Gold names cluster around a few roots. The Latin aurum is the biggest of them, and it is why the periodic table still calls the element Au. The Greek khrusos and the Celtic aur and or account for most of the rest, so once you can hear those pieces, those roots explain a large block of the names below.
The rest arrive by color, by sunlight, or from a language with its own word for gold: amber, saffron, tawny, and the sunrise names out of Greek and Sanskrit. Every popularity note below has been rebuilt from the latest U.S. Social Security Administration figures, which publish a name only once it reaches five births in a year.
Three numbers set expectations. Marigold is up about 1,298% on the previous decade of U.S. births, the biggest gain here; Oscar is the highest ranked at #223 in 2025; and Sovanna is the rarest that charts at all, #16,963 in 2025, roughly one birth in 333,333. Twenty-four of these 100 names are too rare for the federal data to list.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Oscar, Edward, Kiara, Cyrus and Otto.
100 Baby Names Meaning Gold
Discover our gold mine of names meaning gold, and find the perfect one for your baby.
Aarush
Aarush comes from the Sanskrit arusi and points to daybreak, the first ray of sun clearing the horizon. Hindu tradition links the word to the red horses of Agni, the god of fire, and it also names a type of snake. That gives a short, bright name an unexpected amount of history to stand on. Parents who want something modern without inventing it from scratch tend to stop here.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: First ray of sun
- Pronunciation: Aah-ROO-sh
- Variations: Arush
- Namesakes: Aarush Kumar, an Indian actor known for his role in the 2020 film Ek: Harass.
- Popularity: Aarush ranked #1,668 in the U.S. in 2025, with 99 boys given the name, and its best showing was #900 back in 2010.
Amarillo
Amarillo is the Spanish word for yellow, the color of gold at its plainest. There is a wrinkle worth knowing: in English, calling someone yellow is calling them a coward, and the association follows the word around. In Spanish the name carries none of that, and it lands as sunny rather than sly. It also reads as a place name to American ears, which gives it a wide, open-road feel.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Yellow
- Pronunciation: AE-Mer-IH-Low
- Variations: Amarilo, Amaryllo, Amarylo
- Popularity: Amarillo has never reached the U.S. Social Security Administration’s published list, which only prints names with at least five births in a year.
Amber
Amber traces to the Latin ambar and the Arabic anbar, and Ambar is also read as jewel in Arabic. The stone itself is fossilized tree resin, warm yellow-orange, and it has been carried as a healing charm for centuries. Amber sits in the gold family by color rather than by root, which is part of why it feels softer than the Latin gold names. It is familiar without being everywhere, and it ages well on an adult.
- Origin: Arabic, English
- Meaning: Amber-colored
- Pronunciation: AM-ber, AHM-ber
- Variations: Ambyr, Amberleigh, Amberlynn
- Namesakes: Amber Laura Heard, an American actress, known for her role in the film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.
- Popularity: Amber ranked #520 in the U.S. in 2025, with 576 girls given the name, down about 56% on the previous decade and a long way from her high of #13 in 1986.
Amon
Amon derives from the Egyptian jmn, the hidden one. In Egyptian mythology he merged with Ra into Amon-Ra, the supreme solar god, which is how a name about hiddenness ended up attached to the sun. Amon also has Hebrew and Irish roots and means wealthy protector. It is still rare, but up about 34% over the last decade, and it crosses cultures without translation trouble.
- Origin: Egyptian
- Meaning: The hidden one, wealthy protector
- Pronunciation: AH-mon
- Variations: Amen, Ammon, Amun, Yamanu
- Namesakes: Amon Giles Carter Sr., an American business icon known as the creator and publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Popularity: Amon ranked #3,038 in the U.S. in 2025, with 40 boys given the name, and it is up about 34% on the previous decade.
Anatole
Anatole derives from the Greek word meaning sunrise, or more literally from the east, and it has been adopted well beyond Greece. The French and Russians have kept it in steady use while English speakers largely left it alone. That makes it a rare thing: a name with real history that almost no one in an American classroom will share. Say it out loud and the rhythm does the work.
- Origin: Greek, French
- Meaning: Sunrise, from the east, rising sun
- Pronunciation: A-NA-TAWL
- Variations: Anatolio, Anatol
- Namesakes: Anatole Abragam, a French physicist who wrote The Principals of Nuclear Magnetism.
- Popularity: Anatole ranked #12,139 in the U.S. in 2025, at the five-birth floor the federal data publishes, and his best rank was #2,549 in 1918.
Aouregan
Aouregan is an old Breton name built from two elements, aour from the Latin aurum for gold, and gen for cheek or face. Breton belongs to the Celtic language family, is spoken in Brittany, and is the only Celtic language still used on the European mainland. Aouregan also carries the sense of shining holy. The spelling asks something of an English speaker, and the payoff is a name almost nobody else will have.
- Origin: Celtic, French
- Meaning: Shining gold, golden face
- Pronunciation: en-OO-REH-gahn
- Popularity: Aouregan does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year, so it is genuinely rare here.
Apollo
Apollo comes out of Greek mythology and relates to the Indo-European root apelo, meaning strength; it is also linked to the Greek apollymi, to destroy. In myth he governed the sun and light, truth, healing, prophecy, plague and music, an unusually wide brief for one god. The sun connection is what earns Apollo a place among gold names, and the sound does the rest. It has moved from bold to almost ordinary in a decade.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Strength
- Pronunciation: a-PAHL-o
- Variations: Apollon
- Namesakes: Apollo Korzeniowski, a Polish poet, playwright, translator, and political activist known for his literary works and as the father of Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad.
- Popularity: Apollo ranked #445 in the U.S. in 2025, with 708 boys given the name, up about 347% on the previous decade and just off his 2022 high of #389.
Ardit
Ardit joins two Albanian elements, ar for gold and dite for day. A golden day is the whole meaning, with nothing hidden and nothing to explain. Albanian names travel well because the vowels are clean and the stress falls where an English speaker expects it.
- Origin: Albanian
- Meaning: Golden day
- Pronunciation: AARD-ah-T
- Namesakes: Ardit Gjebrea, an Albanian singer-songwriter, producer, and T.V. presenter famous for his 1997 album Projekt Jon which was the best-selling album in Albania.
- Popularity: Ardit last appeared in the U.S. data in 2016 at #12,332 and has not charted since; his best rank was #6,483 in 2001.
Aurelia
Aurelia comes from the Latin aurelius and aureus, golden, which was also the name of a Roman gold coin. It began as a cognomen, a third name marking a personal trait such as golden blonde hair, and only later became a given name in its own right. Now the connection is to gold in general rather than to anyone’s hair. Aurelia is a classical option that a modern child can actually carry, and Auri and Ellie are waiting as nicknames.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Golden
- Pronunciation: ow-REH-lee-a, ow-REH-lya
- Variations: Urrea, Aurelie, Aureelia
- Namesakes: Aurelia Scheppers, an American actress best known for her role in the film Expecting Amish.
- Popularity: Aurelia reached #290 in the U.S. in 2025, her best rank on record, with 1,056 girls given the name and a rise of about 197% on the previous decade.
Auriel
Auriel derives from the Latin aurum, or from aurelius, an old noble Roman family name. It is thought to have described hair color first, which shows in the stretch of meanings attached to it: golden, gilded, gold-colored, beautiful, precious, excellent. Auriel may also have Germanic roots with the meaning fire strife. The spelling list is long, so expect to repeat it at the pediatrician’s desk.
- Origin: Latin, English
- Meaning: Gold, golden
- Pronunciation: AWR-ee-el
- Variations: Auriol, Oriole, Oriel, Aureole, Oralee, Oralie, Aurelle
- Namesakes: Auriel Andrew, an award-winning Indigenous Australian country singer known for her first album, Truck Driving Woman.
- Popularity: Auriel ranked #7,530 in the U.S. in 2025, with 14 girls given the name, and her best rank was #2,273 in 1991.
