Some parents want a name that sits quietly in the corner. This list is for everyone else. Chaos names come out of mythology, scripture, weather and plain English words, and the 100 here run from Emily, ranked 34th for U.S. girls in 2025, to Striker at #13,639, both counted from United States births alone (1).
Every popularity note below comes from United States birth records, and the Social Security Administration publishes a name only when at least 5 babies receive it in a single year (2). Twenty of these names sit under that line, which is its own kind of useful.
You get meanings, origins, pronunciations and the story behind each pick, from Greek fates and Norse mischief to blunt word names like Rebel and Hurricane. Wilder is the fastest climber of the bunch, up about 738 percent on the decade before.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Emily, Delilah, Aiden, Axel and Cecilia.
- Emily
- Delilah
- Aiden
- Axel
- Cecilia
100 Cute Chaos Names for Boys and Girls
A hundred chaotic names for the little troublemaker on the way, from myth and scripture to blunt word names.
Abaddon
Abaddon carries pure wreckage in its meaning, yet it has a biblical aspect that softens the edge. Revelation casts Abaddon as the king of an army of locusts sent to spread despair, and other verses use the word for a bottomless pit close to hell. That is heavy freight for a small boy, so most families lean on Don, which sounds like any other kid on the playground.
- Origin: Hebrew, Greek
- Meaning: Ruin, destruction
- Pronunciation: AH-bah-dahn
- Popularity: Last listed at #10,826 in 2023, after a best of #8,744 in 2020.
Aella
Aella belongs with the beautiful girl names on this list, all storm and no harshness. Greek myth remembers her as an Amazon warrior who took on Heracles and lost, though the courage is the part the story keeps. The alternate reading is tornado, which fits a daughter who arrives spinning. Two pronunciations are in circulation, AY-luh and EYE-luh, so decide early which one your family will use.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Whirlwind
- Pronunciation: AY-luh, EYE-luh
- Variations: Aelle
- Popularity: Sat at #4,068 among U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2023 best of #1,906.
Aiden
Aiden sits near the top of the charts and still carries ancient weight, since Aodh was the Celtic god of fire. The meaning is little fire, the kind that flickers rather than burns the house down. An Irish saint of the same name is remembered for kindness and a generous spirit, so the fire runs warm as well as wild. For a boy with a temper and a big heart, few names balance both halves this well.
- Origin: Irish, Gaelic
- Meaning: Little fire
- Pronunciation: ay-DEN, EYE-din
- Variations: Ayden, Aidin, Aydin
- Namesakes: Aiden Turner, a British actor known for his role in All My Children.
- Popularity: #62 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2010 best of #9.
Akuji
Nothing unsettles quite like dead and awake, and Akuji wears it plainly. Some readings tie it to the story of Lazarus, raised from the dead in the Gospels, while others hear something closer to a zombie. Either way the name refuses to sit still. It suits a boy you already suspect will ignore the expectations set out for him.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Dead and awake
- Pronunciation: ah-KOO-gee
- Variations: Akoji
- Popularity: The SSA holds no record for Akuji, which puts it under 5 U.S. births in any single year.
Akuma
Akuma reads as menacing mostly because pop culture made it so. In Japanese Christian usage the word can refer to the devil or a demon who brings misfortune, which is a lot to hang on a nursery door. Read it lighter and it is simply a nod to your son’s devilish grin. Parents who like a name with a little smoke in it will find plenty here.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Devil, demon
- Pronunciation: uh-KOO-muh
- Namesakes: Akuma, a Mexican professional wrestler.
- Popularity: Too rare for the federal count. The SSA publishes a name only when at least 5 U.S. babies receive it in a year.
Alastor
Alastor began as an epithet for Zeus, and not a flattering one. It attached to the god’s greed and to the way he dealt with anyone who competed with him. The meaning lands as avenger, which is heavy, yet the AL-uh-ster sound passes for ordinary in a classroom register. That gap between sound and story is the whole appeal. A boy with a competitive streak grows into it easily.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Avenger
- Pronunciation: AL-uh-ster
- Popularity: #2,451 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2024 best of #1,902.
Amil
Amil hides its trouble well, since unattainable sounds gentle until you sit with it. Anyone who has chased something just out of reach knows the particular frustration the word describes. It is one of the quieter entries here and works for a child of any gender.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Unattainable
- Pronunciation: ah-MEEL
- Variations: Emil
- Namesakes: Amil Whitehead, an American rapper famous in the 1990s.
- Popularity: Ranked #5,871 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1918 best of #1,540.
Aridam
Aridam is a winner’s name, built from destroyer of foes with an alternate reading of one who has won over all his enemies. Life will throw its punches regardless, and there is something steadying about a name that assumes the upper hand. Ari trims it down for daily use and sounds nothing like its origins. The full form is the one to save for graduation programs.
- Origin: Indian
- Meaning: Destroyer of foes
- Pronunciation: ah-ree-DAHM
- Variations: Arindam
- Popularity: The SSA holds no record for Aridam, which puts it under 5 U.S. births in any single year.
Asani
Asani means rebellious, which is either a warning or a promise depending on your parenting philosophy. Swahili tradition treats it as masculine, while American usage has opened it to girls as well. Nee makes a soft nickname for a child who will probably not be soft. It reads as calm on paper and rarely stays that way.
- Origin: Swahili
- Meaning: Rebellious
- Pronunciation: uh-SAH-nee
- Popularity: #2,754 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2012 best of #2,210, though Asani is far better known as a common surname.
Atropos
Atropos was the Fate who decided how a life would end, and nothing she chose could be undone. Inflexible is the meaning, and the myth earns it. She is described as the oldest and the smallest of the three sisters, which makes the name a quiet fit for a firstborn girl. Expect to explain it at every parent evening.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Inflexible
- Pronunciation: uh-TRAA-pohs
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Atropos, because fewer than 5 American babies a year have carried it.
