Greek Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Arete is a minor goddess in Greek mythology who personifies the idea of excellence or perfect virtue. There is also a mythological queen Arete, with her sister an "exacter of justice".

One of the more prominent by-products of reality TV, via Disney.

Sure to give a complex.

So many short forms of Margaret, from Peggy all the way through Maggie and Megan, are outdated now that Mago has value simply by being undiscovered. But still, not very appealing.

Kostas makes the ancient emperor's name more approachable.

A sleek nickname name more attractive than its longer form, there have been a couple of prominent baseball player Cletes as well as the broadcast journalist Clete Roberts.

Original form of the more familiar Calliope, the muse of epic poetry.

As common in Greece as John is here.

An Early American name undoubtedly related to the Greek mythological name Electra, the version we prefer.

With a soft e, sounds like an affected pronunciation of Rita.

Flower name that sounds a bit too much like a disease.

Musical, with a buoyant beat.

This name was used by Shakespeare (who got it from Plutarch) in Antony and Cleopatra for one of the attendants of the Egyptian queen. An interesting possibility, it is heard occasionally in the UK, even less frequently in the US.

Eustacia, the ancestor of mid-century fave Stacy, is just the kind of fusty old relic that might be polished up for modern use. Eustacia Vye is the central character of Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native.

Typhaine (sometimes spelled Tiphaine) is an extremely rare girls name used occasionally in France, Switzerland and Jersey. The name derives from the Greek root words for epiphany. Typhaine might be considered an alternative to the tired Tiffany.