Aurum
Aurum is the Latin word for gold outright, and it is the reason the periodic table lists the element as Au. There is also an Aurum geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin at Yellowstone, part of the largest collection of geysers on earth. As a name it is blunt in the best way: no metaphor, no detour, just the word. It reads unisex on paper and lands soft in speech.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Gold, glowing dawn, one who is gold
- Pronunciation: AWR-um
- Variations: Aura, Aurelia, Aurianna, Aure, Aurea, Aurear
- Popularity: Aurum last charted in the U.S. in 2024 at #7,826, with 10 births, and it first appeared in the data only in 2021.
Auryn
Auryn is the Celtic and Welsh reading of the Latin aurum, gold. It has traditionally gone to babies born with gold-colored hair, and it carries a strong association with The Never Ending Story. While Auryn is a masculine Celtic name, Auron is the feminine form with the same meaning. Rare, easy to say, and it fits a boy who will never meet another one.
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: AWR-in
- Popularity: Auryn ranked #9,806 in the U.S. in 2025, with 7 boys given the name, and his best rank was #6,637 in 2013.
Blaine
Blaine stems from the old Irish bla, yellow, and from the Irish surname Blaan. The 6th-century Scottish bishop Saint Blaan was the first well-known bearer, which gives the name a quiet spiritual thread. It works as a surname and a first name, and it reads unisex without effort. One syllable, no nickname, nothing to spell twice.
- Origin: Irish, Gaelic
- Meaning: Yellow, slender, angular
- Pronunciation: BLAYN
- Variations: Blane
- Namesakes: Blaine Elwood Bishop, an American football player for the Tennessee Titans who earned Pro Bowl status in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2000.
- Popularity: Blaine ranked #992 in the U.S. in 2025, with 230 babies given the name, down about 34% on the previous decade after peaking at #374 in 1989.
Bowie
Bowie derives from the Gaelic nickname Buidhe, yellow, a reference to hair color. It started life as a surname and came into use as a first name in honor of the musician David Bowie, whose stage name pointed back at Jim Bowie of the Alamo. So the name arrives with two very different kinds of nerve attached. It suits a kid you expect to be a little bit loud.
- Origin: Gaelic, Scottish
- Meaning: Yellow, fair-haired, blonde
- Pronunciation: BO-ee
- Namesakes: Jim Bowie, an American pioneer famous for inventing the Bowie knife.
- Popularity: Bowie ranked #1,228 in the U.S. in 2025, with 164 babies given the name, up about 512% on the previous decade and still below its 2021 high of #952.
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum joins the Greek khrusos, gold, and anthemon, meaning flower. Like Rose, Lily and Jasmine, it is taken whole from the bloom it names, though it is far longer than any of them. Victorian parents used it, and in Japan the flower stands for the sun and turns up in meditation practice. Chryssie is the obvious short form, and you will need one.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Golden flower
- Pronunciation: kris-AN-the-mum
- Popularity: Chrysanthemum ranked #15,418 in the U.S. in 2025, at the five-birth publication floor, and it is up about 74% on the previous decade.
Chryses
Chryses comes from the Greek chryseos, golden, and by extension something dear and precious. In myth, Chryseis was a Trojan woman and the daughter of Chryses, and her story sets the Trojan war narrative in motion. The catch is the modern ear: said quickly, Chryses sits close to crisis, which is not the association anyone wants. Worth loving on the page and testing out loud before you commit.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Golden
- Pronunciation: KRIE-seez
- Variations: Chryseis
- Popularity: Chryses does not appear in the U.S. federal data, which publishes only names with five or more births in a year.
Cressida
Cressida comes from the Greek khrusos, golden, gold, something dear or precious. She appears in medieval and Renaissance retellings of the Trojan war, sent to the Greeks in a hostage exchange and drawn into a relationship with the warrior Diomedes. It is a literary name with a real spine to it rather than a decorative one. The soft cr- opening pairs easily with a plain middle name, which keeps the whole thing from feeling too ornate.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: KREHS-i-de
- Variations: Criseida, Criseyde, Criseide
- Namesakes: Cressida Cowell, a British children’s author known for her book series How to Train Your Dragon.
- Popularity: Cressida ranked #8,987 in the U.S. in 2025, with 11 girls given the name.
Crisanta
Crisanta comes from the Greek chrysanthos, the same two elements that build Chrysanthemum but assembled into something you can call across a room. The meaning runs to golden flower, brilliant, a flower precious like gold in the light. Chrysanthos Sisinis was a Greek army general, and the feminine form has never had that kind of profile. It is the softer, wearable version of the flower name.
- Origin: Greek, Spanish
- Meaning: Golden flower, chrysanthemum
- Pronunciation: cri-sa-nta, c-risan-ta
- Variations: Chrysanthe, Crisanto, Chryzant, Chrysanta, Chrisinda
- Popularity: Crisanta last charted in the U.S. in 2004 at #16,692; her best rank was #4,714 back in 1929.
Cyra
Cyra is Persian in origin and is generally read as the feminine form of Cyrus. It also traces to the Greek kyrillos, from kurios, meaning lord, master, guardian, one who holds power. That is a lot of authority packed into two light syllables. Cyra pairs well with longer surnames and never needs shortening.
- Origin: Persian
- Meaning: Sun, throne, lord
- Pronunciation: SEER-a, CY-ra
- Namesakes: Cyra McFadden, an American author, known for her novel The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marim County, which was made into a movie titled Serial.
- Popularity: Cyra reached #2,699 in the U.S. in 2025, her best rank on record, with 64 girls given the name and a rise of about 74% on the previous decade.
Cyrus
Cyrus derives from the Old Persian kurush, carried by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, and it is also associated with the Greek kyrios, lord. In the Bible he is the king who frees the Jews and lets them return home, which is why the name turns up in both Persian and Christian families. It is a rare case of a name that is ancient, easy to spell and in current use all at once. Cy is the ready-made short form.
- Origin: Persian, Greek
- Meaning: Sun, lord, forward-looking, farsighted, young
- Pronunciation: SIE-rus
- Variations: Kyros
- Namesakes: Cyrus Villanueva, an Australian pop singer famous for winning season seven of The X Factor Australia in 2015.
- Popularity: Cyrus ranked #268 in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,284 boys given the name, up about 88% on the previous decade and just off his 2024 high of #253.
Darian
The exact origin of Darian is uncertain, and it is used mainly as an English name. The usual account traces it to an English surname from the Norman French d’Airelle, a word for huckleberry. Darian is a feisty unisex name that sits comfortably beside the more regal gold names without trying to match them. Dari and Ari are both there if you want them.
- Origin: English, French
- Meaning: Wealth, kingly
- Pronunciation: DAR-ee-an
- Variations: Daren, Darien, Darin, Darion, Darren, Darrin
- Namesakes: Darian Sahanaja, an American singer-songwriter best known for co-founding Wondemints in 1992 and being a session musician for The Zombies and Hearts bands.
- Popularity: Darian ranked #928 in the U.S. in 2025, with 254 babies given the name, down about 22% on the previous decade after peaking at #358 in 1994.
D’Or
D’Or is built from the French de, of, and or, gold. It shows up more often as a surname than as a first name. The variation Dior is the one Americans recognize, borrowed straight from the fashion house. The apostrophe is the whole risk here: expect forms that refuse it.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Golden, of gold
- Pronunciation: D-OR
- Variations: Dior
- Popularity: D’Or does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Dory
Dory began as a diminutive of the Greek Dorothea and Doris. The French reading is blonde or gilded, which means covered thinly in gold leaf or gold paint, and that is the thread that brings it here. Most people will think of the blue and yellow fish in Finding Nemo, which is a fair trade for the instant warmth on this cute name.
- Origin: Greek, French
- Meaning: Gift of God, gilded, blonde
- Pronunciation: DAWR-ee
- Variations: Dee. Dodie, Dollie, Dora, Doreen, Dorinda, Dot, Dottie, Dotty
- Namesakes: Dory Previn, an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, and poet who received several Academy Award nominations for her motion picture work.
