far from gentle. Moritz is the other half of a duo whose adventures parents have been reading aloud for well over a century. The name is rare in the U.S., which leaves the reference for those who know it.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Dark-skinned, Moorish
- Variations: Maurice, Morris
- Popularity: Moritz ranked 10,347th in the U.S. in 2025, holding steady at a handful of births a year.
Naiche
Naiche was an Apache chief and a painter, and his name has been translated as meddlesome one, which is a memorable thing to be called by your own people. Meaning mischief maker, it is one of the few names here that describes behavior rather than a story. Two syllables, easy to say, and almost never heard.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Mischief maker
- Pronunciation: NYE-chee
- Popularity: Naiche has never met the U.S. threshold of five births in a year, so it has never been published in the rankings.
Narada
Narada was born from the mind of Brahma, the creator god, which is an unusual entrance even by mythological standards. He made a habit of spotting other people’s weak points and using them, sometimes to cause trouble and sometimes to move a story along. The meaning, one who praises the lord, is only half the picture.
- Origin: Indian
- Meaning: One who praises the lord
- Popularity: Narada last charted in the U.S. in 2007 and reached its best rank, 1,370th, in 1980.
Nasreddin
Nasreddin is the clever prankster at the center of hundreds of folk tales told across the Middle East and beyond. The stories trace back to a cleric from Anatolia, which is how the Turkish roots came about. The meaning, wise fool, is the whole character in two words.
- Origin: Middle Eastern
- Meaning: Wise fool
- Pronunciation: NAHS-red-din
Osman
Osman means son of a snake, and the alternate reading is wise and most powerful, which is quite a range for one name. Prince Osman the First founded the Ottoman Empire, and it went on to last over six centuries. Whichever meaning you prefer, the name has weight behind it.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Son of a snake
- Namesakes: Prince Osman the First, the founder of the Ottoman Empire.
- Popularity: Osman ranked 1,157th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 181 births, up about 109 percent on the previous decade.
Pan
Pan is the goat-legged god of shepherds, pastures and fertility, usually found somewhere near a set of pipes. He is also the reason Peter Pan is called Peter Pan, which is the version most children meet first. It also doubles neatly as a nickname for Peter or Panagiotis.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Shepherd
- Pronunciation: PAN
- Popularity: Pan has never met the U.S. publication threshold of five births in a year, so it carries no American ranking.
Pandora
Pandora was the first mortal woman in Greek myth, beautiful and curious in equal measure, and her curiosity is what the story remembers. Opening Pandora’s box has been shorthand for setting something loose ever since. The meaning, all gifted, sits oddly beside that reputation, which is exactly what makes the name interesting.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: All gifted
- Pronunciation: pan-DOR-ah
- Popularity: Pandora ranked 4,526th for U.S. girls in 2025, steady over the past decade and well below its 1952 high of 784th.
Pedro
Pedro Urdemales is a well known trickster in Chilean folk tales, talking his way through one scrape after another. In Portuguese he goes by Pedro of the Bad Arts. The name itself means strength and has stayed steadily in use across the Americas for well over a century.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Strength
- Pronunciation: PEH-droh
- Namesakes: Pedro Martinez, a MLB baseball player. Pedro Pascal, a Chilean-American actor.
- Popularity: Pedro ranked 455th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 684 births, down about 28 percent on the previous decade.
Penelope
Penelope spends The Odyssey weaving a shroud by day and unpicking it by night to hold off the suitors until her husband comes home, which is patient, calculated deception at its finest. The name means weaver, and after that story it is hard to read the meaning any other way. It has been near the top of the American charts for years now.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Weaver
- Pronunciation: puh-NEL-uh-pee
- Namesakes: Penelope Cruz, a Spanish actress best known for her role in Vanilla Sky.
- Popularity: Penelope is the highest ranked name on this list, 22nd for U.S. girls in 2025 with 6,225 births, according to Social Security Administration data.
Peter
Sly Peter is a staple of Bulgarian folklore, kind and tricky in the same breath, which is a rare combination in a trickster. The name means rock or stone and has been a mainstay for centuries. Peter Parker adds a modern layer for anyone whose reference point is the comics rather than the folk tales.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Rock, Stone
- Pronunciation: PEE-ter
- Namesakes: Peter Strauss, an American Actor.
