Girl names that start with B range from familiar favorites like Bella, Brianna, Beatrice and Bridget to rare picks like Briallen, Bellatrix and Betony, and this list of 141 gives a checked origin and meaning for every one.
B is a gentle, friendly letter for a daughter’s name. None of the 2025 U.S. top 10 girl names starts with B, according to the Social Security Administration, yet the letter is full of names everyone knows, plus saints’ names, flower names and names from many languages.
We grouped the B girl names by style: familiar, unique, short, long, vintage, nature, mythology, biblical, international and gender neutral. After the lists come pronunciation tips, nicknames, sibling and middle name ideas, and a quick initials check.
Key Takeaways
- No B name is in the SSA top 10 for girls born in 2025, but Bella and Belle are short forms of Isabella, which ranked No. 7.
- Familiar B names for girls include Bella, Brianna, Beatrice, Bianca, Brooke, Bridget, Bonnie and Barbara.
- Rare options include Briallen, Bellatrix, Berenice, Belphoebe, Betony and Berengaria.
- Many B names belong to big name families (Elizabeth, Beatrix, Bridget, Barbara), which gives you lots of nickname choices.
- Test your favorite with the initials, out loud, spelling and nickname checks before you decide.
Table of Contents
Girl Names That Start With B at a Glance
Quick Answer
Every origin and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown, uncertain or debated, we say so, and where it only says “form of” another name, so do we.
Start with the familiar baby girl names that start with B. For a wider search, see our main list of baby girl names, or compare with our new list of girl names that start with R.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bella | English | Short form of Isabella and other names ending in bella; also linked with the Italian word bella, “beautiful” |
| Belle | English | Short form of Isabella or names ending in belle; also linked with the French word belle, “beautiful” |
| Brianna | English | Variant of Briana, a feminine form of Brian; now the more popular spelling |
| Bianca | Italian, Romanian | Italian cognate of Blanche (“white, fair-coloured”); Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew and Othello |
| Beatrice | Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian | Italian form of Beatrix; the name of Dante’s beloved and of the heroine of Much Ado About Nothing |
| Briella | English (Modern) | Short form of Gabriella |
| Brielle | English (Modern) | Short form of Gabrielle |
| Blakely | English (Modern) | From an English surname: Old English blæc, “black”, plus leah, “woodland clearing” |
| Brooke | English | Variant of Brook, a surname for someone who lived near a brook; in use since the 1950s |
| Bethany | English | From a biblical town name, possibly “house of affliction” or “house of figs”; the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha |
| Bridget | Irish, English | Anglicized form of Irish Brighid, from Celtic Brigantī: “the exalted one” |
| Brynn | English (Modern) | Feminine variant of Bryn, Welsh for “hill, mound” |
| Bonnie | English | “Pretty”, from a Scottish word that comes from Middle French bon, “good” |
| Barbara | English, Italian, French, German, Polish and more | From Latin barbarus, “foreign, savage, strange”, from Greek barbaros, “foreign, non-Greek” |
| Bristol | English (Modern) | From the English city: “the site of the bridge” |
| Brenda | English | Feminine form of the Old Norse name Brandr: “fire, torch, sword” |
| Bree | English | Anglicized form of Brígh (“might, power”); also a short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other bri names |
| Beth | English | Short form of Elizabeth, or sometimes Bethany |
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the top 10 girl names for babies born in the United States in 2025 were Olivia, Charlotte, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Evelyn, Sofia and Eliana. None of them starts with B. That makes B a quietly useful letter: the names above are well known without sitting at the very top of the national chart.
The SSA does not combine different spellings of similar names, so Brianna, Briana and Bryanna are counted as separate names. Keep that in mind if you look up a B name and it seems rarer than it feels.
A few old names sit behind a big share of this letter. If you like one member of a family, look at the others too:
- The Elizabeth family: Beth, Bess, Bessie, Betsy, Betty, Bettie and the Welsh Bethan are all short or pet forms of Elizabeth, which Behind the Name traces to the Hebrew Elisheba: “my God is an oath”.
- The Beatrix family: Beatrix, Beatrice, Béatrice, Bea, Bee, Bebe and the Italian Bice. Beatrix probably comes from Viatrix, “voyager, traveller”, with its spelling later shaped by Latin beatus, “blessed, happy”.
- The Bridget family: Bridget, Brigid, Bríd, Brigitte, Brígida and Bedelia are forms of the Irish Brighid, “the exalted one”, and Birgitta (with Birgit and Britt) is most likely one too, according to the reference.