- Popularity: Dory ranked #12,248 in the U.S. in 2025, with 7 girls given the name, and her best rank was #2,045 in 1964.
Edith
Edith comes from the Old English eadgyo, where ead is wealth and gyo is war. It has a long run among royals and religious figures, which is where the stately quality comes from. After decades in the grandmother file it is climbing again, and Edie has done most of the persuading. It is short, spellable and it will not date the child.
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Wealth, fortune, blessed, prosperous in war
- Pronunciation: EE-dith, EH-dit
- Variations: Edythe, Editha, Edytha, Edit
- Namesakes: Edith Falco, an American actress best known for her roles in The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie.
- Popularity: Edith ranked #499 in the U.S. in 2025, with 595 girls given the name, up about 68% on the previous decade though still far below her 1916 high of #28.
Edward
Edward derives from the Anglo-Saxon ead, meaning prosperity, fortune, riches, wealth, and weard, guard or defend. It was one of the few English names used throughout Europe and a repeat choice among English kings. Wealthy guardian is about as literal as a gold meaning gets. Ed, Ned, Teddy and Eddie give you a nickname for every stage of a life.
- Origin: Germanic, English
- Meaning: Rich guard, wealthy guardian
- Pronunciation: EHD-ward
- Variations: Eadweard, Eduard, Edvard, Eduart
- Namesakes: Edward Harrison, an American actor, best known for his roles in the films Primal Fear and Fight Club.
- Popularity: Edward ranked #224 in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,591 boys given the name, down about 22% on the previous decade after reaching #8 in 1913.
Edwin
Edwin comes from the Old English Eadwine, joining ead for prosperity, fortune, wealth and riches with wine for friend. A rich friend is a warmer promise than most wealth names make, and it explains why Edwin never sounds grand. Edwin Aldrin, better known as Buzz, is the namesake most American kids will meet first. Steady, unfussy, and it has never really left.
- Origin: English, Germanic
- Meaning: Rich friend, the wealth of friendship
- Pronunciation: EHD-win
- Variations: Edwyn
- Namesakes: Edwin Powell Hubble, an American astronomer famous for inspiring the Hubble telescope through his crucial role inestablishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology.
- Popularity: Edwin ranked #398 in the U.S. in 2025, with 798 boys given the name, down about 40% on the previous decade after reaching #52 in 1919.
Eldora
Eldora traces to the Latin aurum, gold, and is just as often tied to the Spanish El Dorado, the golden one. The Greek reading is gift of the sun, which keeps the same light in a different frame. Teutonic tradition gives it a third sense, gift of wisdom. Three cultures, one idea, and a name that still sounds like something out of a western.
- Origin: Spanish, Latin
- Meaning: The golden one, covered with gold
- Pronunciation: el-DOR-ah, EL-DOOR-AH
- Variations: Oriana, Eldorada, Eldorah, Eldorra
- Namesakes: Eldora Martinez, an American actress known for her role in Lost and Found: Loster.
- Popularity: Eldora last charted in the U.S. in 2020 at #13,915; her best rank was #576 in 1923.
Eurig
Eurig derives from the Welsh aur, gold, with a diminutive suffix attached, so the sense is closer to little golden one. It turns up more often as a surname than a first name, which is a shame given the meaning. Welsh spelling is the barrier and also the charm.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Gold, golden boy
- Pronunciation: EY-R-ihG
- Popularity: Eurig does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which only publishes names reaching five births in a year.
Eurwen
Eurwen joins two Welsh elements, aur for gold and gwen for white, fair or blessed. White gold is the literal reading, and blessed gold is the one people tend to repeat. It conjures a fairy-tale picture almost immediately, golden hair and fair skin, which is exactly the kind of name that ends up on a shortlist and stays there. The pronunciation is friendlier than the spelling suggests.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: White gold, blessed gold
- Pronunciation: EYR-wen
- Variations: Eirwen
- Namesakes: Kate Eurwen O’Toole, an Irish actress serving as the chairwoman for Ireland’s acclaimed film festival, the Galway Film Fleadh, and the daughter of actor Peter O’Toole.
- Popularity: Eurwen does not appear in the U.S. federal data, which starts at five births in a year, so she is rare here by any measure.
Flavia
Flavia is the feminine form of Flavius, from the Latin flavus, golden or yellow-haired, a word that also meant gold coin in Roman times. After the Flavian emperors, both forms became favored names among the well-born. That history is why Flavia still sounds like it belongs on a monument. In American use it is quiet, correct and almost unclaimed.
- Origin: Latin, Roman
- Meaning: Golden blonde
- Pronunciation: FLA-vya, FLA-bya
- Variations: Flavie, Flaviana, Flavina
- Namesakes: Flavia Pennetta, a former Italian professional tennis player who became Italy’s first top-ten female singles player and the first Italian to be ranked No. 1 in doubles.
- Popularity: Flavia ranked #8,027 in the U.S. in 2025, with 13 girls given the name, up about 25% on the previous decade; her best rank was #1,243 in 1921.
Florence
Florence comes from the Latin flos, flower or blossom, and florens, to bloom, shine, prosper, be overjoyed. Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers, gardens and spring, and the name kept her brightness. Prosperous is the gold thread here rather than the metal itself. Flo, Flossie and Ren all work, and the comeback is well underway.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Flourishing, prosperous
- Pronunciation: FLAWR-ens, FLAW-RAHNS
- Variations: Floireans
- Namesakes: Florence Viginia King, an American novelist, and columnist best known for her books Southern Ladies and Gentlemen and Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady.
- Popularity: Florence ranked #391 in the U.S. in 2025, with 796 girls given the name, up about 383% on the previous decade, though her 1913 high of #13 is still well ahead.
Fortune
Fortune derives from the Latin fortuna, from fors, luck. In Roman religion Fortuna was the goddess of fortune and luck made into a person, which is a lot to hand a newborn. It is more common as a surname, and more common still as a middle name chosen in hope rather than expectation. Used first, it is bold; used in the middle, it is a small blessing nobody has to explain.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Good luck, fate, wealth
- Pronunciation: FAWR-TUYN, FAWR-chin
- Variations: Fortuna
- Namesakes: Fortune Everett Gordien, an American discus thrower and shot putter famous for the four world records he set in the discus throw.
- Popularity: Fortune ranked #9,670 in the U.S. in 2025, with 10 babies given the name, up about 66% on the previous decade.
Gilda
Gilda stems from the Germanic Hermenegild, and the weight sits in its elements: ermunaz for strong, exalted, whole, and geldana, to pay or to give value. It began as the Italian short form of Germanic names ending in gild, and the short form long outlived the long ones. Gilda is certainly a strong feminine name with a dazzling meaning behind it. It has old-Hollywood glamour without being fussy.
- Origin: Germanic, Italian, English
- Meaning: Gilded, covered with gold
- Pronunciation: JEEL-da
- Variations: Ermenegilda
- Namesakes: Gilda Susan Radner, an American actress and comedian best known for her part in the NBC Saturday Night Live show.
- Popularity: Gilda last charted in the U.S. in 2024 at #9,802, with 10 births; her best rank was #381 in 1927.
Goldie
Goldie is the modernized English form of the Yiddish golde or golda, with Germanic roots underneath: Proto-Germanic gulba, from ghel, yellow or green. It is the most direct gold name a girl can wear and the least heavy. After a century out of fashion it has come back fast, and it sits well on both a toddler and a grown woman.
- Origin: Yiddish, English
- Meaning: Made of gold, gold
- Pronunciation: GOL-dee
- Variations: Golde, Golda
- Namesakes: Goldie Hawn, an American actress famous for her role in the film Private Benjamin.
- Popularity: Goldie ranked #621 in the U.S. in 2025, with 469 girls given the name, up about 565% on the previous decade after peaking at #150 in 1913.