Axel
Axel translates as my father is peace, which is almost funny given where the name comes from. It is the Scandinavian form of Absalom, the son of King David who rebelled against his father and died when his hair caught in a tree. Few entries here carry a story that grim behind a sound that friendly. On a playground it is just AK-suhl, three letters of engine noise. The history can wait until your son is old enough to enjoy it.
- Origin: Scandinavian
- Meaning: My Father is peace
- Pronunciation: AK-suhl
- Variations: Axl
- Popularity: Sat at #79 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2023 best of #71.
Azazel
Azazel bounces off the tongue and then turns serious. In the Hebrew Bible the word marks where the scapegoat was sent as a sin offering, and Islamic tradition names Azazel a fallen angel who handed secret knowledge to mortals. That second reading makes it a name about forbidden cleverness rather than plain evil. Zee keeps things light for a smart, unusual kid.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Scapegoat
- Pronunciation: uh-ZAH-zuhl
- Popularity: #2,998 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2021 best of #2,825.
Balbina
Balbina comes from the Roman word for a small child who stammers, which is a tender origin dressed as an insult. Miscommunication is its own kind of disorder, and this name puts a word to it. Saint Balbina carried it into the Catholic calendar, so there is warmth here as well as history. It is long for a small person, and Bee handles the first few years. A girl who takes her time finding her words would wear it beautifully.
- Origin: Roman, Italian
- Meaning: Little stammerer
- Pronunciation: BAL-bee-nuh
- Popularity: Last listed at #15,558 in 2023, after a best of #1,809 in 1915.
Balor
Balor arrives straight out of Irish myth, a one-eyed giant representing the sun whose gaze did the damage. The deadly one is the meaning, and the stories do not soften it. What tends to get skipped is his command over an army, since the monster was also a leader. Parents drawn to the name usually like that mix of menace and authority.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: The deadly one
- Pronunciation: BAY-lor
- Variations: Balar
- Popularity: Sat at #10,856 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2018 best of #7,176.
Boris
Boris means fighting, the kind that happens on a battlefield rather than in a kitchen. An alternate reading is wolf, which pulls in both the cunning of children’s stories and the loyalty many cultures attach to the animal. Bo softens it for a toddler without erasing the spine underneath. It is a vintage pick with real weight.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: Fighting
- Pronunciation: BOR-iss
- Variations: Borys
- Namesakes: Boris Karloff, an English actor known for his role in Frankenstein.
- Popularity: #3,189 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1962 best of #874.
Breaker
Breaker sounds like demolition and actually describes surf, the wave that turns to foam as it hits the shore. That nature-inspired interpretation keeps the name from tipping into pure aggression. Word names have been climbing for years and this one has barely been touched, so a boy carrying it will rarely meet another. It suits a household that lives near water or simply wishes it did.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: A wave that creates foam on the shore
- Pronunciation: BRAY-ker
- Namesakes: Breaker Morant, an Australian poet.
- Popularity: Last listed at #12,417 in 2019, after a best of #6,681 in 2012.
Brenna
Brenna reads as bright and Irish, so the meaning, descendant of the sad one, catches most people off guard. An alternate reading is raven, a bird tied to omens and grief in more than one tradition. The actresses, gymnasts and television characters who have carried it give the name a cheerful modern face. It is the rare name that holds both moods without straining.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Descendant of the sad one
- Pronunciation: breh-NUH
- Namesakes: Brenna O’Brien, a Canadian actress known for her role in Scooby-Doo 2. Brenna Dowell, an American gymnast.
- Popularity: Sat at #1,846 among U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1995 best of #235.
Briar
Briar means a thorny patch, which is exactly the kind of trouble a fairy tale needs. Briar Rose is the name Sleeping Beauty hides under, and the thorns in that story belong to the villain’s plan rather than the girl. It leans female in practice, though boys are turning up with it more often. Prickly and pretty at once is a hard combination to beat.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: A thorny patch
- Pronunciation: BRYE-er
- Namesakes: Briar Nolet, a Canadian actress known for her role on The Next Step.
- Popularity: #400 for U.S. girls in 2025, its best showing on record.
Brutus
Brutus means heavy and it has never once sounded delicate. The name belongs to Marcus Junius Brutus, the assassin behind the line Et tu, Brute, so betrayal is baked in. Parents who choose it are usually banking on the gentle giant version of the story. It is worth knowing in advance that it is also a very popular name for a very large dog.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Heavy, dull
- Pronunciation: BROO-tus
- Namesakes: Brutus, the first king of Britain.
- Popularity: Last listed at #12,437 in 2021, after a best of #3,367 in 1950.
Buz
Buz is three letters and a small mystery, since it can be said BOOZ or boo-ZEE. The Old Testament gives it one line, as a son of Nahor, and the meaning runs to contempt. Read generously, it is a name for someone who does not mind being unpopular for the right reasons.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Contempt, despised
- Pronunciation: BOOZ, boo-ZEE
- Variations: Buzz
- Popularity: Last listed at #4,112 in 1963, after a best of #3,045 in 1957.
Cecilia
Cecilia is the patron saint of music, remembered for singing as she died. The name traces to Caecilius, a Roman clan whose name meant blind, and nobody has ever explained the label. That contradiction, a blind clan producing the saint of song, is more interesting than most chaos entries manage. Cute nicknames include Cee Cee and Celia.
- Origin: Latin, Italian
- Meaning: Blind
- Pronunciation: sih-SEEL-ee-uh
- Variations: Cecelia
- Namesakes: Cecilia Bartoli, an Italian opera singer.
- Popularity: #108 for U.S. girls in 2025, its best showing on record.