- The Barbara family: Barbara, plus the German Bärbel and the Polish Basia.
Unique and Rare Girl Names That Start With B
Looking for unique girl names that start with B? Behind the Name marks several of these as rare in English or tags them by a narrow usage, such as Astronomy or Literature. Most are still easy to spell, and a few come with strong stories: Bellatrix is a star in Orion, and Belphoebe was coined by a 16th-century poet.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Briallen | Welsh (Rare) | From Welsh briallu: “primrose”; a modern Welsh name |
| Bellatrix | Astronomy | “Female warrior” in Latin; the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion |
| Berenice | English, Italian, Ancient Greek (Latinized) | From the Greek name Pherenike: “bringing victory” |
| Belphoebe | Literature | Old French bele, “beautiful”, plus the name Phoebe; first used by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene (1590) |
| Betony | English (Rare) | From the minty medicinal herb |
| Berengaria | Germanic (Latinized) | Latinized feminine form of Berengar (“bear” plus “spear”); a 13th-century queen of Castile |
| Benedicta | Ancient Roman, Spanish | Feminine form of Benedictus: “blessed” |
| Bathilde | French (Rare) | From Old German batu and hilt, which both mean “battle”; another name for Saint Balthild |
| Balbina | Spanish, Portuguese (Rare), Polish (Rare), Italian (Rare), Ancient Roman | Feminine form of the Roman name Balbinus; Saint Balbina was a 2nd-century Roman martyr |
| Blandina | Ancient Roman | Latin form of Blandine; Saint Blandina was a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons |
| Bambi | English | From Italian bambina: “young girl”; used in Marjorie Benton Cooke’s novel Bambi (1914) |
| Bedelia | Irish | Irish diminutive of Bridget |
| Boadicea | Brythonic (Latinized) | Medieval variant of Boudicca (“victory”), possibly from a scribal error |
To see how rare a name really is, use the Popularity of a Name search on the SSA baby names page. The SSA leaves out names with fewer than 5 occurrences to protect privacy, so the very rarest names will not show up at all. For more one of a kind ideas, see our unique girl names guide.
Short B Names for Girls (3 to 4 Letters)
Short B names are quick to write and easy to pair with a long surname. Almost all of them started as nicknames for longer names, so you can use them on their own or keep the long form for the birth certificate.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bea | English, Hungarian, Dutch | Short form of Beatrix or Beáta |
| Bee | English | Short form of Beatrix and other names beginning with B |
| Bebe | English | Diminutive of Beatrice and other names starting with B |
| Bice | Italian | Short form of Beatrice |
| Bess | English | Diminutive of Elizabeth; Queen Elizabeth I was known as Good Queen Bess |
| Brie | English | Short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri |
| Bria | English | Short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri |
| Basia | Polish | Polish diminutive of Barbara |
More short B names appear in other tables on this page: Bree and Beth in the familiar list, Britt and Bríd in the international list, and Bryn, Blue, Beau and Bo in the gender neutral list. Our short girl names list has more across every letter.
Long, Elegant and Vintage B Names
Longer B names give you a formal option plus a built-in nickname. Several are the Italian or French forms of saints’ names.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Beatrix | German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman | Probably from Viatrix, from Latin Viator, “voyager, traveller”; the spelling was later shaped by Latin beatus, “blessed, happy” |
| Bernadette | French, English, German, Dutch | French feminine form of Bernard (“bear” plus “hard, firm, brave, hardy”); Saint Bernadette of Lourdes |
| Benedetta | Italian | Italian feminine form of Benedict: “blessed” |
| Bettina | German, Danish, Italian, Hungarian | Diminutive of Elisabeth (German, Danish), Benedetta or Elisabetta (Italian) or Erzsébet (Hungarian) |
| Belinda | English | Meaning not known for certain; perhaps Italian bella, “beautiful”, plus Old German lind, “soft, flexible, tender” |
| Bonita | English | “Pretty” in Spanish, from Latin bonus, “good” |
| Bernadine | English | Feminine form of Bernard |
These vintage picks will sound familiar from older generations. Five of them are pet forms of Elizabeth, and Birdie began as a pet form of Bertha and Bernice.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bernice | English, Biblical | Contracted form of Berenice (“bringing victory”); a sister of King Herod Agrippa II in Acts |
| Blanche | French, English | From a medieval French nickname: “white, fair-coloured” |
| Bertha | German, English, Germanic | Originally a short form of Germanic names with berht: “bright”; borne by the mother of Charlemagne |
| Beryl | English | From the clear or pale green precious stone; a given name since the 19th century |
| Betty | English | Diminutive of Elizabeth, dating from the end of the 17th century |
| Bettie | English | Diminutive of Elizabeth |
| Betsy | English | Diminutive of Elizabeth |
| Bessie | English | Diminutive of Elizabeth |
| Birdie | English | Diminutive of Bertha, Bernice and similar names, or from the English word bird |
Vintage names often come back after a few generations, once they stop sounding like a grandmother’s name and start sounding fresh again. For more names in this style, browse our old fashioned girl names.