Golding
Golding is an old English personal name meaning son of Golda or Golde. Strip it back and it is the word gold with the suffix ing attached, which makes it about as literal as this list gets. It has stayed a surname almost everywhere it is used. As a first name it would be a genuine departure, and it has the sound to carry it.
- Origin: Late Old English
- Meaning: Son of Goldwin, a friend of gold
- Pronunciation: GOL-ding
- Namesakes: Robert John Golding, an English actor and voice artist known for the voices of Milo and Max on the Tweenies T.V. show.
- Popularity: Golding does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which publishes only names with at least five births in a year.
Helio
Helio comes from the ancient Greek helios, Latinized as helius, meaning sun, east, day, sunshine. In myth, Helios drove the sun’s chariot across the sky every day, which is where the Greek sun names here begin. Helio is the shortest way to say all of that. It is easy in English and easier in Spanish and Portuguese.
- Origin: Greek, Spanish
- Meaning: The sun, sunlight, sunshine
- Pronunciation: HE-lee-o
- Variations: Helios, Elio
- Namesakes: Hélio Castroneves, a Brazilian auto racing driver famous for winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021.
- Popularity: Helio ranked #5,470 in the U.S. in 2025, with 17 boys given the name, holding steady on the previous decade; his best rank was #3,973 in 2008.
Hema
Hema is used mostly in Hindu families for the plain warmth of its meaning, golden and beautiful. Gold is a noble metal that resists tarnishing under ordinary conditions, and alloying it with other metals is what shifts its color from silver-white toward orange-red, so the reference carries a sense of durability along with shine. Gold jewelry has always been about amplifying beauty rather than replacing it, and the name works the same way. Hema Malini’s decades in Hindi film keep the name recognizable well past the families who actually use it. Its short, open sound also travels easily across languages.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Golden, beautiful
- Pronunciation: HE-ma
- Namesakes: Hema Malini, an Indian actress famous for her work in Hindi films, including the 1977 film Dream Girl.
- Popularity: Hema ranked #15,766 in the U.S. in 2025, at the five-birth publication floor; her best rank was #7,572 in 1976.
Honey
Honey comes from the Old English hunig. For most of its life it was a nickname or a term of endearment rather than a name on a certificate. That changed recently, and it now stands on its own, used as a first or middle name and helped along by celebrity parents. It is sweet without being childish, which is a harder trick than it looks.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Nectar
- Pronunciation: HUN-ee
- Namesakes: Honey Irani, an Indian actress and screenwriter known for her roles in Hindi films such as Pyar ki Pyas.
- Popularity: Honey reached #846 in the U.S. in 2025, her best rank on record, with 322 girls given the name and a rise of about 122% on the previous decade.
Imran
Imran is the Arabic form of the Hebrew Amram, read as friend of the most high and the people are exalted. Amram was the father of Moses, and Imran names a chapter of the Quran, so the name is honored in two traditions at once. Imran is a revered spiritual name tied to prosperity and goodness. It travels between languages with no adjustment at all.
- Origin: Arabic, Hebrew
- Meaning: Prosperity
- Pronunciation: eem-RAN
- Variations: Imram, Omran, Umran, Imraan, Imaran
- Namesakes: Imran Khan, a Dutch-Pakistani singer-songwriter who sings in Punjabi and English, reaching stardom with his first single Ni Nachleh.
- Popularity: Imran ranked #969 in the U.S. in 2025, with 237 boys given the name, up about 103% on the previous decade.
Jessica
Jessica is the English variant of the Hebrew name Iskah, first used by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice, where Jessica is Shylock’s daughter. The meaning runs to God beholds, or simply to behold, a name about sight and foresight. Foresight is the gold connection here, tying sight back to the meaning without much stretching. Jessica now has a generation attached to it, which is either the appeal or the problem.
- Origin: Hebrew, English
- Meaning: God beholds, to behold
- Pronunciation: JEHS-i-ka, JEH-see-ka
- Variations: Jessika, Jesica
- Namesakes: Jessica Marie Alba, an American actress famous for her roles in Fantastic Four and Good Luck Chuck.
- Popularity: Jessica ranked #665 in the U.S. in 2025, with 424 girls given the name, down about 74% on the previous decade; she was #1 in 1985.
Jin
Jin has several origins and a different meaning in each. In Japanese it reads as tenderness, in Korean as truth, and the Chinese meaning runs to gold, metal and money, or to brocade and embroidery, depending on the character used. One syllable holding that many ideas is unusual. It pairs cleanly with almost any surname.
- Origin: Japanese, Chinese, Korean
- Meaning: Gold, bright, beautiful, truth, tenderness
- Pronunciation: CHEEN
- Variations: Chin
- Namesakes: Jin Akimoto, a retired Japanese mixed martial artist known as one of the best bantamweights in the world between 2000 and 2004.
- Popularity: Jin ranked #2,433 in the U.S. in 2025, with 56 babies given the name, up about 24% on the previous decade.
Jinhua
Jinhua combines two characters, jin and hua, and the second can be swapped for another with the same sense. Depending on the character, hua means splendid, illustrious, flowery, or simply flower and blossom. Golden flourishing is the usual reading of the pair. It is a name with a built-in compliment.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Golden flourishing
- Pronunciation: CHEEN-KHWA
- Namesakes: Lu Jinhua, a Chinese Yue opera artist who played Sheng roles and was known for the 1958 opera film A Test of Love.
- Popularity: Jinhua does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Kiara
Kiara is a variant of the Italian name Chiara and has been picked up by a long list of cultures since. The Irish reading is little dark one, while the Korean meaning is first ray of sun, which is the one that brings it here. Two readings that far apart in one name is rare. Kiara is bright, sporty and already familiar to every teacher.
- Origin: Latin, Irish
- Meaning: Clear, bright, famous, illustrious, first ray of sun
- Pronunciation: kee-AHR-a
- Variations: Keara, Keira, Kiarra, Kiera, Kierra, Kira, Kyra, Clara, Clare
- Namesakes: Kiara Brinkman, an American writer best known for her novel Up High in the Trees.
- Popularity: Kiara ranked #229 in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,335 girls given the name, holding steady on the previous decade after peaking at #78 in 1999.
Kim
Kim began as the short form of Kimberly and Kimball. In Vietnamese it means gold or metal, and in Korean it is one of the most common surnames there is. That combination makes Kim genuinely global rather than merely short. It suits a boy or a girl and needs no explanation anywhere.
- Origin: Anglo-Saxon, English
- Meaning: Gold, metal, of the clearing of the royal fortress
- Pronunciation: KIM
- Variations: Kimber, Kimmie, Kimmy, Kimbra, Kym
- Namesakes: Kim Victoria Cattrall, a British and Canadian actress best known for her role in the T.V. series Sex and the City.
- Popularity: Kim ranked #4,228 in the U.S. in 2025, with 34 babies given the name, down about 36% on the previous decade after reaching #34 in 1960.
Kin
Kin has several Japanese meanings, and gold is one of them. It was a popular girl’s name from the 1600s through the 1800s and shifted toward boys afterward, which is a longer history than most single-syllable names can claim. Today it is barely used. In English it also means family, which is a quiet bonus.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Gold, pleasure, close, average
- Pronunciation: Ky-EEN
- Namesakes: Kin Shriner, an American actor known for his role in the soap opera General Hospital.
- Popularity: Kin last charted in the U.S. in 2023 at #13,295; the best rank on record is #3,089 in 1956.
Kulta
Kulta is a Finnish name, used as a first name and surname both. It means gold, and it doubles as a term of endearment, closer to darling or dear in daily speech. That is a rare thing: a name that is already an affectionate word in its own language. It is one of the 24 names here below the five-birth publication line.
- Origin: Finnish
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: KUWL-tah
- Popularity: Kulta does not appear in the U.S. federal data, which publishes only names with five or more births in a year.