Crash
Crash is the sound of something going wrong at speed, and the name does not pretend otherwise. It turns heads in a roll call, which is either the point or the problem. Underneath the noise it is a cool name with a short, clean shape. Most families pair it with a steadier middle name for the resume years.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: To collide violently
- Pronunciation: KRASH
- Namesakes: Crash, an American graffiti artist.
- Popularity: Ranked #9,908 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2015 best of #8,914.
Dagger
Dagger is a small knife, which makes it a fitting name for someone small and not at all harmless. The weapon works by surprise rather than force, and that is the character the name suggests. Word names of this kind have found an audience, though this one is still rare enough to startle.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Small knife
- Pronunciation: DAA-gur
- Popularity: Sat at #12,441 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2022 best of #6,567.
Damon
Damon means one who subdues, and an alternate reading pushes that to to kill. It is among the most usable boy names on this list, familiar from the actor who wears it as a surname. The sound is smooth enough that almost nobody clocks the meaning. That combination is what keeps it in steady use.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: One who subdues
- Pronunciation: DAY-mahn
- Namesakes: Damon Wayans, an American actor known for his role in My Wife and Kids.
- Popularity: #501 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1976 best of #104.
Danger
Danger looks masculine on the page and works perfectly well for a daring girl. Sensing danger takes intuition, which is the trait most parents actually want their child to have. Dan is right there when the full version feels like too much. As word names go, it is bolder in print than in conversation.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: The possibility of something unpleasant
- Pronunciation: DAYN-gur
- Popularity: Ranked #12,457 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2020 best of #7,135.
Deidamia
Deidamia means one who remains calm in war, which is a rare thing to promise a daughter. The Greek princess behind it was tangled up with Achilles and, in some tellings, went into battle in disguise. Deception runs through her story, but so does composure. It is a mouthful, DYE-day-mee-uh, and worth the trouble.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: One who remains calm in war
- Pronunciation: DYE-day-mee-uh
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Deidamia, because fewer than 5 American babies a year have carried it.
Deirdre
Deirdre sounds like a song and the song is a sad one. Irish legend calls her Deirdre of the Sorrows, coerced into a marriage and treated badly until an early death. Raging, brokenhearted is the meaning, and the story does not argue. What survives is the passion rather than the grief, which is why the name still moves people.
- Origin: Celtic, Irish
- Meaning: Raging, brokenhearted
- Pronunciation: DEER-druh
- Namesakes: Deirdre Lovejoy, an American actress known for her role in The Backlist. Deirdre Madden, an Irish author specializing in fiction.
- Popularity: #7,989 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1961 best of #333.
Delilah
Delilah is so well used now that its roots slip past most people. In the Bible she engineered Samson’s betrayal and, in the end, his death. The meaning on record is delicate, which the story flatly contradicts. Lila is the natural nickname and takes the edge off completely.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Delicate
- Pronunciation: dee-LYE-luh
- Namesakes: Delilah Rene Luke, an American radio personality known for The Delilah Show.
- Popularity: Ranked #51 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2024 best of #50.
Devlin
Devlin means unlucky, which is a strange thing to find on an Irish name. An alternate reading is fierce courage, and that is the one most families sign up for. Luck tends to follow effort anyway, so the meaning is easy to reframe. Lin works as a short form if the full name feels too stern.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Unlucky
- Pronunciation: dev-LIHN
- Namesakes: Devlin Barrett, an American reporter for the Washington Post.
- Popularity: Sat at #6,547 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2003 best of #1,149.
Diablo
Diablo is Spanish for devil and makes no attempt at subtlety. Most people meet the word through a video game or a wrestling ring rather than a hymn. Dee is the escape hatch when the full version is too much for a school register, though the whole appeal is that it never really tones down.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Devil
- Pronunciation: dee-AH-bloh
- Namesakes: Diablo Cody, an American screenwriter known for her work on Juno.
- Popularity: Last listed at #5,680 in 1975, after a best of #5,680 in 1975.
Diesel
Diesel is fuel, so the name comes preloaded with speed and forward motion. It also carries the other half of that idea, the mess you get from putting the wrong fuel in an engine. Less obviously, it works as a short form of Mathias, which gives a longer option on the birth certificate. It suits a boy who has been on the move since before he could walk.
- Origin: German, English
- Meaning: Fuel
- Pronunciation: DEE-suhl
- Namesakes: Diesel Daigle, son of athlete Jennie Finch.
- Popularity: Ranked #2,335 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2014 best of #1,186.
Draco
Draco belongs to Harry Potter for a whole generation, and that association is not going anywhere. Long before that, the name belonged to the Athenian lawgiver whose code was so severe that we still call harsh rules draconian. On the brighter side Draco means “dragon,” which many cultures tie to strength and good fortune. Few names swing this far between menace and luck.
- Origin: Greek, Italian, Latin
- Meaning: Dragon, serpent
- Pronunciation: DRAY-coh
- Namesakes: Draco Rosa, a Puerto-Rican songwriter who wrote Livin’ La Vida Loca.
- Popularity: Sat at #1,733 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2021 best of #1,208.
Drefan
Drefan means trouble and comes with very little baggage otherwise, since the record on it is thin. That blankness is an advantage, because your son gets to decide what the name means in practice. Alternate meanings include “warrior,” which suits a scrapper with a sense of humor. Dre and Fin both work as short forms.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Trouble
- Pronunciation: DRIH-fin
- Popularity: Too rare for the federal count. The SSA publishes a name only when at least 5 U.S. babies receive it in a year.
Emily
Emily hides its meaning well: rival, which is competition rather than affection. It is the most used name on this whole list today, ranked 34th for U.S. girls in 2025 (3). The literary bearers, Emily Dickinson and Emily Bronte among them, wrote from the far edge of feeling and are the reason the name still reads as intense rather than plain. A century and a half of steady use has smoothed all of that into something safe. Your daughter gets the softness and the steel in one word.
