Last updated on July 27th, 2024 at 11:00 am
Every parent wants to pick the most beautiful names for their babies. Each country and culture has quite a few unique names to choose from for your baby. One of the richest sources of unusual and one-of-a-kind names though is Greek mythology.
If you have run out of ideas or wish to browse through baby names with an interesting backstory, read further. Here are some of the most unusual baby names as well as their background stories to help you choose the right name for your baby.
1. Demeter
Demeter or Dimitra in Greek was the Greek goddess of fertility, grain, and harvest. She was one of the Twelve Olympian gods who lived on Mount Olympus. Demeter was a very important goddess to ancient Greek farmers and peasants who relied on her for good crops for the season. She was the sister of Zeus and the mother of Persephone.
2. Achilles
Achilles was one of the most popular Greek heroes in the Trojan War and was considered to possess remarkable strength and bravery. His weakness, the “Achilles heel” became a phraseological unit and is widely used worldwide. He is considered a real person belonging to the race of Myrmidon. Myrmidons meant ants, and they lived in Fthiotis being the first to be called Hellenes.
3. Terpsichore
Terpsichore was the goddess of dance and chorus as well as one of the nine Muses in ancient Greek mythology. Her name means ‘the joy of chorus’ and is oftentimes associated with the word “terpsichorean”, which means “of or relating to dance”. She is depicted holding a lyre and accompanying the dancers with her music.
This would be a great choice for a baby girl born into a family of musicians or people who are truly devoted to these arts.
4. Evander
Evander’s name translates to a good or strong man. He was a hero from Arcadia who brought the alphabet, laws, and pantheon of Greece to Italy. He was also the son of the goddess Carmentis and the god Hermes.
5. Helios
Helios was the personification of the Sun, and he was one of the Titans, the son of Hyperion and Theia. His siblings were Eos, the Dawn, and Selene the Moon. One of his most memorable images in Greek mythology is of him riding his chariot. He was married to Perse and had several children.
6. Electra
Elektra was a popular character in two ancient Greek tragedies. She was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae. This beautiful name translates to a woman who is radiant with grace.
7. Apollo
Apollo was a god in Greek mythology, one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Leto, the twin brother of Artemis. He is, among others, considered the god of medicine, archery, music, poetry, and also the sun. He is also the god of justice. Along with all these, this name is also tied to a significant mission.
The US Apollo is a NASA space program that sent the first humans to the moon. This will be a catching topic to write essays on when your child is of school age. With the right educational resources available, they will be able to understand their name and feel proud when writing any school paper.
8. Arete
Arete translates to grace and dignity, and she was a goddess that people connected to many qualities deemed attractive. Some of those were excellence, courage, and knowledge. Arete is also greatly connected to reaching a person’s full potential and is, therefore, an essential quality to the Greeks.
9. Endymion
Endymion was the son of Zeus, and he was known for his beauty, probably having gotten his handsome looks from his father. He was a shepherd who lived in the region of Elis, and he was believed to have been a king. Endymion’s beauty was so great that Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, fell in love with him. She then asked his father to give him eternal youth.
10. Adonis
Adonis was considered to be a handsome man and a symbol of masculine beauty. He was the mortal lover of the Goddess Aphrodite. As myth has it, the place where Adonis took his last breath was where red roses bloomed for the first time.
To this day, this name is widespread in the US as more and more parents choose it every single year. A very nice name, but destroyed, as today it happens to be the name of the most detestable Greek minister.
11. Iris
Iris in Greek translates to the rainbow. In ancient Greek mythology, she was the goddess of the rainbow and an urgent messenger of the Olympian gods. She was also oftentimes considered to be the personal messenger of Hera.
Iris was a goddess of the sea and the sky. She was the daughter of another Electra, an Oceanid born by the Titans, and Thaumas “the wondrous”, a marine god.
12. Hermes
Hermes was an Olympian deity in ancient Greek mythology. He was the herald of the gods as well as the God of boundaries, athletes, speed, and commerce. Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, the Pleiad. He was also oftentimes regarded as “the divine trickster”.
13. Calypso
Calypso was the daughter of the Titan Atlas, and she was a beautiful nymph of the mythical island Ogygia. If Ogygia was real it should be the island of Othonoi, a small island a few miles northwest of Corfu Island where there is a cave named Cave of Calypso.
She was an influential character in Homer’s Odyssey as she followed the journey of Odysseus for seven years. She tried to promise him immortality, but his longing for his home was a lot more powerful than that.
14. Leander
Leander was a young man who came from Abydos. He lived on the eastern shore of the Hellespont. He was known in Greek mythology as a very powerful swimmer. When he fell in love with one of Aphrodite’s priestesses, he became famous for swimming across the Hellespont every night, so he could see her.
You didn’t find a name to like on our list yet? No problem.
Greek Mythology offers thousands of choices, here are some more beautiful names, mostly for girls!
15. Eris
Eris was one of the primordial gods and means Dispute, but it sounds beautiful as a woman’s name when spelled.
16. Io
Io was a nymph, one of the many lovers of Dias, a Beautiful name, that means moon.
17. Leto
Leto was the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis, a nice and frequent name among Greeks.
18. Alkmene
Alkmene is an oceanic nymph, the mother of the most famous hero Heracles.