Ladon
Ladon comes from Greek mythology, where Ladon was the hundred-headed dragon guarding the golden apples of immortality in the Garden of the Hesperides. Guarding gold is about as on-theme as a namesake gets. In American use it usually turns up as an extension of Don, written LaDon, and it is sometimes treated as unisex. The myth is the reason to choose it.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Dragon of hera
- Pronunciation: lu-DAHN
- Namesakes: LaDon Drummond, an American actress known for her role in the mini-series The Siege at Ruby Ridge.
- Popularity: Ladon ranked #11,438 in the U.S. in 2025, with 6 boys given the name; the best rank on record is #1,607 in 1945.
Laurelin
Laurelin is a literary name invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for his Middle-earth writings. The name is glossed as land of the valley of the singing gold. Song of gold is the short version, and it earns the description. It sounds modern enough that nobody has to know the source.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Song of gold
- Pronunciation: Lor-a-lynn
- Namesakes: Laurelin Paige, an American author known for her many novels that have hit the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today’s best-selling lists.
- Popularity: Laurelin ranked #8,639 in the U.S. in 2025, with 12 girls given the name, her best year on record.
Lipaz
Lipaz comes from Hebrew and joins two pieces, li and paz, which together give the sense of my gold. It reads modern despite being old, which is the combination parents chasing something unusual usually want. Short, glittery, and almost nobody has it.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: My gold
- Pronunciation: lee-PAZ
- Popularity: Lipaz does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Mai
Mai is a Sino-Vietnamese name for the plum or apricot blossom. In Japanese it carries a different set of readings: dance, linen robe, real, genuine, love and affection. It also works in several European languages as a short form of Mary and Maria, which is why it fits so many families. Mai sits easily among Asian girl names and just as easily on a Western birth certificate.
- Origin: Vietnamese, Japanese
- Meaning: Golden flower
- Pronunciation: MIE, MA-EE
- Variations: Maisa, Maia, Mary, Mailin, Maria
- Namesakes: Mai Nakahara, a Japanese voice actress and singer known for her voice role in Azur Lane.
- Popularity: Mai ranked #3,016 in the U.S. in 2025, with 55 girls given the name, holding steady on the previous decade after peaking at #795 in 1990.
Marigold
Marigold is rooted in the Greek Mariam and Maria and traces back to the Hebrew Miryam, which ties it closely to Mother Mary and gives it standing among Christians and Muslims alike. The flower did the rest, and the name now reads as an English floral choice more than a religious one. Golden flower is the plain meaning. After decades confined to novels, Marigold is the name here moving fastest, and Goldie and Mari are both waiting.
- Origin: Hebrew, English
- Meaning: Golden flower
- Pronunciation: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
- Variations: Marie, Mary, Miriam, Maralyn, Marilynn, Mariah, Myra
- Namesakes: Marigold Ann Semple, a Canadian actress known for roles in the T.V. series Queer as Folk and Street Legal.
- Popularity: Marigold reached #590 in the U.S. in 2025, her best rank on record, with 498 girls given the name; she rose about 1,298% on the previous decade, the biggest gain of any name on this list.
Mazarine
Mazarine came into use as a first name in honor of the 17th-century Cardinal Mazarin, and it names a deep shade of blue close to royal blue. So the meaning is not gold at all; the connection is the richness of the history behind it. It is an unexpected entry on this list and one of the more polished among French girl names. Maz and Zari both work if the full name is too much.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Deep blue color
- Pronunciation: mah-ZAH-reen
- Variations: Mazarin
- Namesakes: Mazarine Pingeot, a French Journalist, writer, and professor best known for her first novel Premier Roman.
- Popularity: Mazarine ranked #16,447 in the U.S. in 2025, at the five-birth publication floor, and she first charted only in 2013.
Melora
Melora is an English name with mixed origins, and the two readings pull in different directions. In Greek it means golden apple; in Latin it comes from melior, better things, always better, the pursuit of the better. Between a golden apple and a life spent improving, there is not a bad option in there. Only 7 girls received the name in 2025, so it stays rare without ever having charted near the top.
- Origin: English, Greek, Latin
- Meaning: Golden apple
- Pronunciation: me-LAWH-ah
- Variations: Meliora
- Namesakes: Melora Hardin, an American actress and singer known for her role in The Office TV series.
- Popularity: Melora ranked #12,737 in the U.S. in 2025, with 7 girls given the name; her best rank was #3,747 in 1963.
Millaray
Millaray joins two Mapuche elements, mile for gold and rayu for flower. The full sense runs wider than that: flower of gold, silver, fragrant flower, pleasant, the subtle essence of fragrance. Few names carry that much sensory detail in three syllables. It is melodic, indigenous to South America, and almost unheard of north of it.
- Origin: Mapuche Native American
- Meaning: Golden flower
- Pronunciation: MILL-a-RAY
- Namesakes: Millaray Viera Aguirre, a Chilean TV presenter known for hosting youth programs on Canal 13 and Via X, and for starring in the musical-theatre plays The Wizard of Oz and Snow White.
- Popularity: Millaray charted in the U.S. only in 2023, at #16,822, with 5 births, and has not appeared since.
Nevena
Nevena derives from the South Slavic neven, marigold, the gold-colored garden flower. It is a floral name that sounds soft rather than sweet, with the kind of modern international appeal a lot of parents are after. Nevena is a safe pick if you want a unique name with credible history behind it rather than an invented one. The soft ending pairs well with a firmer middle name, which balances the overall sound.
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: Marigold
- Pronunciation: ne-VEE-nah
- Variations: Nevenka, Nevica
- Namesakes: Nevena Tsoneva, a Bulgarian pop singer known for winning the first season of the Bulgarian TV series Music Idol in 2007.
- Popularity: Nevena ranked #16,586 in the U.S. in 2025, at the five-birth publication floor, and is up about 18% on the previous decade.
Nubia
Nubia takes its name from the gold-rich region of southern Egypt and northern Sudan, and it may come from the Egyptian nbw, gold. Naming a child after a place famous for the metal is a more grounded route to a gold name than any etymology. Nubia runs through Egyptian history as an ancient and prominent name, and it sits comfortably among African girl names. It is strong on the page and soft in the mouth.
- Origin: Egyptian, African
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: NOO-bia
- Namesakes: Nubia Marti, a Mexican actress best known for her role in the soap opera SOS I’m falling in Love.
- Popularity: Nubia ranked #5,062 in the U.S. in 2025, with 26 girls given the name, up about 23% on the previous decade.
Nubiti
Nubiti is an old Egyptian name used for a bronze-skinned baby girl, closer to a term of endearment and praise meaning golden lady than a formal name. It has a cheeky, modern sound despite its age, and there is essentially no chance of a duplicate.
- Origin: Egyptian
- Meaning: Golden lady
- Pronunciation: NU-bee-tee
- Popularity: Nubiti does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Nurit
Nurit is a traditional Hebrew girl’s name taken from a plant with red and yellow flowers, described variously as golden, buttercup or caramel colored. It is a nature-inspired feminine name with a firmer edge than most flower names carry. The final consonant is what does it. In the U.S. it remains rare.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Buttercup flower
- Pronunciation: NU-RIT
- Variations: Neurit, Narit
- Popularity: Nurit last charted in the U.S. in 1972 at #9,190; her best rank was #7,488 in 1964.
Orabel
Orabel carries several meanings, and the one that stands out is yielding to prayer, which points at inner beauty rather than the visible kind. The origin is not settled; it may come from the Scottish Arabel, or from Bella. Golden and beautiful is the reading that puts it on this list. It grows on people, which is the most common thing said about it.
- Origin: Latin, Hebrew
- Meaning: Golden, beautiful
- Pronunciation: O-rah-BELL
- Variations: Orabilia, Arabel, Arable, Arbell, Orabilis, Orabell
- Popularity: Orabel does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which publishes only names with at least five births in a year.