- Origin: Latin, English
- Meaning: Rival
- Pronunciation: EM-uh-lee, EM-ih-lee
- Variations: Emilee, Emmalee, Emaly, Emilie
- Namesakes: Emily Blunt, a British actress known for her role in Mary Poppins Returns.
- Popularity: Ranked #34 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1996 best of #1.
Ephai
Ephai turns up once in the Hebrew Bible and then disappears, which leaves the name almost entirely to you. The meaning runs to gloomy, with darkling and coverer offered as alternates. It has the sound of an overcast afternoon and none of the harshness of the other biblical picks here. Effy is a sweet short form for a boy with a serious face.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Gloomy
- Pronunciation: EH-fye
- Popularity: Ephai has never crossed the 5-birth line the SSA needs before it will publish a name.
Esau
Esau means hairy, and the Bible makes that detail matter. Hungry and impatient, he traded his birthright to his brother Jacob, which set off one of scripture’s longest family feuds. The part people forget is the reconciliation at the end. That arc, blunder to peace, is a decent thing to hand a son.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Hairy
- Pronunciation: ee-SAW
- Namesakes: Esau Simpson, a Grenadian Olympic swimmer.
- Popularity: #3,205 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1916 best of #1,427.
Fachnan
Fachnan means malicious, which sits oddly on a saint. Fachnan of Kilfenora was the first bishop there, and the name has carried his reputation ever since. There are two accepted sounds for it, FAHK-nin and FACH-nin, the second with the throaty Irish ch. Ninny is the gentler nickname, and yes, that will need explaining.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Malicious
- Pronunciation: FAHK-nin, FACH-nin
- Popularity: Too rare for the federal count. The SSA publishes a name only when at least 5 U.S. babies receive it in a year.
Fogarty
Fogarty means exiled and reads as a surname because for most of its life it was one. Designers, cartoonists and writers have carried it, which gives the name a creative rather than criminal air. Used up front it makes a defiant, slightly cowboy first name.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Exiled
- Pronunciation: FOH-gur-tee
- Variations: Fogerty
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Fogarty, because fewer than 5 American babies a year have carried it.
Foley
Foley means plunderer, and an alternate reading, descendant of the pirate, explains where the theft comes in. Television has given it a modern face, and it stays rare as a first name. It works for any child, which is why it lands as a gender-fluid title.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Plunderer
- Pronunciation: FOH-lee
- Namesakes: Foley, an American bassist and singer famous in the 1980s.
- Popularity: Last listed at #3,644 in 1955, after a best of #3,349 in 1922.
Fox
Fox is the storybook trickster, always a step ahead and rarely to be trusted. Outside those stories the animal has stood for cleverness and good fortune for centuries. The name is short, sharp and impossible to mishear across a playground. For a boy with a quick mind and a quicker grin, it fits.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: A wild animal in the dog family
- Pronunciation: FOHKS
- Namesakes: Fox Butterfield, an American journalist for The New York Times.
- Popularity: Ranked #1,411 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2016 best of #744.
Goku
Goku is anime shorthand for a certain kind of hero, and Dragon Ball fans will need no introduction. The character draws on Sun Wukong, the monkey king of Chinese legend, so the roots run deeper than the show. The meaning, aware of emptiness, points at the vertigo you feel looking at the size of the universe. A German rock band has used the fuller form, Son Goku.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Aware of emptiness
- Pronunciation: goh-KOO
- Popularity: Sat at #10,034 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2020 best of #4,758.
Gulliver
Gulliver means glutton, which is a blunt way of saying the boy wants everything life offers. Lemuel Gulliver, of Gulliver’s Travels, gives the name its permanent association with voyages and strange countries. Gary Oldman chose it for his son in 1997. It stays rare enough that a boy would own it outright.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Glutton
- Pronunciation: GULL-ih-ver
- Namesakes: Gulliver McGrath, an Australian actor known for his role in Lincoln.
- Popularity: Last listed at #12,784 in 2021, after a best of #12,784 in 2021.
Harley
Harley arrives with an engine note attached, thanks to the motorcycle and to a certain chaotic comic book villain. The meaning underneath is calm, the long field, which almost nobody expects. That contrast makes it a good fit for your little badass with a soft side. It works equally well for a boy or a girl.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: The long field
- Pronunciation: har-LEE
- Variations: Harleigh, Harlee
- Namesakes: Harley Bird, an English actress who voiced Peppa Pig.
- Popularity: Ranked #418 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2017 best of #202. It is still a popular unisex name.
Helmar
Helmar means fighting fury, which is about as direct as this list gets. It has been out of use long enough that a boy carrying it now would essentially be introducing it. The sound is old Swedish and sturdy, closer to a grandfather than a warrior.
- Origin: Swedish
- Meaning: Fighting fury
- Pronunciation: HELL-mur
- Popularity: Last listed at #4,179 in 1916, after a best of #4,078 in 1915.
Huayna
Huayna means youthful, a gentle word attached to a famously ungentle place. Huayna Picchu, the peak behind Machu Picchu, has a reputation for both the view and the drop. Guides trade stories about its toll, though no confirmed count exists. The name keeps that mix of beauty and risk, which is the whole idea behind this list.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Youthful
- Pronunciation: hoo-YAH-nuh
- Popularity: Too rare for the federal count. The SSA publishes a name only when at least 5 U.S. babies receive it in a year.
Hurricane
Hurricane is one of the few names here you could put on a playlist, since songwriters return to the word constantly. The meaning traces to a storm god, so the weather is the origin rather than a metaphor. It suits a child of either gender who arrived making noise.
- Origin: Spanish, Native American
- Meaning: God of the storm
- Pronunciation: HUR-ih-kayn
- Namesakes: Hurricane Black, an American tennis star.
