From strong classics like Bernadette and Valerie to unique choices inspired by ancient warrior queens, we’ve gathered all our favourite names that mean brave girl to help you find the perfect name for your baby.
When it comes to finding the perfect name for a new baby, parents have lots of ways of narrowing down their choices: some go for a particular letter at the beginning or end, or a name that reminds people of a friend or family member, while others pick meaning names.
Baby girl names that mean brave are all over the place in this list, so if you’re one of the latter, read on.
There are so many strong baby names for girls out there that we couldn’t fit them all on one list, so if you’re still looking for inspiration by the time you get to the end of this one, check out our lists of strong girl names and names for little heroes for even more fantastic ideas for naming your little warrior princess.
Traditional Girl Names That Mean Brave
These names are classics, but still unique enough to stand out from the crowd.
1. Andrea (Italian): This classic Italian name means ‘brave’.
2. Bernadette (French): A strong French name that means ‘brave bear’.
3. Braia, Braya (Medival Cornish): This Medieval Cornish name is derived from the name of the Cornish saint, Breaca.
4. Leandra (Greek): A Greek origin name meaning ‘lioness’. We’ve never met a cowardly lioness, have you?
5. Richelle (English): ‘brave ruler’ or ‘powerful ruler’. This English name is a modern feminine form of classic boy name Richard.
6. Valerie (French, Latin): This ever-popular name that means ‘brave and valiant’comes from the Latin Valeria, another pretty name choice for a baby girl.
Popular Baby Names That Mean Brave
These girl names that mean courageous and bold are also bang on trend.
7. Caci (Irish): A short, strong name that has been growing in popularity recently, this Irish-origin name means ‘brave; watchful’.
8. Grace (English): This English name has been incredibly popular in recent years. Although not technically meaning brave, it makes us think of Grace O’Malley, who was a famous Irish pirate queen – and that must have taken some courage.
9. Haley (Scandinavian): ‘heroine’. A popular name choice for parents over the last few years.
10. Keena (Celtic): This Celtic name meaning ‘brave’makes a lovely feminine version of popular boys’ names Keene and Kean.
11. Modis (Icelandic): ‘courageous woman’. This strong name has been very popular recently with parents in its native Iceland.
Brave Girl Names Inspired By Literature
If you’re looking for a bold name, why not choose one of these names inspired by seriously brave ladies of literature?
12. Anne (Hebrew): ‘gracious; merciful’. This classic name brings to mind both brave young author Anne Frank and is the name of bold book character Anne of Green Gables.
13. Celie (French): ‘blind’. Celie, the protagonist of ‘The Colour Purple’, is brave enough to overcome incredible odds and eventually find happiness.
14. Elizabeth (Hebrew): ‘God is my oath’. Elizabeth Bennett from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is fearless in standing up for herself and those around her and living life on her own terms. Short form Eliza also works as a reference to brave and determined Eliza in Isabelle Allende’s ‘Daughter of Fortune’.
15. Jo (Hebrew): ‘God shall grow’. Jo March from Little Women is another bold and fearless young woman who refused to give in to society’s expectations of her.
16. Matilda (English): ‘battle strength’. In Roald Dahl’s book, Matilda is brave enough to use her abilities to help others despite the danger to herself – and being only four! That’s what we call courage.
17. Merida (Latin): a city in Spain. Okay, so this one’s technically a movie name, but we still think it belongs on any list of brave girls. Just look at the title of her film.
Names Inspired By Female Warriors
If you’re looking for a unique and fearless name for your little girl, take a look at these. These adventurous ladies fought for their countries’ freedom, led their people through thick and thin, and didn’t take nonsense from anyone.
18. Boudicca (Celtic): ‘victory’. A 1st century Iceni queen who’s famous for her revolt against the Romans.
19. Cartimandua (Celtic): Cartimandua was a Celtic warrior queen like Boudicca, but if you think that might be a bit much for your baby girl to spell, why not go for Mandy instead?