19. Metis
Metis was the first wife of Dias and the mother of the goddess Athena.
20. Selene
Selene is the daughter of Titan Hyperion and the personification of the moon.
21. Artemis
Artemis, An Olympian goddess, daughter of Dias and Leto, and sister to Apollo is a very frequent name in Greece.
22. Athena
Athena was the daughter of Dias and Metis, the goddess of wisdom who gave her name to Athens.
23. Jason
Jason was the hero who with his argonauts stole the Golden Fleece from Colchis.
24. Nereus
Nereus, The old lord of the sea, a Titan, son of the primordial god Pontos.
25. Phoebe
Phoebe was the daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite.
26. Nike
Nike means Victory and was a daughter of the first god of war Pallas. Also a very used and nice name.
27. Zelea
Zelea was the Goddess of Jealousy and sister to Nike. As a name is uniquely strange and also very attractive.
If there is a chance for your little girl to become an actress, follow our advice and call her Zelea.
28. Rhea
Rhea, the most important Titaness, wife of Cronos, and mother to Dias. One of the best-sounding names for a beautiful woman.
A woman named Rhea is obliged to be beautiful, otherwise, she has to change her name.
29. Themis
Themis, a Titaness, this name can be used for both girls and boys.
30. Dione
Dione, another Titaness, and a beautiful name.
31. Pandora
Pandora was the first woman on Earth, who married Epimetheus, the name means all-gifted.
32. Enyo
Enyo was the daughter of Dias and Hera, a nice and strange name.
33. Hebe
Hebe was the sister of Enyo, the personification of adolescence.
34. Rhode
Rhode was the daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite, Rhode means Rose, an unusual as well as nice name.
Greek mythology is an endless source of inspiration, fascinating stories, and impressive characters. If you want to give your kid a unique and outstanding name, make use of this list.
Bonus: 100 more names
For girls
- Adara – “fire”
- Althea – “healer”
- Amphitrite – “goddess of the sea”
- Andromeda – “ruler of man”
- Aphrodite – “goddess of love”
- Ariadne – “most holy”
- Artemis – “goddess of the hunt”
- Athena – “goddess of wisdom and warfare”
- Atalanta – “balanced”, a heroine.
- Calliope – “beautiful voice”
- Calypso – “she who hides”
- Cassandra – “she who entangles men”
- Circe – “bird”, she was a witch.
- Clytemnestra – “famous for her might”
- Demeter – “goddess of agriculture”
- Dione – “goddess of love”
- Echo – “echo”
- Electra – “shining”
- Eurydice – “wide justice”
- Gaia – “Earth”
- Hecate – “goddess of magic”
- Hera – “queen of the gods”
- Hermione – “messenger”
- Hestia – “goddess of the hearth”
- Io – “moon”
- Iris – “rainbow”
- Isidora – “gift of Isis”
- Leda – “Happy”
- Leto – “goddess of motherhood”
- Medusa – “protector”
- Melaina – “dark, black”
- Naiad – “water nymph”
- Nyx – “goddess of the night”
- Pandora – “all-gifted”
- Penelope – “weaver”
- Persephone – “the voice of Perseus”
- Phoebe – “radiant”
- Rhea – “mother of the gods”
- Selene – “goddess of the moon”
- Thalia – “flourishing”
- Thea – “goddess”
- Thetis – “sea nymph”
- Tyche – “goddess of fortune”
- Urania – “heavenly”
- Xanthe – “yellow, blond”
- Xenia – “hospitable”
- Yara – “water lady”
- Zephyra – “west wind”
- Zephyrine – “west wind”
- Zoe – “Life”
For boys
- Aeneas – “praise, worthy”
- Ajax – “eagle”
- Alastor – “avenging spirit”
- Apollo – “manly beauty”
- Atlas – “enduring”
- Castor – “beaver”
- Chrysippus – “golden horse”
- Cronus – “time”
- Damon – “to tame, subdue”
- Darius – “wealthy”
- Demetrius – “follower of Demeter”
- Dionysus – “follower of Zeus”
- Endymion – “to dive into”
- Hector – “steadfast”
- Helios – “sun”
- Heracles – “glory of Hera”
- Hermes – “messenger to gods”
- Icarus – “to fly”
- Jason – “healer”
- Kadmos – “the east”
- Leander – “lion man”
- Lysander – “liberator”
- Menelaus – “strength of the people”
- Narcissus – “sleep”
- Nestor – “voyager”
- Odysseus – “wrathful”
- Orion – “son of fire”
- Orpheus – “to be deprived”
- Paris – “wallet, purse”
- Perseus – “to destroy”
- Phoenix – “dark red”
- Pollux – “very sweet”
- Priam – “redeemed”
- Proteus – “the first”
- Theseus – “to set”
- Tiberius – “the Tiber River”
- Titan – “strength”
- Triton – “son of Poseidon”
- Tycho – “hitting the mark”
- Ulysses – “wrathful”
- Xanthus – “yellow, blond”
- Xenophon – “friend of strangers”
- Yannis – “God is gracious”
- Zephyr – “west wind”
- Zeus – “leader of gods”
- Aries – “god of war”
- Acastus – “unwavering”
- Aristaeus – “best”
- Erasmus – “beloved”
- Evander – “good man”
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