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Hurricane, because fewer than 5 American babies a year have carried it.
Huxley
Huxley means inhospitable place, which is a lot of loneliness for such a cheerful sound. It started as a surname and has been working its way onto first name charts for two decades. The X does most of the heavy lifting, giving it an energy the meaning never suggests. It reads well for a boy or a girl.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Inhospitable place
- Pronunciation: HUKs-lee
- Popularity: Sat at #736 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2020 best of #538.
Ichabod
Ichabod means where is the glory, a question asked at a bad moment in the Old Testament. Most people know it instead from Ichabod Crane, the jumpy schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow who lost the girl and then vanished. It is a Halloween name in the best sense. Families who love a classic ghost story will not need convincing.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Where is the glory
- Pronunciation: ICK-uh-bahd
- Popularity: The SSA holds no record for Ichabod, which puts it under 5 U.S. births in any single year.
Iniko
Iniko means time of trouble, and an alternate reading, born during troubled times, makes it almost a diary entry. Plenty of babies arrive in exactly that kind of year. Tradition leans male, though nothing about the sound requires it. Niko trims it to something entirely ordinary.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Time of trouble
- Pronunciation: ih-NIH-koh
- Popularity: Ranked #6,952 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2020 best of #4,769.
Jacan
Jacan means trouble and shows up exactly once in the Bible, as a leader within the tribe of Gad. An alternate reading, he will act like a serpent, is not the sort of thing you put on a nursery wall. Jac cuts it down to something a teacher can spell.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Trouble
- Pronunciation: JAK-ihn
- Variations: Jachin
- Popularity: Last listed at #13,128 in 2007, after a best of #10,264 in 1998.
Jezebel
Jezebel is the Bible’s designated bad girl, and the reputation has outlasted every detail of the actual story. She was also a queen who held real power and used it. The alternate reading, a morally unrestrained woman, has been reclaimed often enough that it now lands as defiance rather than insult. For a daughter you expect to argue with authority, it is a statement.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Unexalted
- Pronunciation: JEH-zuh-bel
- Popularity: #10,465 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2007 best of #3,504.
Jinx
Jinx means a spell or charm, and only some of the time does it mean the bad kind. The word swings between luck you catch and luck you cast. It is short, unisex and impossible to forget after one introduction.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Spell or charm
- Pronunciation: JINKS
- Namesakes: Jinx Falkenburg, an American actress who pioneered talk shows.
- Popularity: Ranked #11,363 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1950 best of #2,386.
Kane
Kane is Cain with the edges filed off, and the biblical Cain is the first murderer in the book. Spelled this way it passes as an ordinary modern name, and almost nobody makes the connection. Other traditions give it their own readings, including little battler and beautiful. It is one of the more wearable picks here.
- Origin: Irish, Japanese, Hawaiian
- Meaning: Little battler
- Pronunciation: KAYN
- Variations: Cain, Caine, Kain
- Namesakes: Kane Brown, an American country singer.
- Popularity: Sat at #451 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2018 best of #319.
Keres
Keres sounds soft and means death spirits. In Greek mythology the Keres were the ones who fed on the fallen after a battle. Homer also uses the word for the fates a person chooses between, which is a stranger and more useful idea. Parenthood is mostly a long run of those choices. Kare makes a gentle nickname for a girl with a fierce name.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Death spirits
- Pronunciation: KAIR-iss
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Keres, because fewer than 5 American babies a year have carried it.
Letha
Letha means forgetfulness, which sounds harmless until you meet its source. The river Lethe ran through the Greek underworld and erased whoever drank from it. That gives a very pretty name an undertow. Lee is the easy nickname and the one most people will default to.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Forgetfulness
- Pronunciation: LEE-thuh
- Popularity: Last listed at #16,510 in 2020, after a best of #262 in 1913.
Lilith
Lilith spent centuries as a monster and has spent the last few decades as a heroine. Jewish folklore casts her as Adam’s first wife, thrown out of Eden for refusing to obey. The meaning, belonging to the night, followed her into the demon stories that came after. Parents choose it now for the refusal rather than the demon.
- Origin: Assyrian
- Meaning: Belonging to the night
- Pronunciation: lill-UTH
- Namesakes: Lilith Love, a Dutch photographer and artist.
- Popularity: Sat at #277 among U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2023 best of #232.
Lorelei
Lorelei belongs to Gilmore Girls now, which is a warm home for a name with a body count. German legend ties her to the Rhine, where her song was said to lure sailors to their deaths. The meaning lands as alluring, and the legend explains what that cost. Rory and Lori are both waiting as nicknames.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Alluring, temptress
- Pronunciation: lor-uh-LYE
- Variations: Lorelai, Loralei
- Namesakes: Lorelei King, an American actress known for her role in Notting Hill.
- Popularity: #441 for U.S. girls in 2025, its best showing on record.
Lowell
Lowell means young wolf, and the animal does most of the work here. Wolves get cast as treacherous in stories and are, in fact, relentlessly loyal to their own. They understand that life goes better in a pack and act accordingly. That is not a bad legacy to hand a child.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Young wolf
- Pronunciation: LOW-uhl
- Variations: Loel
- Namesakes: Lowell Mason, an American hymnist who wrote Nearer My God to Thee.
- Popularity: Ranked #3,281 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1931 best of #147.
Malala
Malala means sad, bereaved, and one person has completely rewritten what it signals. Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was named for Malalai, a folk hero of Afghanistan. Both faced situations that would have flattened most people. The name now reads as courage rather than grief.
- Origin: Pashto
- Meaning: Sad, bereaved
- Pronunciation: muh-LA-la
- Namesakes: Malala Yousafzai, a young Nobel Peace Prize winner.
- Popularity: Last listed at #16,789 in 2024, after a best of #8,433 in 2018.
