Badass Girl Names

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi," which translates to "cold water." Nairobi is popularly known as the Green City.

Even in the Hispanic community, very religious and old-fashioned.

Jenica might work if you can't decide between Jennifer and Jessica. It's certainly a more distinctive option.

An established place name, associated with a sunny island in the English Channel, the Garden State in the US, knitted pullovers, reality TV, and a Broadway musical. It peaked in the late 2000s and though it is now in decline, 130 girls and nearly 50 boys received the name in 2023.

-ey meaning "island". Alternative theories suggest it comes from jarl ,meaning "earl" or hjǫr meaning "sword".

Ever since Little Egypt practically invented the belly dance in the 1890s, this name has had a suggestive aura. Astonishingly, Egypt is now among the Top 1000 names for girls in the US. Cairo is a related option.

Seinfeld's George threatened to name his future child Seven, and then singer Erykah Badu actually did it.

This name gained widespread attention via the actress Taraji P. Henson, who was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. A variant is Taraja.

Lozen is the name of a female Apache warrior and medicine woman who fought with Geronimo in the 19th century. The sister of the warrior called Victorio, Lozen was the name chosen by soccer star Hope Solo and football player Jerramy Stevens for their daughter, Lozen Orianna Judith, twin of Vittorio Genghis.

Tornado first meant thunderstorm and only later came to mean whirlwind, the common modern meaning. More recently, Tornado is the first name of a tennis-playing teen whose sister is called the equally attention-getting Hurricane. Both names work for either gender, if you think you can withstand the storm jokes.

Aviator is equally appropriate for a girl, of course, but lovers of Beatrix and Bellatrix might appreciate the spiky sound of this unique occupational name.

Heard in Spain more as a last name, but would work here as an alluring first.

Libertad is the forceful name recently given to his daughter by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. English equivalent Liberty has been in use for girls for some time. Libertad might be considered a Spanish virtue name or word name. See our list of other Spanish word names.

Spelling variation of Tziporah.

Legacy is proof that any attractive-sounding word can be turned into a name, and this one has the added attractions of an inspirational meaning and a cool creative namesake -- hot young artist Legacy Russell.

Menace fits into the growing group of badass baby names that work for boys or girls. Menace is exceedingly rare but has future possibilities.