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Nature B Names: Flowers, Plants, Seasons and Sky
B gives you flowers, vines, herbs, a season and the moon. Two of the Welsh names here are built on the word for flowers, and the rare Briallen in the table above means primrose. See our flower names list for more.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Blossom | English | From the English word, from Old English blóstm; a rare given name since the 19th century |
| Bryony | English (Rare) | A Eurasian vine once used as medicine; from Greek bryo, “to swell” |
| Briony | English (Rare) | Variant of Bryony |
| Buttercup | Literature | The yellow flower; Princess Buttercup in William Goldman’s The Princess Bride (1973) |
| Blodwen | Welsh | “White flowers”, from Welsh blodau, “flowers”, plus gwen, “white, blessed” |
| Blodeuyn | Welsh (Rare) | “Flower” in Welsh |
| Berry | English (Rare) | The small fruit, from Old English berie; used as a name only since the 20th century |
| Brisa | Spanish (Latin American, Modern) | “Breeze” in Spanish |
| Bahar | Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani | “Spring” in Persian, Turkish and Azerbaijani |
| Bulan | Indonesian | “Moon” (or “month”) in Indonesian |
Brisa, Bahar and Bulan are everyday words in their own languages (breeze in Spanish, spring in Persian, Turkish and Azerbaijani, and moon in Indonesian), which gives them a simple, clear meaning. Betony, from the rare list, is a minty medicinal herb, and Beryl, from the vintage list, is a pale green gemstone. Briar is a thorny plant and is listed for both girls and boys, so you will find it in the gender neutral table.
Mythology, Literature and Biblical B Names
B is unusually rich in strong mythological women: a Roman war goddess, a valkyrie queen, a Celtic warrior queen, a Cretan hunting goddess and an Egyptian cat goddess. For Britomartis and Briseis, the reference says the meaning is unknown, so we print it that way.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bellona | Roman mythology | From Latin bello, “to fight”; the Roman goddess of war |
| Brunhild | German, Germanic mythology | Old German brunna, “armour, protection”, plus hilt, “battle”; a queen in the Nibelungenlied |
| Brynhild | Norwegian, Norse mythology | Norwegian form of Brynhildr, the queen of the valkyries in Norse legend |
| Boudica | Brythonic (Latinized) | Variant of Boudicca, from Brythonic boud: “victory”; a 1st-century queen of the Iceni who led a revolt against Rome |
| Britomartis | Greek mythology | Meaning unknown (the Roman historian Solinus claimed “sweet maiden”); a Cretan goddess of mountains and hunting |
| Briseis | Greek mythology | From the name Briseus, of unknown meaning; a woman captured by Achilles in the Trojan War |
| Bastet | Egyptian mythology | Possibly from Egyptian words for “ointment jar”; a goddess of cats, fertility and the sun |
| Branwen | Welsh, Welsh mythology | “White raven”; a daughter of Llŷr in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi |
| Blodeuwedd | Welsh mythology | “Face of flowers”; a woman made of flowers in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi |
| Boann | Irish mythology | Possibly “cow” plus “white, blessed”; the goddess of the River Boyne |
| Bradamante | Carolingian cycle | A female knight in Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato (1483); possibly Italian brado, “wild, untamed”, plus amante, “loving” |
Some of these names come with dramatic stories. Branwen and Blodeuwedd are characters in the Mabinogi, the medieval Welsh tales, and their stories are not gentle ones. If a legend matters to you, read the full tale before you choose the name.
