50 adorable European baby names and their meanings

CELESTE

Origin and meaning: This beautiful star-inspired name is based on the Latin word “caelestis” meaning “heavenly.”

Famous namesakes: Comedian Celeste Barber.

SELMA

Origin and meaning: Of old German origin meaning ‘Godly helmet.’

Famous namesakes: Actresses Selma Blair and Selma Hayek.

QUEENIE

Origin and meaning: Of English origin meaning ‘Queen’.

Famous namesakes: Indigenous artist Queenie McKenzie.

JACQUELYN

Origin and meaning: This common French name is the feminine form of the boy name Jacob. It means both “supplanter” and “may God protect.”

Famous namesakes: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, actress Jacqueline Bisset.

ROSALIND

Origin and meaning: A lovely and unique moniker of Spanish origin meaning ‘pretty rose’.

Famous namesakes: Movie star Rosalind Russell. Uma Thurman also named her youngest child Rosalind.

PENELOPE

Origin and meaning: This cute feminine moniker is of Greek origin and means ‘weaver’.

Famous namesakes: Actress Penelope Cruz. Also a Harry Potter character.

GISELLE

Origin and meaning: The origin of this French name comes from “gisil,” which was another term for a peace offering between cities in the Middle Ages.

Famous namesakes: Model Giselle Bundchen.

MADELINE

Origin and meaning: The posh French name Madeline also means “from the tower.”

Famous namesakes: Costume designer Madeline Fontaine, snowboarder Madeline Schaffrick.

ARLENE

Origin and meaning: Arleen or Arlene is an Irish female given name and variant of Carlene or Charlene and in the French derived from feminine diminutive of Charles.

Famous namesakes: Mountaineer Arlene Blum, 1950s actress Arlene Dahl.

LUCIE

Origin and meaning: The name Lucie means “light.” The spelling makes it uniquely French.

Famous namesakes: French resistance leader Lucie Aubrac, actresses Lucille Ball, Lucy Lawless and Lucy Liu.

GABRIELLE

Origin and meaning: This pretty, French, sweet-sounding name means “woman of God,” and is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Gabriel.

Famous namesakes: Volleyball player Gabrielle Reece, actress Gabrielle Union.

ELOISE

Origin and meaning: This classic French name means “famous warrior.”

Famous namesakes: Model and actress Eloise Broady.

SAOIRSE

Origin and meaning: The Irish name Saoirse means “freedom” and is pronounced “Seer-Sha”. Due to that fact that it’s difficult to pronounce it’s quite rare to see it used outside Ireland.

Famous namesakes: Actress Saoirse Ronan.

NATALIE

Origin and meaning: If your due date is close to Christmas, you should consider this pretty French name for your baby girl. It means “Born at Christmas.”

Famous namesakes: Natalie Portman.

SIOBHAN

Origin and meaning: Siobhan is another Irish form of Joan meaning “God is gracious.”

Famous namesakes: Singer Siobhan Fahey, actress Siobhan McKenna.

BELLE

Origin and meaning: The name Belle has origins all over the world, including in France. It means “beautiful.”

Famous namesakes: Outlaw Belle Starr.

ADA

Origin and meaning: Ada is of German origin meaning noble, nobility.

Famous namesakes: Actress Ada Nicodemou.

AGNES

Origin and meaning: The name Agnes is a girl’s name of Greek origin meaning ‘pure, virginal’.

Famous namesakes: Model Agness Deyn. Agnes is also one of the characters in the funny movie Minions, while Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany named their daughter Agnes Lark.

LILLIAN

Origin and meaning: Of English and Latin origin, Lillian is derived from Lily, meaning a flower.

Famous namesakes: American actress Lillian Gish, singer Lily Allen.

ELSIE

Origin and meaning: This Scottish name means ‘my God is bountiful’ or God of Plenty.

Famous namesakes: Actors Ioan Gruffudd and Zooey Deschanel both named their daughters Elsie.

AISLING

Origin and meaning: Aisling is an Irish language feminine given name meaning “dream” or “vision” and referring to an aisling, a poetic genre that developed during the late 17th and 18th century in Irish language genre poetry. The name is pronounced “Ash-Ling”

Famous namesakes: Comedian Aisling Bea.

PENELOPE

Origin and meaning: This feminine moniker is of Greek origin and means ‘weaver’.

Famous namesakes: Actress Penelope Cruz.

WINIFRED

Origin and meaning: A cute Welsh name meaning ‘blessed peacemaking’.

Famous namesakes: Winnie Mandela. Winnie was also one of the female characters on the TV show The Wonder Years.

BERNADETTE

Origin and meaning: Bernadette is of German origin and means ‘brave as a bear.’

Famous namesakes: St Bernadette was an Irish saint who saw a vision at Lourdes. Bernadette Peters in an American actress and singer.

CHARLOTTE

Origin and meaning: This popular name is of French origin and means ‘free man’.