Mallory
Mallory means unlucky, which is a heavy thing to name a baby and an easy thing to disprove. Readers of a certain age meet it first in the Babysitters Club books. It began as a surname and has been comfortable up front for decades now. Resilience, not luck, is the trait this name tends to grow.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Unlucky
- Pronunciation: MAL-or-ee
- Variations: Mallarie, Mallary, Mallori
- Namesakes: Mallory Reaves, an American author known for her manga series.
- Popularity: #372 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1986 best of #83.
Malo
Malo means shining hostage, a phrase that resists explanation and is better for it. The Celtic saint who carried it became the patron of lost things, which is a useful job in any house with children. It is short, warm and almost never heard in American classrooms.
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: Shining hostage
- Pronunciation: mah-LOH
- Popularity: Ranked #7,493 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1972 best of #3,518.
Mary
Mary means bitter, which surprises almost everyone who has only met it in church. The most famous bearer is the mother of Jesus, and the name has been near the center of American records since they began. Bitterness is the kind of disorder that stays inside rather than breaking furniture. For Catholic families it needs no defense at all.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Bitter
- Pronunciation: MAIR-ee
- Variations: Mery, Maree
- Namesakes: Mary J. Blige, an American R&B singer.
- Popularity: Sat at #125 among U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1913 best of #1.
Medea
Medea is the sorceress who betrayed her father and then killed her own children, which is about as far as a myth goes. Greek names for chaos are usually fictional, so your daughter would be writing the first real chapter. The meaning itself is mild, middle, which only adds to the strangeness. Dee is available for anyone who would rather not explain, though the full version is the point.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Middle
- Pronunciation: muh-DEE-uh
- Variations: Medeia
- Namesakes: Medea Benjamin, an American peace activist.
- Popularity: Last listed at #14,863 in 2008, after a best of #4,210 in 1967.
Molly
Molly means of the sea, and the sea is where the chaos comes from. It looks plain on paper, which is exactly why it has stayed in use for well over a century. The spellings, Molli and Mollie among them, give parents somewhere to put their individuality. Actresses, writers and a Revolutionary War heroine have all carried it.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Of the sea
- Pronunciation: MOH-lee
- Variations: Molli, Mollie
- Namesakes: Molly Ringwald, an American actress known for her role in The Breakfast Club.
- Popularity: Ranked #196 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1991 best of #74.
Mort
Mort means dead, which makes it the bluntest entry on this list. It began as a clip of Mortimer and has been standing on its own for a long time. Morty softens it into something a grandmother could say without flinching.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Dead
- Pronunciation: MORT
- Variations: Morte
- Namesakes: Mort Drucker, an American cartoonist.
- Popularity: Last listed at #4,305 in 1956, after a best of #2,779 in 1932.
Naphtali
Naphtali was Jacob’s sixth son, and the name records the rivalry between Rachel and Leah that produced him. The meaning, to twist, comes straight out of that struggle. Tradition pictures him as a gazelle, which turns the wrestling into speed and grace. Beautiful things do come out of disorder, and this name is the receipt.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: To twist, to be cunning
- Pronunciation: NAF-tah-lee
- Popularity: #11,588 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1979 best of #4,707.
Narcissus
Narcissus needs no introduction to anyone who has taken a psychology class. The Greek youth fell in love with his own reflection and never looked away from it again. The listed meaning is astonishment, which is the moment before the trouble starts. A daffodil grew where he died, and the flower still carries his name.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Astonishment
- Pronunciation: nar-SIH-suhs
- Popularity: Last listed at #6,352 in 1961, after a best of #2,230 in 1919.
Nemo
Nemo means nobody, and Odysseus used it as an alias to fool a cyclops. Most families now meet the word through a small orange fish and a very long search. Naming a child nobody is a strange move until you remember it once saved a man’s life. It is short, friendly and easy to spell.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Nobody
- Pronunciation: NEE-moh
- Popularity: Last listed at #9,432 in 2021, after a best of #4,169 in 1922.
Odysseus
Odysseus means wrathful, though wrath is the least interesting thing about him. The king of Ithaca talked his way out of far more trouble than he ever fought his way out of. Ten years of disasters will make anyone resourceful. Ody keeps it usable through preschool, and the full name is worth the wait.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Wrathful
- Pronunciation: oh-DI-see-us
- Popularity: #2,870 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2020 best of #2,828.
Ophelia
Shakespeare made Ophelia a household name and then broke her in front of an audience. Ophelia loses her mind after her father is killed by the man she loves, which is a heavy thing to carry into a nursery. The meaning is gentler than the play, simply help. The founder of the Foo Fighters chose it for his daughter, and it has found a firm place among families who read.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Help
- Pronunciation: oh-FEEL-ee-uh
- Variations: Ofelia
- Namesakes: Ophelia Benson, an American author specializing in feminist works.
- Popularity: Ranked #264 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2024 best of #259.
Osman
Osman means son of snake, and snakes have been carrying bad press since Eden. The word can land as an insult in some settings, which is exactly why some parents like it. It is short, formal and hardly heard in American classrooms. A boy here would rarely meet another.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Son of snake
- Pronunciation: OHS-mahn
- Namesakes: Osman Dikic, a Bosnian poet.
- Popularity: Sat at #1,157 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2022 best of #977.
Pandora
Pandora means all-gifted, and the gift she is remembered for is the jar she opened. Out came deceit, betrayal, greed and every other misfortune, and the myth blames her for all of it. What stayed inside was hope, which is the detail worth telling a daughter. Dora waits in the wings, though this is a name that rewards saying in full.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: All-gifted
- Pronunciation: pan-DOR-uh
- Namesakes: Pandora Colin, a British actress known for her role in The Aftermath.
- Popularity: #4,526 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1952 best of #784.