Biblical girl names that start with B are mostly from the Old Testament. Bethany and Bernice from the earlier tables are the two from the New Testament: Bethany is the town where Lazarus and his sisters lived, and Bernice appears briefly in Acts. More options are in our biblical girl names guide.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bathsheba | Biblical | “Daughter of the oath” in Hebrew; a wife of King David and the mother of Solomon |
| Beulah | Biblical, English | “Married” in Hebrew; used for the land of Israel in Isaiah 62:4 |
| Bilhah | Biblical | “Bashful” in Hebrew; the mother of Dan and Naphtali in the Old Testament |
| Basemath | Biblical, Biblical Latin | “Fragrance” in Hebrew; a wife of Esau |
| Bithiah | Biblical | “Daughter of Yahweh” in Hebrew; a daughter of Pharaoh in the Old Testament |
| Belén | Spanish | Spanish form of Bethlehem, from Hebrew: “house of bread” |
International B Names by Language
Origins below use the reference’s own usage labels. Several names here are forms of Bridget, Beatrix or Barbara, which shows how far those three names traveled across Europe.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Béatrice | French | French form of Beatrix |
| Bérénice | French | French form of Berenice |
| Brigitte | French, German, Dutch | French and German form of Bridget |
| Blanca | Spanish, Catalan | Spanish and Catalan cognate of Blanche |
| Begoña | Spanish, Basque | From a title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Begoña; Begoña is a district of Bilbao |
| Benita | Spanish | Feminine form of Benito, a Spanish contracted form of Benedicto |
| Brígida | Portuguese, Spanish | Portuguese and Spanish form of Bridget |
| Bärbel | German | German diminutive of Barbara |
| Beata | Polish, German, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman | From Latin beatus: “blessed” |
| Birgitta | Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish | Most likely a Scandinavian form of Bridget; Saint Birgitta of Sweden is the patron saint of Europe |
| Birgit | Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, German | Scandinavian variant of Birgitta |
| Britt | Swedish, Norwegian, Danish | Scandinavian short form of Birgitta |
| Bodil | Danish, Norwegian, Swedish | From Old Norse Bóthildr: bót, “remedy”, plus hildr, “battle” |
| Bjørg | Norwegian | From Old Norse bjǫrg: “help, salvation” |
| Bronwen | Welsh | Seemingly Welsh bron, “breast”, plus gwen, “white, blessed”; sometimes a variant of Branwen |
| Bethan | Welsh | Welsh diminutive of Elizabeth |
| Bríd | Irish | Modern Irish form of Brighid |
| Brigid | Irish, Irish mythology | Irish variant of Brighid (see Bridget) |
| Bronagh | Irish | Anglicized form of Brónach, which means “sad” (from Irish brón, “sorrow”); Saint Brónach was a 6th-century Irish mystic |
| Bláthnaid | Irish, Irish mythology | Modern Irish form of Bláthnat: “little flower” |
| Božena | Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian | From the Slavic element božĭjĭ: “divine” |
| Blažena | Czech, Slovak | From Czech and Slovak blažený: “blissful, happy, blessed” |
| Bogdana | Bulgarian, Slovene, Romanian, Polish, Serbian | Feminine form of Bogdan: “given by God” |
| Bojana | Slovene, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian | Feminine form of Bojan, from Old Slavic bojĭ: “battle” |
| Branka | Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian | Feminine form of Branko, from a Slavic element meaning “protection” |
A few names here have meanings that are less sunny than they look. Bronagh comes from Brónach, “sad”, and Bojana from a word for battle. Others are pure light: Blažena means blissful, Bogdana means given by God, and Bláthnaid means little flower. It is worth reading the meaning column before you fall for the sound.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bushra | Arabic, Urdu | “Good news” in Arabic |
| Basma | Arabic | “Smile” in Arabic |
| Bahija | Arabic | “Happy, joyous, delightful” in Arabic |
| Badriya | Arabic | Feminine form of Badr: “full moon” |
| Bharati | Hinduism, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada | “Descendant of Bharata” in Sanskrit; an epithet of the goddess Saraswati |
| Bhavana | Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam | From Sanskrit bhāvana: “producing, manifesting, thought, emotion” |
| Bhumi | Hinduism | “Earth, soil” in Sanskrit; a Hindu earth goddess |
| Bolanle | Yoruba | “Find wealth at home” |
| Bukola | Yoruba | “Add to wealth” |
| Busisiwe | Zulu, Xhosa | “Blessed” |
Print accents exactly as the name is spelled (Béatrice, Bérénice, Begoña, Bärbel, Bríd, Bláthnaid, Božena, Bjørg). U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents or special characters, so decide ahead of time whether you are comfortable seeing the name without them. If a name comes from a culture outside your own family, learn how it is pronounced and used before you commit.