20. Ethel (Old English): Ethelfleda, the Queen of Mercia, was the daughter of Alfred the Great and showed great courage in defending her kingdom.
21. Gwenllian (Welsh): ‘blessed and flaxen’. Bold Welsh princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd fought for her country’s freedom in the 12th century. If Gwenllian’s a bit much, short form Gwen makes a lovely name by itself.
22. Harriet (English): ‘home ruler’. This English name belonged to Harriet Tubman, who was not only brave and resourceful enough to escape slavery, she then led other slaves to safety and even fought in the American civil war.
23. Jeanne (French): ‘God is gracious’. Jeanne d’Arc, or Joan of Arc, was certainly brave enough to stand up for her beliefs.
24. Mavia (Arabic): This strong name belonged to a fearless warrior queen of ancient Syria. It’s also an Irish name meaning ‘happy’.
25. Tamar (Georgian): An 11th Century warrior queen known as “the Great”, she was the first woman to rule the country in her own right. It’s also a Hebrew name meaning ‘palm tree’.
26. Tomoe (Japanese): ‘blessing’. Tomoe was a fearless female samurai of the 12th century.
27. Tomyris (Iranian): ‘brave’. An ancient Iranian queen who defeated Cyrus the Great when he tried to invade.
28. Trinh (Vietnamese): ‘pure’. Trieu Thi Trinh is often known as the “Vietnamese Joan of Arc”. She fought to free her country in the 3rd century.
29. Zenobia (Greek): ‘life of Zeus’. Zenobia was an ancient Syrian warrior queen who fought against the Romans.
Powerful Female Names From Myths And Legends
These unique girl names that mean brave belong to powerful female figures from myth and legend.
30. Belissenda (French, Old German): this French name meaning ‘brave’ is a form of the German name Belicent, a character in Arthurian legend.
31. Breaca (Cornish): This name meaning ‘bravery’ belonged to a fifth-century Cornish saint.
32. Ibuki (Japanese): ‘brave wind’. This strong Japanese name belonging to Japanese voice actress Ibuki Kido can also have other meanings depending on the kanji used to write it.
33. Nanna (Scandinavian): ‘bravery; daring’. The name of a Norse goddess, it also means ‘grace’ in Hebrew and is one of the most popular names in Denmark.
34. Roskva (Norse): ‘brave’. A character from Norse mythology.
35. Tamina (Persian): ‘valiant’. The name of a princess in the Persian epic ‘Shahnameh’.
Gender Neutral Names That Mean Brave
These strong names that mean brave make lovely names for a girl – but they’re also good for any baby who’d suit a powerful name.
36. Acar (Turkish): ‘fearless’.
37. Casey (English; Irish): ‘brave; watchful’. An English variant of the Irish Gaelic name.
38. Everett (German): This German name means ‘brave as a wild boar’.
39. Jigme (Tibetan, Bhutan): ‘fearless’. This name belongs to the King of Bhutan.
40. Hero (Greek): ‘brave one’. This Greek origin name belongs to a character in Greek and Roman myth.
41. Kelsey (Irish): ‘brave; victorious ship’.
42. Riley (Irish): ‘brave’.
43. Ye (Burmese): ‘brave; daring’.
44. Zhihao (Chinese):‘wise and brave’.
Brave Baby Girl Names With Double Meanings
These baby girl names are two for one.
45. Aluma (Hebrew): means ‘girl’, but the medieval word with the same spelling means ‘brave’.
46. Anh (Vietnamese): This name means ‘brave; heroic’, but it can also mean ‘flower’ or ‘intelligent’ when combined with other names.
47. Gail (Old German): ‘bold; high-spirited’. Usually used as a short form of English name Abigail, meaning ‘father’s joy’, this ancient German name also means ‘bold’.
48. Guiying (Chinese): This name means ‘cassia flower’ and ‘brave’, as the hanzi used to write it have more than one meaning.
49. Xiuying (Chinese): This name means either ‘outstanding courage’ or ‘beautiful flower’, as both hanzi have multiple meanings.