Oralie
Oralie derives from the Latin aurum, from auso and auzom, meaning gold, golden, gilded, beautiful, precious. As with most of the Latin gold names, the meaning usually refers to the color of a person’s hair. Oralie is the lightest of that family, and it sounds sung rather than spoken.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Golden
- Pronunciation: OR-a-lee
- Variations: Oralee, Aurelia
- Popularity: Oralie does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Orel
In Hebrew, Orel means light of God, also interpreted as golden light. In Slavic and Germanic countries the reading is simply golden, which is unusually tidy for a name that crossed that many borders. Orel works for a boy or a girl and needs no spelling lesson. It carries its weight without announcing itself.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Light of God
- Pronunciation: OR-el, ARI-el
- Variations: Uriel
- Namesakes: Orel Hershiser IV, an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 2000.
- Popularity: Orel ranked #11,643 in the U.S. in 2025, with 6 babies given the name; the best rank on record is #1,325 in 1916.
Oriel
Oriel may have come from Auriel or Oriole, with a nudge from Oriel College in Oxford. Another line runs back to the Germanic Orieldis or Aurildis, giving the meaning fire strife. The bird, the college and the Latin gold root all pull in different directions, and the name is charming in all three. It is the rare unisex option that sounds formal without sounding stiff.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Golden
- Pronunciation: o-ree-EL
- Variations: Auriel, Oriole
- Namesakes: Oriel Ross, an English actress famous for being in Cecil Beaton’s The Book of Beauty.
- Popularity: Oriel ranked #4,349 in the U.S. in 2025, with 24 babies given the name, up about 150% on the previous decade.
Orla
Orla comes from the Irish Orfhlaith, built from or, gold, and flaith, sovereign. Golden princess is the usual gloss, and it is one of the few here that means exactly what a parent hopes it does. Orla suits an adventurous girl who is in no hurry to give up the sparkle. Two syllables, no nickname, and the Irish spelling is optional.
- Origin: Celtic, Irish
- Meaning: Golden princess
- Pronunciation: AWR-la
- Variations: Orlagh, Orlaith
- Namesakes: Orla Brady, an Irish theatre, television, and film actress known for her role in the Words Upon the Window Pane.
- Popularity: Orla ranked #2,532 in the U.S. in 2025, with 70 girls given the name, up about 117% on the previous decade.
Orlando
Orlando comes from the Germanic Hrodland, meaning famous land, glory to the homeland, famous throughout the land. In Spanish it also carries the sense of land of gold, which is the reading that earns it a place here. It is romantic without being soft, and it has survived being a city and a movie star. Lando is the nickname doing the modern work.
- Origin: German, Spanish
- Meaning: Famous throughout the land
- Pronunciation: or-LAN-do
- Variations: Rolando
- Namesakes: Orlando Bloom, an English actor famous for his roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings film series.
- Popularity: Orlando ranked #873 in the U.S. in 2025, with 275 boys given the name, down about 40% on the previous decade after peaking at #246 in 1975.
Orville
Orville is a literary invention, coined by Fanny Burney in the 18th century to mean golden city in French. Orville Wright is the bearer everyone knows, which gives a made-up name a very solid anchor. It has stayed in quiet use across rural America and never fully disappeared. If vintage names keep climbing, this is the sort that comes back.
- Origin: English literature
- Meaning: Gold town
- Pronunciation: AWR-vil
- Variations: Orval
- Namesakes: Orville Wright, one of the American Wright brothers who invented, built, and flew the first motorized airplane.
- Popularity: Orville ranked #6,347 in the U.S. in 2025, with 14 boys given the name, up about 28% on the previous decade; his best rank was #120 in 1913.
Oscar
Oscar comes from the Irish Osgar, deer friend, and is also read as God’s spear, which is a considerably sharper image. The gold connection is the spear itself, the kind of thing a hero’s weapon would be decorated with. Oscar is grounded rather than grand, helped by centuries of royal use and a good deal of wartime bravery. Oz and Ozzie are the nicknames doing the heavy lifting now.
- Origin: Old English, Old Norse
- Meaning: God spear, deer lover, champion warrior
- Pronunciation: AHS-kar, AWS-kar, AWS-KAR
- Variations: Oskar
- Namesakes: Oscar De La Hoya, an American boxer famous for winning 11 titles in 6 different weight classes.
- Popularity: Oscar ranked #223 in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,620 boys given the name, the highest rank of any name on this list, though he is down about 26% on the previous decade.
Otto
Otto comes from the Germanic otho, from audaz, meaning prosperity, fortune, riches, wealth, an heiress. It was a favored name among European royalty for centuries and still carries that air. Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, prepared her diary for publication after the war, and his is the name most readers meet first. The revival here is the sharpest on this list: a name that had almost vanished and came all the way back.
- Origin: Germanic
- Meaning: Wealth, prosperity
- Pronunciation: AW-to, AHT-o, OT-to
- Variations: Orto, Ortu, Ortusi, Ortuse, Audo, Odilo, Odo
- Namesakes: Otto Wallach, a German chemist known for receiving the 1910 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in alicyclic compounds.
- Popularity: Otto ranked #277 in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,241 boys given the name, up about 294% on the previous decade; he peaked in 1913, bottomed out in 1984, and has recovered roughly 29-fold since.
Paco
Paco is the diminutive of Francisco, from the Latin Francus, belonging to the Franks, with Germanic roots in franko, javelin or spear. In Spanish, Paco also means eagle, which was Americanized into golden eagle somewhere along the way. That is how a nickname for Francis ended up on a gold list. It is friendly, short and unmistakably Spanish.
- Origin: Spanish, Latin
- Meaning: Golden eagle
- Pronunciation: PA-ko
- Variations: Pancho, Paquito, Frascuelo, Francisco
- Namesakes: Paco Rabanne, a Spanish fashion designer famous for his fashion creations.
- Popularity: Paco last charted in the U.S. in 2024 at #9,645, with 8 births; his best rank was #3,296 in 1968.
Patzi
Patzi is an Omaha name and is not related to the English Patsy, despite the sound. The meaning points at a yellow bird, and the gold here is the color of the feathers. Naming a daughter after a bird that bright says something about how the sight landed. It is short, warm and almost unknown outside its own community.
- Origin: Omaha Native American
- Meaning: Yellow bird
- Pronunciation: PAT-see
- Popularity: Patzi does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Paz
Paz is a Hebrew unisex name meaning pure gold, fine gold, refined gold. It is also a feminine Spanish name taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Senora de la Paz, Our Lady of Peace. Gold in one language and peace in the other is a good pair to carry. It sits easily next to a longer middle name, since one syllable leaves the room.
- Origin: Hebrew, Spanish
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: PATH, PAS
- Variations: Pace, Pacina
- Namesakes: Maria de la Paz Campo Trigos, professionally known as Paz Vega, a Spanish actress famous for her role in Spanglish.
- Popularity: Paz ranked #7,407 in the U.S. in 2025, with 15 babies given the name, up about 32% on the previous decade.
Pazel
Pazel comes from Hebrew and reads as God’s gold, with peace threaded through it. Peace as gold is not a metaphor anyone has to explain in a difficult year. It is the kind of name chosen for what it says rather than how it sounds, though it sounds fine too.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: God’s gold, peace
- Pronunciation: Pahz-ehl, Pah-Z-eh-L
- Variations: Pazele, Pazell, Pazelle
- Popularity: Pazel does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which publishes only names with five or more births in a year.
Paziah
Paziah is a traditional Hebrew name created to honor the gift of a baby girl, and it reads as the gold of Jehovah. Like Pazel, it belongs to the family of celebration names that use gold to say what a child is worth. The praise goes upward rather than to the child, which is true of a good many names here. It reads elegant on a birth certificate and holds its own among the other formal Hebrew names on this list.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: The gold of Jehovah
- Pronunciation: pah-ZEE-ah
- Variations: Pazia, Paziya, Pazit
- Popularity: Paziah does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Peta
Peta is the feminine form of Peter and a short form of Lamberta, Alberta and Roberta, as well as a variant of Petra and Beata. It also has a Native American origin meaning golden eagle, which is the reading that brings it here. Solid stone is the Greek sense underneath. Peta is one of the Australian girl names and is barely used in the U.S.