Famous namesakes: Well-known Charlottes include the Princess of Cambridge, English author Charlotte Bronte, and Charlotte York, a character in Sex and the City.

CATHAL

Origin and meaning: Cathal was a common name in medieval Ireland and is still popular today. It’s pronounced “Kaw-hal”.Means ‘great warrior’.

Famous namesakes: Singer Cathal Coughlan.

EARL

Origin and meaning: A popular English name meaning ‘warrior’ or ‘nobleman.’

Famous namesakes: American actor James Earl Jones and British/Australian actor Earl Cave, son of musician Nick Cave and model Susie Bick.

LIAM

Origin and meaning: Liam is the Irish derivation of the name William.

Famous namesakes: Irish singer Liam O’Maonlai, actor Liam Neeson.

CHARLES

Origin and meaning: Charles is of French and German origin meaning ‘free man.’

Famous namesakes: Actor Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Sheen, jazz musician Charles Mingus, and many Royal kings.

ALBERT

Origin and meaning: Of German origin meaning ‘noble, bright.’

Famous namesakes: Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein and British actor Albert Finney. Albert is also a popular Royal name.

OTIS

Origin and meaning: Of German origin meaning ‘wealthy’.

Famous namesakes: American soul singer Otis Redding. Otis Frey, son of The Eagles’ Glenn Frey.

ARTHUR

Origin and meaning: A name of Celtic origin meaning ‘bear’.

Famous namesakes: Arthur was the head knight at the round table, and there have been many other distinguished Arthurs including writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, playwright Arthur Miller and tennis great Arthur Ashe.

OSCAR

Origin and meaning: An Irish name meaning ‘friend of deer’ or ‘spear of God’.

Famous namesakes: Playwright Oscar Wilde, American actor Oscar Isaac.

THEODORE

Origin and meaning: A boy’s name of Greek origin meaning ‘gift of God’.

Famous namesakes: US President Theodore Roosevelt. American writer Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr Seuss).

NIALL

Origin and meaning: This name of Irish origin means “passionate”. One of the High Kings of Tara bore this name. It’s pronounced ‘Nile’.

Famous namesakes: Singer Niall Horan, footballer Niall Quinn.

LOUIS

Origin and meaning: A name of French origin meaning ‘renowned warrior’.

Famous namesakes: American jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, Louis Bullock, son of American actress Sandra Bullock.

HENRY

Origin and meaning: Of German origin meaning ‘estate ruler’.

Famous namesakes: Prince Henry (Harry), US author Henry David Thoreau, English sculptor Henry Moore.

GEORGE

Origin and meaning: Despite being a popular name for royalty, this humble name is of Greek origin and means ‘farmer’.

Famous namesakes: Beatles guitarist George Harrison, composer George Gershwin and Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. George is also the name of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first son.

GABRIEL

Origin and meaning: This popular French name is derived from the Hebrew gavrīēl (God is my strength).

Famous namesakes: Actor Gabriel Byrne, footballer Gabriel Batistuta.

EMMETT

Origin and meaning: A German name meaning ‘powerful’.

Famous namesakes: Irish actor Emmett Scanlan.

PIERRE

Origin and meaning: This French name is derived from the name Peter and means “rock” or “stone.”

Famous namesakes: Fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

EDWIN

Origin and meaning: Another English name, meaning ‘wealthy friend’.

Famous namesakes: Astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin.

SEAN

Origin and meaning: Seán is the Irish form of John and means “gracious gift of God.”

Famous namesakes: British actor Sean Bean, singer Sean Combs.

HARVEY

Origin and meaning: A name of French origin meaning ‘battle worthy’.

Famous namesakes: American actor Harvey Keitel, politician and activist Harvey Milk.

FREDERICK

Origin and meaning: Of German origin meaning ‘peaceful ruler’.

Famous namesakes: Actor and dancer Fred Astaire and English novelist Frederick Forsyth. Frederick is also a popular royal name.

EUGENE

Origin and meaning: Of Greek origin meaning ‘wellborn, noble’.

Famous namesakes: Playwright Eugene O’Neill, also lead singer of rock band Kiss, Gene Simmons.

DIEGO

Origin and meaning: This Spanish name is derived from the English names James and means “supplanter.”

Famous namesakes: Actor Diego Luna, star of Netflix show Narcos Mexico, artist Diego Rivera.

EDGAR

Origin and meaning: An English name meaning ‘wealthy spearman’.

Famous namesakes: Author and poet Edgar Allan Poe, Kind Edgar of Scotland.

VIGGO

Origin and meaning: This popular Scandinavian name means “battle” or “fight.”

Famous namesakes: Actor Viggo Mortensen.

FINLEY

Origin and meaning: A Celtic name meaning ‘fair-haired hero.’

Famous namesakes: Reggae musician Finley Quaye. Actor Chris O’Donnell also called his son Finley.