Persephone
Persephone is why we have seasons, according to the Greeks. Taken by Hades, she negotiated her way back for part of the year, which is the most competent thing anyone does in that story. Alternate meanings include “dark blue,” making it a quiet pick for a blue-eyed daughter. The rhythm is close enough to Stephanie that it settles into a class list easily.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Bringer of death
- Pronunciation: pur-SEF-uh-nee
- Namesakes: Persephone Swales Dawson, a British actress known for her role in The House on Cold Hill.
- Popularity: Ranked #735 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2022 best of #683.
Phobos
Phobos is where the word phobia comes from, and the god himself was panic in person. Terror sits alongside fear as a reading. Naming a child for the thing you hope he never feels is a gamble, and a memorable one.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Personification of fear
- Pronunciation: fo-BUHS
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Phobos, because fewer than 5 American babies a year have carried it.
Puma
Puma is the big cat that does its work quietly, which is more unnerving than roaring. The sportswear brand has given the word a second life and a certain polish. Animal names are having a long moment, and this one keeps getting passed over for Fox. A high-energy toddler would wear it well.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Big cat
- Pronunciation: PYOO-muh
- Popularity: The SSA holds no record for Puma, which puts it under 5 U.S. births in any single year.
Ransom
Ransom carries the word for what you pay to get someone back, though the name’s own meaning is warrior’s shield. It peaked in 1915, in the tail of the outlaw era. Vintage names keep returning, and this one is overdue. It suits a boy with a stubborn sense of right and wrong.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Warrior’s shield
- Pronunciation: RAN-suhm
- Namesakes: Ransom Riggs, an American children’s author
- Popularity: Sat at #1,695 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1915 best of #771.
Raven
Ravens have been shorthand for grief since long before Poe, though he certainly did not help. The same bird stands for intuition and, in the name’s own listed meaning, wise. Ray is there for the shy years. It leans female in practice and sounds just as good on a boy.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Wise
- Pronunciation: RAY-vehn
- Variations: Rayven, Ravin
- Namesakes: Raven Symone, an American actress known for her role in That’s So Raven.
- Popularity: #404 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1993 best of #139.
Rebecca
Rebecca means snare, and the Bible gives the word something to do, since she helped her son Jacob trick his father out of a blessing. That scheming has never dented the name’s popularity in the slightest. For many readers the first Rebecca is instead the spunky girl of Sunnybrook Farm. Becca and Becky have each had their decades.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Snare
- Pronunciation: RUH-beh-kuh
- Variations: Rebekah
- Namesakes: Rebecca Romijn, an American actress known for her role in X-Men.
- Popularity: Ranked #350 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1973 best of #10.
Rebel
Rebel says the quiet part out loud, which is either brave or a self-fulfilling prophecy. The actress Rebel Wilson has tipped it toward girls, though nothing in the word is gendered. Expect a child with a will like iron and plan accordingly.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Defiant person
- Pronunciation: REH-bill
- Namesakes: Rebel Wilson, an Australian actress known for her role in Pitch Perfect.
- Popularity: Sat at #3,204 among U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2021 best of #1,620.
Rocky
Rocky describes a bad patch in a relationship, which is funny for a name built on rock. The alternate reading is rest, a steady place to put your head down. Rocky Balboa has owned the sound since the 1970s and shows no sign of giving it back. Rocco is the more formal version if you want somewhere to grow into.
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: Rock, rest
- Pronunciation: RAH-kee
- Variations: Rockie
- Namesakes: Rocky Carroll, an American actor and director known for his work on NCIS.
- Popularity: #568 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1955 best of #240.
Rogue
Rogue means unpredictable, which is less a description than a forecast. X-Men fans will place it immediately, while others associate it with animé. It stays rare for either gender and turns up slightly more often on girls. A child with this name will keep you on your toes by contract.
- Origin: British
- Meaning: Unpredictable
- Pronunciation: ROWG
- Popularity: Ranked #5,367 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2017 best of #2,921.
Rowdy
Rowdy once meant a person who picked fights, and the edge has worn down into something affectionate. Now it fits the child who cannot sit still through a meal. Loud shows up as an alternate meaning, which describes most babies accurately. The Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines has given it a respectable public face.
- Origin: American
- Meaning: Spirited
- Pronunciation: ROW-dee
- Namesakes: Rowdy Herrington, an American film director known for his work on Gladiator.
- Popularity: Sat at #941 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2024 best of #926.
Samael
Samael means venom of God, and the traditions around it place him close to Satan without quite arriving. He is called the destroyer, though his work includes punishing the wicked, which leaves a sliver of good in the ledger. Sam covers everyday use. It is one letter and a whole world away from Samuel.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Venom of God
- Pronunciation: SAH-mye-el
- Popularity: #3,366 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2022 best of #2,317.
Saul
Saul means prayed for, which is a soft start for a king who ended up throwing spears at his own harpist. Envy of David undid him, and the text describes a spirit that tormented him toward the end. There is a second Saul in scripture, the one who became Paul, and that version of the name is all redemption. Parents get to choose which story they are handing over.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Prayed for
- Pronunciation: SAWL
- Namesakes: Saul Leiter, an American photographer and artist.
- Popularity: Ranked #557 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1997 best of #270.
Shabina
Shabina means eye of the storm, the still place with everything spinning around it. An alternate reading, born to pray, gives spiritual families a second reason to like it. It has no famous bearer yet, which leaves the field wide open.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Eye of the storm
- Pronunciation: sha-BEE-nuh
- Variations: Shabeena
- Popularity: Last listed at #14,793 in 1990, after a best of #14,793 in 1990.
Shenzi
Shenzi means savage and belongs, for most people, to a hyena in The Lion King. Outside that one appearance the name has stayed almost entirely unused. It sits close enough to Kenzie to sound familiar and far enough to be nobody else’s.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Savage
- Pronunciation: shen-ZEE
- Variations: Shenzie
- Popularity: Shenzi has never crossed the 5-birth line the SSA needs before it will publish a name.