- Origin: Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, Germanic
- Meaning: Solid stone, resolute
- Pronunciation: PE-tah
- Variations: Petra
- Namesakes: Peta Brady, an Australian actress best known for her role in the TV soap opera Neighbours.
- Popularity: Peta charted in the U.S. only in 1998, at #13,688, with 6 births, and has not appeared since.
Ra
Ra comes from the old Egyptian word for sun. In ancient Egypt he was the sun god, shown with a falcon’s head crowned by a solar disc, and later merged with Amon, Atum and Horus. Two letters holding the whole Egyptian sky is hard to beat for economy. In practice it works best paired with a longer middle or last name.
- Origin: Egyptian
- Meaning: Sun
- Pronunciation: RAH, R-aa
- Variations: Re
- Namesakes: Le Sony’r Ra known as Sun Ra, an American jazz composer, piano, and synthesizer player known for his experimental music.
- Popularity: Ra ranked #6,358 in the U.S. in 2025, with 14 boys given the name, up about 127% on the previous decade.
Rezart
Rezart is a traditional Albanian name built from rreze, ray of light, and ar, gold. Golden ray is the whole of it, and the sound matches the meaning better than most. The feminine form is Rezarta, so a family can use both. It is unfamiliar in English and completely pronounceable, which is the useful combination.
- Origin: Albanian
- Meaning: Golden ray
- Pronunciation: REHZ-aa-RT
- Popularity: Rezart does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Rosauro
Rosauro is a masculine Spanish name taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary. The feminine form Rosario means rose garden in Latin, and golden rose is the reading that puts Rosauro on this list. It is devotional, old-fashioned in Spanish and completely unused in English.
- Origin: Spanish, Latin
- Meaning: Golden rose, rosary
- Pronunciation: ro-SOU-ro
- Popularity: Rosauro does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Rosegold
Rosegold is exactly what it looks like, the English words rose and gold set side by side. The alloy is yellow gold mixed with copper and silver, and the copper is what gives it the pink cast. Mixing metals is also what makes the alloy stronger than gold alone, which is a fair image for a family. It is invented, unapologetic and very much of this moment.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Pinkish gold
- Pronunciation: ROZ-gold
- Popularity: Rosegold does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which publishes only names with at least five births in a year.
Saffron
Saffron takes its name from the deep yellow-orange spice, and it goes back to the Arabic za’faran, glossed as gold leaves. The spice has always been the expensive one, which gives the name a sense of value without any mention of money. Saffron reads old and modern at once, botanical without being delicate. Saff is the short form nobody has to be taught.
- Origin: Persian, Farsi, Arabic
- Meaning: Yellow flower, precious, glowing
- Pronunciation: SAF-ren
- Namesakes: Saffron Domini Burrows, an English actress known for her roles in the films Circle of Friends and Deep Blue Sea.
- Popularity: Saffron ranked #6,783 in the U.S. in 2025, with 17 girls given the name, holding steady on the previous decade; her best rank was #3,964 in 2000.
Samson
Samson comes from the Hebrew shemesh, sun. In the Bible he is the strongman betrayed to the Philistines by Delilah and defiant to the last, which is a lot of story attached to a name. The sun in the root is the gold connection, and the strength is the reason people choose it. Sam keeps it grounded on an ordinary Tuesday.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Sun, sun child
- Pronunciation: SAM-sun, SAM-sen
- Variations: Sampson, Shimshon, Sansone
- Namesakes: Samson Lee, a Welsh International Rugby Union player playing prop forward for the Scarlets.
- Popularity: Samson reached #477 in the U.S. in 2025, his best rank on record, with 639 boys given the name and a rise of about 96% on the previous decade.
Savyon
Savyon comes from the Hebrew name for Senecio, a genus in the daisy family with yellow flowers. It also stems from the Latin senex, old man, and carries a second sense of new house. A yellow flower and a fresh start in one name suits a new life well. It is unusual in English.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Yellow flower, new house
- Pronunciation: SAAV-iy-AHN
- Variations: Savion, Xavier
- Popularity: Savyon ranked #13,561 in the U.S. in 2025, at the five-birth publication floor, and is up about 22% on the previous decade.
Sol
In Roman mythology Sol was the sun god, and the name also served as an epithet of Apollo. In Hebrew it is the short form of Solomon, from shalom, meaning peace, safety, welfare, health, prosperity and friendship. A nickname that became a name in its own right, and it reflects the sun in every language that uses it. Three letters, no ambiguity, works for a boy or a girl.
- Origin: Spanish, Hebrew
- Meaning: Sun
- Pronunciation: SOL
- Variations: Solly
- Namesakes: Sol Heras, an English actor known for his role in the TV soap opera Coronation Street.
- Popularity: Sol reached #722 in the U.S. in 2025, his best rank on record, with 389 babies given the name and a rise of about 195% on the previous decade.
Solana
Solana derives from the Latin sol and solaris, sun and solar, and it is also tied to Sunday, the sun’s day, from the Old English Sunnandaeg. Sunshine and eastern wind are both given as meanings, which is a pleasant combination. Solana is soft without being fragile and warm without trying. Sol and Lana are both there.
- Origin: Latin, Spanish
- Meaning: Sunshine, sunlight, eastern wind
- Pronunciation: so-LAH-nah
- Variations: Sol, Solera, Solina, Solenne
- Namesakes: Solana Rowe, an American R&B singer famous for her debut album Ctrl that went double platinum.
- Popularity: Solana reached #495 in the U.S. in 2025, her best rank on record, with 599 girls given the name and a rise of about 299% on the previous decade.
Sovanna
Sovanna is a powerful name tied to tangible wealth and beauty. In Khmer it also means golden dream, which is a gentler way of saying the same thing. Sovanna and the shorter Sovann both balance beautifully between syllables and cultures. By the numbers above, it is almost invisible in the U.S.
- Origin: Khmer, Cambodia
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: SO-van-ah
- Variations: Sovann
- Popularity: Sovanna ranked #16,963 in the U.S. in 2025, roughly one birth in 333,333, the rarest charted name on this list.
Sunny
Sunny comes from the Old English sunna or sunne, an obsolete spelling of sun. It began as the nickname handed to someone with a cheerful streak and stayed one long enough to become a real name. Warmth, fun and contentment are what people hear in it, and the numbers suggest a lot of parents want exactly that right now. It works for a boy or a girl and never sounds formal.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sunny, cheerful
- Pronunciation: SUN-ee
- Namesakes: Sunny Sue Johnson, an American actress known for her role in Flashdance.
- Popularity: Sunny ranked #390 in the U.S. in 2025, with 798 babies given the name, up about 218% on the previous decade and just off the 2024 high of #370.
Sunshine
Sunshine joins the Old English sunne, sun, and scinan, to shine. It is an ordinary English word that turns out to be capable of changing the temperature of a room. As a name it is unabashed, which is the whole point of choosing it. Sunny is the everyday form if the full version feels like a lot.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sunlight
- Pronunciation: SUN-shien
- Namesakes: Sunshine Jocelyn Sian Anderson, an American R&B singer-songwriter known for her debut album Your Woman.
- Popularity: Sunshine ranked #2,952 in the U.S. in 2025, with 57 girls given the name, holding steady on the previous decade; her best rank was #534 in 1975.
Taji
Taji has Japanese, Sanskrit and Swahili strands, and the meanings gather around silver, shades of yellow, and a crown, standing for reliability and prosperity. It appears more often as a surname than a first name, which keeps it rare in either use. Two syllables, easy stress, and nothing to explain twice.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Silver, yellow color, crown
- Pronunciation: TAH-jee
- Popularity: Taji ranked #8,172 in the U.S. in 2025, with 10 babies given the name, up about 22% on the previous decade.