- Popularity: Peter ranked 187th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 1,954 births, flat over the past decade after peaking at 35th in 1955.
Pettai
Pettai is usually an Estonian surname, though it does get used up front for boys and girls alike. The meaning, up to mischief, is unusually specific for a family name. It is short, brisk and gives nothing away in English.
- Origin: Estonian
- Meaning: Up to mischief
- Pronunciation: PET-eye
- Popularity: Pettai has never appeared in U.S. name records, which publish only names given to at least five babies in a year.
Premysl
Premysl breaks down neatly: pre means over, mysli means thought, and together they give a name about outthinking rather than overpowering. He founded the Premyslid dynasty, which ruled Bohemia for five centuries. The listed meaning, trick or stratagem, is about as on theme as it gets.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: Trick, stratagem
- Pronunciation: PREM-ih-suhl
Pumphut
Pumphut is a gnome from Sorbian and Slavic tales who saves his tricks for people who deserve them, usually bullies and cheats. His magic exists to make life difficult for the difficult. That makes him one of the few tricksters here with a clear moral compass.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: To see, to know
- Pronunciation: PUMP-hoot
Raven
Raven is one of the great trickster figures of North American folklore, stealing pieces of light one at a time until the sun existed. Creator and thief in the same story is the trickster pattern exactly. The name means dark haired and wise, and it has stayed cool for decades without needing a revival.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Dark haired, wise
- Pronunciation: RAY-vuhn
- Namesakes: Raven Symone, an American actress, best known for her role in the popular series That’s So Raven.
- Popularity: Raven ranked 404th for U.S. girls in 2025 and 2,973rd for boys, up about 45 percent on the previous decade.
Rebecca
Rebecca was the wife of Isaac in the Old Testament, and her son Jacob talked their father into handing over the blessing meant for his brother Esau. Two trickster names in one family tree is a decent bit of trivia for a baby book. The meaning, to snare, fits the household. Rebecca has slipped from its 1970s heights but remains familiar to everyone.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: To snare
- Pronunciation: ruh-BEK-uh
- Namesakes: Rebecca Romijn, an American actress, known for her role as Mystique in the original X-Men film trilogy.
- Popularity: Rebecca ranked 350th for U.S. girls in 2025, down about 46 percent on the previous decade from its 1973 high of 10th.
Rebel
Rebel means defiant and does not pretend otherwise. It goes to girls and boys in almost equal numbers now, which is unusual for a name this pointed, and it has climbed steeply over the past decade. Rebel Wilson is the best known bearer, and her comic timing has done the name no harm at all.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Defiant
- Pronunciation: REB-uhl
- Namesakes: Rebel Wilson, an American actress, best known for her role in the Pitch Perfect film franchise.
- Popularity: Rebel ranked 3,204th for U.S. girls in 2025 and 3,430th for boys, up sharply on the previous decade.
Rekker
Rekker is the word wrecker spelled the way a toddler would say it, which is either trendy or on the nose depending on your mood. Actor Cam Gigandet gave the name to his son, which is most of its public profile. It is rare enough that your child would likely be the only one.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Wrecker
- Pronunciation: REK-er
- Popularity: Rekker last charted in the U.S. in 2020 and has never risen above 9,388th.
Reynard
Reynard the fox is the best loved trickster in French storytelling, outwitting everyone he meets and somehow staying likeable through all of it. Foxes get the clever reputation; this one earned the affection too. The German name means strong decision and fox, so the animal is written right into it.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Strong decision, fox
- Pronunciation: RAY-nahrd
- Popularity: Reynard last charted in the U.S. in 2024 and reached its best rank, 1,961st, in 1964.
Rhonda
Ronda Rousey goes headfirst into a fight and does not always come out on top, which is precisely why people watch. That kind of noisy fearlessness suits a name meaning noisy one. Rhonda had a huge run in the 1960s and has been quiet since, so it is now closer to a rediscovery than a revival.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Noisy one
- Pronunciation: RON-dah
- Variations: Ronda
- Namesakes: Ronda Rousey, an American wrestler.