Shiva
Shiva means auspicious, and the god who carries it is the destroyer in the Hindu trinity. Those two facts sit together more comfortably than they look, since destruction clears ground for whatever comes next. He is also described as a master artist and dancer. For a creative child, that is a good omen with teeth.
- Origin: Persian
- Meaning: Auspicious
- Pronunciation: SHEE-vah
- Popularity: Ranked #4,370 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 1997 best of #3,857.
Sidero
Sidero is listed as an evil nymph, and the myth backs the job title, since she abused her stepdaughter Tyro and died badly at the hands of Tyro’s sons. It is a rare case where the bearer of a chaos name is the villain rather than the victim. Sid hides all of that neatly. Two pronunciations are in use, SID-er-oh and sih-DAIR-oh.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: An evil nymph
- Pronunciation: SID-er-oh, sih-DAIR-oh
- Popularity: Too rare for the federal count. The SSA publishes a name only when at least 5 U.S. babies receive it in a year.
Storm
Storm means tempest and needs no interpretation at all. Some people find weather frightening and others find it calming, so the name works in either household. Stormie turns up as a softer spelling, usually on girls.
- Origin: British
- Meaning: Tempest
- Pronunciation: STORM
- Namesakes: Storm Thorgerson, an English graphic designer who created album covers for Pink Floyd.
- Popularity: #1,442 for U.S. girls in 2025, its best showing on record.
Striker
Striker sounds like a fighter and started as a job, the blacksmith’s helper who swung the heavy hammer. A second reading points at someone on strike, which makes it a name about refusing as much as hitting. Stryker is the spelling for parents who want more edge. Either way it is the rarest charted name on this list.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: To make smooth
- Pronunciation: STRYE-ker
- Variations: Stryker
- Popularity: Ranked #13,639 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2016 best of #9,555.
Talon
Talon is the claw, which makes it a name about the moment of the strike. Writers keep reaching for it, and it has turned up in both Star Wars and the Legend of Zelda. On a class list it passes as an ordinary two-syllable boy’s name, which is half the fun.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Large claw
- Pronunciation: TAL-on, TAL-in
- Variations: Talan, Talin
- Namesakes: Talon Smith, an American actor known for his role in Friday Night Lights.
- Popularity: Sat at #1,181 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2006 best of #426.
Tavora
Tavora means break, fracture, and the record on it is thin beyond that. What we have is a word for a person who has been through something. Cracks are also where the light gets in, which is the reading most parents will prefer.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Break, fracture
- Pronunciation: TA-ver-ah
- Popularity: Too rare for the federal count. The SSA publishes a name only when at least 5 U.S. babies receive it in a year.
Tempest
Tempest means turbulent, the mood everyone lands in occasionally and toddlers live in permanently. Alternate meanings include “stormy,” which is the same idea with weather attached. It leans female in use and sounds just as good on a boy.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Turbulent
- Pronunciation: TEM-pist
- Popularity: Ranked #7,103 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1990 best of #1,566.
Terach
Terach was Abraham’s father, and the name he left behind means silly old fool. An alternate reading, wild goat, is not much kinder and considerably funnier. It is a biblical pick for parents with a sense of humor about scripture.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Silly old fool
- Pronunciation: TAIR-uhk
- Popularity: Terach has never crossed the 5-birth line the SSA needs before it will publish a name.
Torquil
Torquil is a name made for a Viking, and the meaning, Thor’s cauldron, is where the god cooked up his mischief. Its best known bearer, Torquil MacLeod, founded the MacLeods of Lewis in the fourteenth century. The sound is Scottish and formal, closer to a clan chief than a comic book. It suits a boy you already expect to be in charge of something.
- Origin: Scottish
- Meaning: Thor’s cauldron
- Pronunciation: TOR-kill
- Popularity: The SSA holds no record for Torquil, which puts it under 5 U.S. births in any single year.
Valkyrie
Valkyrie means chooser of the slain, and the valkyries were the female spirits who decided a warrior’s fate after battle. That is why a name this armored has always belonged to girls. Discernment, not violence, is the actual job description. Ree is the nickname for the years before she grows into it.
- Origin: Norse
- Meaning: Chooser of the slain
- Pronunciation: VAL-kee-ree
- Popularity: Ranked #1,925 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 2022 best of #1,455.
Wilder
Wilder means untamed and arrives as a surname, which is where its confidence comes from. Readers will know it from Laura and Almanzo of Little House on the Prairie, and the roster includes authors, athletes and scientists besides. It is also the fastest climbing name on this list. Wil is there when the full version feels like a lot.
- Origin: German, English
- Meaning: Untamed
- Pronunciation: WYLE-der
- Namesakes: Wilder Bancroft, an American physical chemist.
- Popularity: Sat at #431 among U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2021 best of #367.
Wolf
Wolf started as a clip of Wolfgang and has been standing alone for years. The animal reads as destructive in stories and as sacred in plenty of cultures, and the name gets both. Kylie Jenner put it back in the headlines by choosing it for her son. Wolfie handles the toddler years.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: A cunning man
- Pronunciation: WULF
- Variations: Wolfe
- Namesakes: Wolf Blitzer, an American journalist for CNN.
- Popularity: #1,902 for U.S. boys in 2025, well below its 2021 best of #1,605.
Zillah
Zillah appears early in Genesis as the wife of Lamech, in a family tradition tied to early metalworking. The meaning is shadow, which the bright sound does not prepare you for. Lala works for the small years. It is short, biblical and almost never used, which may be the best argument for it.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Shadow
- Pronunciation: ZILL-uh
- Variations: Zilla
- Popularity: Ranked #7,485 for U.S. girls in 2025, well below its 1914 best of #2,433.
