Basque Names for Girls
Updated Tue Jun 09 2020
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Basque girl names are prominent on Spain's popularity list, with such choices as Ainara and Leire ranking in the Top 50. Basque names for girls you may want to consider include the following.
The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
- Amaya
Origin:
Spanish version of Amaia or JapaneseMeaning:
"mother city; the end; night rain"Description:
The Spanish form of Amaya is both a given name and a surname, originating from the Spanish mountain and village of Amaya. In this context it means "mother city" or "the capital." Amaya can also be considered a derivation of Amaia, a Basque name meaning "the end." In Japan, Amaya is a surname.
- Lourdes
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"craggy slope"Description:
This name of the French town where a young peasant girl had a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1858 vaulted into the spotlight when Madonna chose it for her daughter, but few other families except for devout Roman Catholics have followed her lead (any more than they've used Rocco for their sons).
- Naiara
Origin:
Basque place nameDescription:
Basque name for a Spanish city where the Virgin Mary appeared in medieval times, now a popular girls' name throughout Spain.
- Leire
Origin:
Basque place nameDescription:
Also spelled Leyre and taken from the name of a monastery fortress, the popular and lilting choice in Spain will pose pronunciation problems elsewhere. Among the Top 100 girls' names in Spain, Leire was given to only a handful of baby girls in the US last year.
- Nayara
Origin:
Spelling variation of Naiara, Basque place-nameDescription:
Nayara or Naiara is a Basque name for a Spanish city where the Virgin Mary appeared in medieval times, now a popular girls' name throughout Spain.
- Alasne
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"Miracle"Description:
Alazne is a traditional name in Euskera, the language of the Basque people.
- Nerea
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"mine"Description:
A variation of the name Nere, both choices are distinctive and accessible. In the Top 20 in Spain.
- Ainhoa
Origin:
Basque place nameDescription:
Name of the French town where a vision of the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared, this name, virtually unknown elsewhere, is in the Spanish Top 100.
- Arantxa
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"thornbush"Description:
Basque names, indeed the entire Basque language, are unrelated to any other. Arantxa is a diminutive of Arantzazu. This obscure choice was made known by tennis player Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.
- Nekane
Origin:
Basque form of DoloresMeaning:
"sorrows"Description:
Nekane is the decidedly modern, upbeat-sounding Basque form of the sorrowful and dated Spanish Dolores. Basque names, largely unknown in English-speaking countries, offer a fresh lexicon of names, and Nekane is one of the more appealing. An interesting update for Nicole.
- Irati
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"fern field"Description:
For the parent who genuinely wants something different, this nature choice is popular in Spain. Downside: connection to words irate and irritation.
- Elixane
Origin:
Basque, diminutive or local variant of ElizabethMeaning:
"pledged to God"Description:
A rare name even among Basque speakers (fewer than 20 women in Spain are called Elixane), this beautiful name has drawn some attention via Elixane Lechemia, the French pro-tennis player.
- Ximenia
Origin:
Spanish nature nameDescription:
For any parents out there searching for a nature name starting with x -- and we doubt there are many -- this one, named for a Spanish monk called Ximenes, is a small tropical plant bearing wild limes.
- Nere
Origin:
BasqueMeaning:
"mine"Description:
As Nerea, in the Spanish Top 100, but this streamlined version is one of those golden choices that's both supremely simple and intriguingly rare.
- Xuxa
Origin:
Portuguese
- Urraca
Origin:
Basque or Portuguese, 'magpie'Description:
Urraca was the name of many infantas and queens of several medieval Iberian kingdoms (most notably Leon). Despite its royal roots, Urraca is one of the names best left to the history books.
- Ximene
Origin:
Spanish variation of Ximena
- Danele
- Joska
- Guevara
Origin:
Basque place- and surnameDescription:
Revolutionary choice.