- Popularity: Rhonda ranked 6,277th for U.S. girls in 2025, down about 40 percent on the previous decade after peaking at 37th in 1965.
Robin
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Robin narrates the chaos and causes a good deal of it, which is the classic fairy trickster in action. Robin Williams gave the name its warmest modern face, playing jokers and fast talkers for four decades. It means fame bright, and it has been used almost equally for boys and girls for years.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Fame bright
- Pronunciation: RAH-bin
- Namesakes: Robin Williams, the American actor. Robin Givens, an American actress.
- Popularity: Robin went to 400 U.S. girls and 382 boys in 2025.
Rogue
Going rogue means acting outside the plan, usually to everyone else’s inconvenience. The X-Men character carried the name into comics with the white-streaked hair and the complicated powers to match. It means unpredictable, which is either a warning or a promise depending on the day.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Unpredictable
- Pronunciation: Rowg
- Popularity: Rogue ranked 5,367th for U.S. girls in 2025 and 4,117th for boys, roughly doubling on the previous decade.
Rowdy
Rowdy Yates, the Clint Eastwood role in Rawhide, made the name sound like a compliment. You do not need to have seen the show to get the point, because the word does the work by itself. Meaning loud and spirited, it belongs to a kid who does not mind a little trouble and has been climbing steadily.
- Origin: American
- Meaning: Loud, spirited
- Pronunciation: ROW-dee
- Popularity: Rowdy ranked 941st for U.S. boys in 2025 with 250 births, just off its 2024 best rank of 926th.
Roxie
Roxie Hart talks, sings and lies her way through Chicago, and she is far too entertaining for anyone to hold it against her. The name is usually short for Roxanne and means dawn, which is a lot gentler than the character. Short, spunky and a little theatrical, it has never fully gone away.
- Origin: Persian
- Meaning: Dawn
- Pronunciation: ROK-see
- Variations: Roxy
- Popularity: Roxie ranked 3,960th for U.S. girls in 2025, well down from its 1913 high of 331st.
Ruse
A ruse is a plan built to deceive, and using it as a name is a bold piece of honesty. It is barely used anywhere, which means a child named Ruse would carry it alone, and it reads as blunt on a birth certificate, which might be exactly the point.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: To trick
- Pronunciation: ROOZ
- Popularity: Ruse has never met the U.S. threshold of five births in a year, so it has never been published in the rankings.
Sarka
Sarka served as a lieutenant in the mythical Maidens War in Bohemia, and she won it by deception rather than force. The meaning, curved, gives no hint of any of that, which somehow makes the story better.
- Origin: Czech Republic
- Meaning: Curved
- Pronunciation: SHAR-kah
Saxon
Tricksters win with words, timing and nerve rather than strength, and Saxon has that kind of quiet confidence to it. The meaning, dagger or short sword, keeps a little steel in reserve. It is a solid pick among names that mean trickster for parents who want the idea without the mythology.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Dagger, short sword
- Pronunciation: SAK-sn
- Popularity: Saxon ranked 3,119th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 39 births, holding steady over the past decade.
Shabina
The eye of a storm is the calmest part and the most dangerous place to be caught, which makes it a striking thing to name a daughter after. This beautiful Muslim name for girls also carries Urdu roots. It is soft in the mouth and sharp in meaning.
- Origin: Muslim
- Meaning: Eye of the storm
- Popularity: Shabina appears in U.S. records only once, in 1990, when five girls were given the name.
Shuja
Shuja means brave and courageous, which is what a good trick usually requires more of than cleverness. It is a strong, uncluttered choice for a Muslim boy with a strong will to match. Two syllables, no fuss.
- Origin: Muslim
- Meaning: Courageous
- Pronunciation: SHOO-ha
- Popularity: Shuja has never appeared in U.S. name records, which publish only names given to at least five babies in a year.
Sigyn
Sigyn is the Norse goddess of loyalty, faithfulness and compassion, and she is married to Loki, the god of mischief. A name meaning victorious girlfriend has never been more literally earned.