Tala
Tala carries meanings across a striking number of languages: gold in Persian, plus turmeric, star, story and noble elsewhere. In Tagalog mythology Tala is the goddess of the stars and the daughter of the supreme deity Bathala. The gold and the star pull in the same direction, toward light rather than metal. It works across every language that claims it without an awkward pronunciation, which is unusual for a name with this many claims on it.
- Origin: Persian, Arabic, Tagalog, Samoan, Scandinavian
- Meaning: Gold, turmeric, star, story, noble
- Pronunciation: ta-LA
- Namesakes: Tala Birell, a Romanian actress known for her role in the 1938 American film Bringing Up Baby.
- Popularity: Tala reached #1,217 in the U.S. in 2025, her best rank on record, with 187 girls given the name and a rise of about 72% on the previous decade.
Tawny
Tawny comes from the English word and the French tane, both describing the yellowish-brown of tanned leather. It is a color name rather than a metal name, and the shade it names is warmer than gold and easier to wear. Tawny had a real moment in the late 1980s and has been quiet since.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Golden-brown
- Pronunciation: TAW-nee
- Variations: Tahnee, Tawnee, Tawnie
- Namesakes: Tawny Cypress, an American actress known for her roles in the TV series Heroes and House of Cards.
- Popularity: Tawny last charted in the U.S. in 2024 at #17,438; her best rank was #860 in 1989 and she is down about 45% on the previous decade.
Topaz
Topaz comes from the ancient Greek tapazios, describing a yellowish-brown color, and it may relate to the Sanskrit tapaz, heat or fire. The stone’s warm yellow color is closer to gold than most gemstone names get. It is a birthstone name that works in any month. Rare, warm and easy to say.
- Origin: Greek, English
- Meaning: Golden gem
- Pronunciation: TO-paz
- Namesakes: Topaz Page-Green, a South African fashion model known for creating the non-profit corporation The Lunchbox Fund,of which she is the president.
- Popularity: Topaz last charted in the U.S. in 2023 at #13,338; her best rank was #5,276 in 1989.
Urre
Urre comes from the Latin aurum by way of Basque, from auzom, meaning gold, golden, gilded, precious. Like most of that family it originally pointed at hair color, and golden blonde was as prized in Roman times as it is now. It has not yet cleared five U.S. births in a year, so a child with it would likely meet no one else who shares it.
- Origin: Latin, Basque
- Meaning: Gold, golden, gilded
- Pronunciation: u-Re
- Variations: Aureliano, Aureli
- Popularity: Urre does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Voski
Voski is simply the Armenian word for gold, worn as a given name rather than translated into English first. The stress falls on the second syllable, vaws-KEE, giving it a short, bright sound close to English pet names like Vicki. As a unisex choice it needs no spelling change for a boy or a girl, and it sits comfortably next to other names beginning with V. A longer, more traditional middle name balances its brevity well.
- Origin: Armenian
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: vaws-KEE
- Variations: Vosgi
- Popularity: Voski does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which publishes only names reaching five births in a year.
Xanthe
Xanthe comes from the ancient Greek xanthos, yellow, blond or blond-haired. She appears in Greek mythology as one of the daughters of Oceanus, which gives an ancient name a watery, unexpected setting. It sounds modern for a reason: the X pronounced as a Z reads as design rather than history. Zanthe is the spelling people will offer you, and it is worth resisting.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Golden, yellow
- Pronunciation: ZAN-the
- Variations: Xanthia
- Namesakes: Xanthe Eleanora Marie Davina Elbrick, an English Tony Award-nominated stage actress.
- Popularity: Xanthe ranked #7,468 in the U.S. in 2025, with 15 girls given the name, down from a peak of #5,106 in 1972.
Xanthippi
Xanthippi is an unusual and rather charming Greek name, and the X does most of the work. The meaning, yellow horse, has been read by some as a unicorn, which is a generous interpretation and a lovely one. Xanthippi was the wife of Socrates, and her reputation attached itself to the name for centuries afterward. It is a lot of name, and it would suit someone who does not mind that.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Yellow horse
- Pronunciation: ZAN-tipp-EE, ZAN-thipp-EE
- Popularity: Xanthippi does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Yari
Yari has several origins and meanings stacked on top of each other. It stems from the Hebrew yarib, strive or fight; the Caribbean Taino sense is small gold jewelry; and in Japanese it means spear or lance. It is widely used as a surname, and it turns up among Arabic-speaking families too. Belgian footballer Yari Verschaeren carries it into daily headlines, which helps it read as current rather than invented.
- Origin: Spanish, Hebrew
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: YAR-REE
- Namesakes: Yari Verschaeren, a Belgian professional footballer who plays for the Belgium national team.
- Popularity: Yari ranked #4,167 in the U.S. in 2025, with 35 babies given the name, up about 99% on the previous decade.
Yukon
Yukon comes from a word rendered as yu-kun-ah, great river, and it names the gold-rich Canadian territory. Gold rush country is the whole association, and shows like Gold Rush have kept it alive. As a name it is rugged rather than pretty. It suits a family that wants a place name nobody else has taken.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Great river
- Pronunciation: YOO-kahn
- Variations: Youcon
- Popularity: Yukon last charted in the U.S. in 2021 at #12,101; the name first appeared in the data in 1997.
Zahavi
Zahavi is a Hebrew name meaning gold, and it never caught on the way its cousin Paz did. That is most of the appeal now: it is genuinely uncommon without being invented. The sound is modern, the origin is not, and the combination is hard to find.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Gold
- Pronunciation: ZAH-ha-vee
- Popularity: Zahavi ranked #11,967 in the U.S. in 2025, with 6 boys given the name; his best rank was #7,721 in 2023 and he first charted in 2017.
Zarathrustra
Zarathrustra joins the old Iranian zarat, golden, and ushtra, camel. Zarathrustra was the Persian prophet who established Zoroastrianism. That is an enormous amount of history for one child to carry, which is why it is more often admired than used. As a middle name it is a striking choice.
- Origin: Arabic, Iranian
- Meaning: Golden camel
- Pronunciation: ZARA-thrus-strah
- Popularity: Zarathrustra does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which starts at five births in a year.
Zareen
Zareen is an old Persian name adopted across many cultures, including Muslim families. It has several Islamic readings, and golden is the one that has stuck. Zareen has a cosmopolitan feel and settles into almost any family. Zari is the short form, and it is arguably the prettier of the two.
- Origin: Persian, Farsi
- Meaning: Golden
- Pronunciation: zah-REEN
- Variations: Zarina, Zarin, Zari
- Namesakes: Zareen Khan, an Indian actress, and model known for her work in the Hindi film industry.
- Popularity: Zareen ranked #7,877 in the U.S. in 2025, with 14 girls given the name, up about 21% on the previous decade.
Zarin
Zarin is the unisex alternative to Zareen, with the same sense of golden or shining like gold. In Bulgaria it is a masculine name meaning ruler or tsar, which is a very different route to the same grandeur. It is also the Indian feminine variant of Zarina, which makes it equally at home in a Persian or a Parsi family.
- Origin: Persian, Indian Parsi
- Meaning: Golden, shining like gold
- Pronunciation: ZA-rin
- Variations: Zareen, Zarina
- Popularity: Zarin last charted in the U.S. in 2020 at #11,998; the best rank on record is #8,201 in 2000.
Zariza
Zariza is a Hebrew girl’s name with a meaning fit for a princess, gold and brilliantly bright. It shortens in three directions, Zaza, Zari or Riza, all of which sound like stage names. The double Z gives it a fizz that most gold names do not have. It is the last name on this list and one of the boldest.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Gold, brilliantly bright
- Pronunciation: ZA-ri-ZA
- Popularity: Zariza does not appear in the U.S. federal name data, which publishes only names with at least five births in a year.
