Basque Names for Girls

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.
  1. Amaya
    • Origin:

      Spanish version of Amaia or Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  2. Lourdes
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "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).
  3. Naiara
    • Origin:

      Basque place name
    • Description:

      Basque name for a Spanish city where the Virgin Mary appeared in medieval times, now a popular girls' name throughout Spain.
  4. Leire
    • Origin:

      Basque place name
    • Description:

      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.
  5. Nayara
    • Origin:

      Spelling variation of Naiara, Basque place-name
    • Description:

      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.
  6. Alasne
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "Miracle"
    • Description:

      Alazne is a traditional name in Euskera, the language of the Basque people.
  7. Nerea
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "mine"
    • Description:

      A variation of the name Nere, both choices are distinctive and accessible. In the Top 20 in Spain.
  8. Ainhoa
    • Origin:

      Basque place name
    • Description:

      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.
  9. Arantxa
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  10. Nekane
    • Origin:

      Basque form of Dolores
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  11. Irati
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  12. Elixane
    • Origin:

      Basque, diminutive or local variant of Elizabeth
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  13. Ximenia
    • Origin:

      Spanish nature name
    • Description:

      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.
  14. Nere
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  15. Xuxa
    • Origin:

      Portuguese
  16. 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.
  17. Ximene
    • Origin:

      Spanish variation of Ximena
  18. Danele
    • Guevara
      • Origin:

        Basque place- and surname
      • Description:

        Revolutionary choice.
    • Joska