- Origin: Norse
- Meaning: Victorious girlfriend
- Pronunciation: Siy-yin
Sinoe
Sinoe was a nymph who nursed the god Pan when he was small, which puts her in charge of one trickster before she was known as another. The meaning, mischievous, follows her rather than the baby. It is rare, pretty and short enough to grow with a child.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Mischievous
- Pronunciation: sih-NOH-ee
Sivanah
Sivanah is the goddess of illusion and magic, watching over people who keep secrets and those who deceive, which is quite a portfolio. The name is a derivative of the Spanish word savannah, meaning treeless plain, though the goddess story sits outside any one culture. The gap between the plain meaning and the mythology is what makes it interesting.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Treeless plain
- Pronunciation: sih-VAH-nuh
Sly
Sly is usually short for Sylvester, though it stands perfectly well on its own. The word describes someone who deceives quietly and skillfully, without ever raising their voice about it. As a first name it is short, memorable and unmistakably on theme.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Skilled expert
- Pronunciation: SLY
- Popularity: Sly ranked 8,160th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 10 births, well off its best-ever rank of 5,006th in 1973.
Sosruko
Sosruko is a god of Caucasian mythology, small in stature and dangerous out of all proportion to his size. He gets compared to Loki often, and the comparison holds up. The meaning, menacing, does not oversell him.
- Origin: North Caucus
- Meaning: Menacing
- Popularity: Sosruko has never met the U.S. publication threshold of five births in a year, so it carries no American ranking.
Storm
Storm is the X-Men character who controls the weather, and the name would be striking even without her. Storms stir things up, rearrange the furniture and leave before anyone has decided how to feel about it, which is toddler behavior in a single word. It means tempest and has been climbing for both girls and boys.
- Origin: British
- Meaning: Tempest
- Pronunciation: STAWRM
- Popularity: Storm reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, 1,442nd for girls and 2,124th for boys.
Susanoo
Susanoo is the Japanese god of storms and the sea, and the myths have him swinging between destruction and heroism with no warning. He saved one of his wives from a monster, which is the version most often retold. The Japanese name means wild male, and nothing about the stories argues with that.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Wild male, impetuous male
- Pronunciation: soo-sah-NOH-oh
Syrdon
Syrdon is the trickster god of the Nart sagas of the North Caucasus, and the parallels with Loki are hard to miss. He causes most of the trouble in the cycle and is far too useful to be got rid of. The meaning is simply trickster.
- Origin: North Caucus
- Meaning: Trickster
- Pronunciation: SEER-don
Tempest
Tempest means turbulent, and it works just as well for a mood as for weather. Anyone who has watched a two year old go from delighted to inconsolable in ten seconds will recognize the fit. The name has an old-fashioned drama to it that keeps it from sounding harsh.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Turbulent
- Pronunciation: TEM-pist
- Variations: Tempestt
- Namesakes: Tempestt Bledsoe, an American actress best known for her role as Vanessa in The Cosby Show.
- Popularity: Tempest ranked 7,103rd for U.S. girls in 2025, steady over the past decade and below its 1990 high of 1,566th.
Terach
Terach is the father of Abraham, and the Bible says remarkably little about him. What survives is the name itself, old fool and wild goat, which hints at a man who was more of a character than the text lets on. Rare, blunt and quietly funny.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Old fool, wild goat
- Pronunciation: TEH-rakh
Thornton
Thornton means thorny bush enclosure, and thorny bushes are where things get hidden, snagged and lost. Deception works much the same way, which makes the connection less of a stretch than it first appears. It is a stately, slightly old-fashioned name with a surprising amount of bite underneath.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Thorny bush enclosure
- Pronunciation: THORN-tun
- Popularity: Thornton ranked 8,190th for U.S. boys in 2025, steady in recent years and far off its 1913 high of 707th.
Tokoloshe
The tokoloshe of Bantu folklore is half man, half animal, and never up to anything good. Stories about it are still told to children across southern Africa. As a name it is long, striking and firmly on the darker end of this list.