50. Yu (Japanese): This name means ‘brave’, although written with other characters it can also mean ‘excellence’ or ‘gentleness’.
51. Ziana (Hindi): This name that means ‘bold’can also mean ‘beautiful’.
Short Baby Girl Names Meaning Brave
Short, sweet and strong, these names are lovely for a baby girl.
52. Anda (Greek): ‘courageous’.
53. Anoud (Arabic): ‘brave; strong-willed’.
54. Asi (Turkish): ‘wild; bold’.
55. Berna (French): ‘brave bear’.
56. Brava (Esperanto): ‘brave’.
57. Faren (English; Celtic): ‘adventurous’.
58. Fiadh (Irish): ‘wild; untamed; daring’.
59. Guven (Turkish): ‘confidence; fearlessness’.
60. Kuoni (Old German): ‘brave’.
61. Otka (Slavic): ‘fortunate heroine’.
62. Tamta (Georgian): ‘brave and strong’.
63. Veera (Sanskrit, Hindi): ‘brave; bold’.
Long Baby Girl Names Meaning Brave
These lovely long girl names that mean ‘she who is brave’ make strong and elegant choices for any little girl.
64. Aesira (Islamic), meaning ‘brave, powerful fighter’. A beautiful name that means fighter for a girl.
65. Anzansi (Dagbani): ‘courage and persistence’.
66. Bertuska (Russian, Hungarian): ‘brave and strong’.
67. Fernanda (Portuguese; Italian): ‘adventurous; bold’.
68. Guximtare (Albanian): ‘brave; courageous’.
69. Leopolda (German): ‘brave people’.
70. Marshanda (Indonesian): ‘brave girl’.
71. Nantelma (Medieval Italian, Old German): ‘brave helmet’.
72. Tanazart (Berber): ‘daring’.
73. Tejasvini (Hindi, Telugu): ‘bright; brave’.
74. Tibelda (German): ‘boldest’.
75. Valienta (Spanish): ‘valiant’.
Courageous Names For Baby Girls
These bold girl names with fearless meanings are strong contenders to be any parent’s choice for their little warrior queen.
76. Aarini (Hindi): ‘adventurous’.
77. Bathilda (German): This German name means ‘heroine’.
78. Dadila (Uzbek): ‘bold and fearless’.
79. Drosma (Latvian): ‘courage’.
80. Eun-Yeong (Korean): ‘kind courage’.
81. Guxime (Albanian): ‘daring; bold’.
82. Jasiri (Swahili): ‘bold’.
83. Matonat (Uzbek): ‘fortitude’.
84. Ottilia (German): ‘fortunate heroine’.
85. Phiriya (Thai): ‘bravery; vigour’.
86. Shajia (Urdu, Bengali): ‘bravery; courage’.
87. Toshie (Japanese): This Japanese name means ‘bold and magnificent’, although it can change meaning depending on the kanji used.
Brave Names From Around The World
We scoured the globe for the best names meaning bravery from around the world.
88. Andina (Italian): ‘manly and brave’. This name is a variant of Andrea.
89. Basila (Arabic): ‘fearless’.
90. Dilovar (Uzbek): ‘brave’.
91. Dilraba (Uyghur): ‘brave; heart’. This name belongs to actress Dilraba Dilmurat.
92. Gasira (Swahili): ‘brave’.
93. Jasura (Uzbek): ‘brave’.
94. Ji-Yeong (Korean): ‘wise and brave’.
95. Mardoy (Uzbek): ‘brave moon’.
96. Nerola (Italian): A place name meaning ‘brave’.
97. Terrwyn (Welsh): ‘brave and fair’.
98. Thaddia (Greek origin): ‘brave’.
99. Vafara (French): ‘brave’.
100. Valencia (Spanish): This Spanish name means ‘brave; strong’, but is also the name of a city in Spain.
101. Virika (Sanskrit): ‘brave; courageous’.
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