- Origin: Zulu
- Meaning: Malevolent creature
- Pronunciation: TOE-koe-losh-ee
- Popularity: Tokoloshe does not appear in U.S. name records, which publish only names given to at least five babies in a year.
Trixie
Trixie is usually short for Beatrix, meaning bringer of joy, though it has enough personality to stand alone. It sounds like a wink. Short, retro and playful, it makes a genuinely cute name for a girl who is going to keep you guessing.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Bringer of Joy
- Pronunciation: TRIK-see
- Popularity: Trixie ranked 9,415th for U.S. girls in 2025, holding steady at a handful of births a year.
Tsephanyah
Tsephanyah means hidden by God, and the name has done a fine job of hiding itself. It is rare enough that most people will never have seen it written down. For parents who want something nobody else will bring to the playground, it is there for the taking.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Hidden by God
- Pronunciation: SEF-fin-nee-yah
Tyrion
Tyrion talks his way out of situations that should have finished him, and Game of Thrones made a decade of television out of it. Deception, in his hands, is mostly self-defense. The name means rock, which suits someone who kept turning out to be much harder to move than anyone expected.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Rock
- Pronunciation: TEER-ee-on
- Popularity: Tyrion ranked 5,373rd for U.S. boys in 2025, up about 54 percent on the previous decade after peaking in 2015.
Velius
Velius means hidden and concealed, and it has spent centuries living up to that. The name has been around for a very long time without ever catching on, so it has none of the wear that older names usually carry. A hidden treasure, quite literally, for a little girl.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Hidden, concealed
- Pronunciation: VEE-lee-us
Wilder
Wilder is typically a surname, which is part of why it sounds like a challenge rather than a label. Gene Wilder gave it comic mischief; Deontay Wilder gave it a right hand. The meaning is untamed, and no child who grows into it is likely to argue. It has been one of the fastest climbing boys’ names of the past ten years, and a cute name for a baby boy who is already testing the limits.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Untamed
- Pronunciation: WYL-der
- Namesakes: Gene Wilder, the American actor. Deontae Wilder, the American heavyweight boxer.
- Popularity: Wilder is the fastest riser on this list, ranked 431st for U.S. boys in 2025 per the Social Security Administration, after climbing roughly eightfold on the previous decade.
Wiley
Wile E. Coyote never once catches the Road Runner and never once stops trying, which is either a tragedy or a comedy depending on your age. Coyote is one of the classic trickster figures of North American folklore, and the cartoon is that tradition with rocket skates. The name means full of clever tricks.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Full of clever tricks
- Pronunciation: WY-lee
- Popularity: Wiley ranked 1,226th for U.S. boys in 2025 with 165 births, up about 69 percent on the previous decade.
Yamanu
Yamanu belonged to an Egyptian god often called the king of the gods, a figure who operated above the rules rather than within them. The meaning, the hidden one, describes both the deity and the name’s current standing. It is unusual, ancient and completely unclaimed.
- Origin: Egyptian
- Meaning: The hidden one
- Pronunciation: yah-MAH-noo
Yehl
Yehl is the Tlingit trickster god, and he is also, more plainly, a mountain goat. Both readings are true at once, which is very much the trickster’s way of doing things. Outside Tlingit communities, almost nobody has met one.
- Origin: Tlingit
- Meaning: Mountain goat
- Pronunciation: YELL
- Popularity: Yehl has never met the U.S. threshold of five births in a year, so it has never been published in the rankings.
Zephania
Zephania comes from the Hebrew tzafan, meaning to hide, and the biblical spelling Zephaniah is the one most people know. The shorter form is rarer and reads a little softer. It is traditional without being familiar, which is a difficult balance to strike.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Protected by God
- Variations: Zephaniah
- Popularity: Zephania last appeared in U.S. records in 2006, ranked 20,037th.
Zomo
Zomo the rabbit is the hero of a Nigerian story cycle, and he wins every time by being quicker of mind than everyone around him. Rabbit tricksters turn up in folklore all over the world, but this one has his own set of adventures. The name is short, cheerful and easy for a small child to say.
- Origin: Nigeria
- Meaning: Rabbit
- Pronunciation: ZOH-moh