Gender Neutral B Names
Behind the Name lists each of these as both feminine and masculine. Many began as English or Scottish surnames, and a few are used differently from country to country: Brooklyn is considered feminine in the United States but is more often masculine in the United Kingdom, while Beau is more exclusively masculine in America. See our gender neutral names guide for more.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | English (Modern) | From the New York City borough, named after the Dutch town of Breukelen; considered feminine in the U.S., more often masculine in the U.K. |
| Bailey | English | From an English surname: “bailiff” |
| Blake | English | From a surname: Old English blæc, “black”, or blac, “pale” |
| Blair | Scottish, English | From a Scottish surname: Gaelic blàr, “plain, field, battlefield” |
| Bellamy | English (Modern) | From a surname: Old French bel ami, “beautiful friend” |
| Beverly | English | From a surname taken from a Yorkshire city name: Old English beofor, “beaver”, and possibly licc, “stream” |
| Billie | English | Diminutive of Bill; also used as a feminine form of William |
| Bobbie | English | Variant of Bobby; as a girl’s name, a diminutive of Roberta or Barbara |
| Beau | English, Dutch (Modern) | “Beautiful, handsome” in French; more exclusively masculine in America |
| Bowie | English (Modern), Dutch (Modern) | From a Scottish surname: Gaelic buidhe, “yellow” |
| Briar | English (Modern) | From the English word for the thorny plant |
| Brook | English | From a surname for someone who lived near a brook |
| Bryn | Welsh, English (Modern) | “Hill, mound” in Welsh; almost always masculine in Wales |
| Blue | English (Rare) | From the English word for the color |
| Bronte | English (Rare) | From an Irish surname probably meaning “generous”; the family name of the Brontë sisters |
| Britton | English | From a surname: “a Briton” or “a Breton” |
| Baylor | English (Modern) | From a surname, possibly from German Beiler: “measuring stick” |
| Berlin | Various | From the German city, a name of uncertain meaning |
| Bijou | French (African) | “Jewel” in French; mostly used in French-speaking Africa |
| Blessing | English (African) | From the English word; most common in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa |
| Bahati | Swahili | “Luck, good fortune” in Swahili |
| Bunmi | Yoruba | “Gave me”; also a short form of Oluwabunmi |
| Bích | Vietnamese | From Sino-Vietnamese bích: “bluish green, cyan” |
| Bo | Chinese | From Chinese bō, “wave”, among other characters |
Why B Names Are Loved: Sound, Spelling and Nicknames
A few plain reasons parents keep coming back to names that start with B:
- B is a soft, rounded sound made with the lips, so B names tend to feel gentle even when they are long.
- The letter mixes easily with L and R (Blair, Blossom, Brianna, Bridget), which gives you crisp one syllable choices as well as flowing longer ones.
- Several B names carry meanings tied to beauty or goodness: Bella and Belle are linked with words for beautiful, Bonnie and Bonita mean pretty, and Beata and Benedetta mean blessed.
- Big name families (Elizabeth, Beatrix, Bridget, Barbara) supply lots of nickname options.
Pronunciation matters when a name crosses languages. This table shows how a handful of B names are said, using the pronunciation printed on each name’s Behind the Name entry (in the International Phonetic Alphabet).
| Name | Pronunciation (IPA) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bianca | /ˈbjaŋ.ka/ (Italian), /bi.ˈɑŋ.kə/ (English) | Two syllables in Italian, three in English |
| Beatrice | /be.a.ˈtri.t͡ʃe/ (Italian), /ˈbiː.ə.tɹɪs/ (English) | Four syllables in Italian, two or three in English |
| Bice | /ˈbi.t͡ʃe/ (Italian) | The c sounds like ch |
| Berenice | /bəɹ.ˈnis/, /bɛɹ.ə.ˈnaɪ.si/ (English) | Several English pronunciations are listed |
| Bethan | /ˈbɛθ.an/ (Welsh) | Stress on the first syllable |
| Briallen | /brɪ.ˈaɬ.ɛn/ (Welsh) | Welsh ll, a sound English does not have |
| Blodeuyn | /blɔ.ˈdɛi̯.ɪn/ (Welsh) | Three syllables, stress in the middle |
| Bríd | /ˈbʲɾʲiːdʲ/ (Irish) | One syllable with a long ee sound |
| Bláthnaid | /ˈbˠlˠaː.nˠədʲ/ (Irish) | Two syllables; the th is not pronounced |
| Begoña | /be.ˈɣo.ɲa/ (Spanish) | The ñ sounds like ny |
| Brigitte | /bʁi.ʒit/ (French), /bʁi.ˈɡɪ.tə/ (German) | Soft g in French, hard g in German |
Most English B names are easy to read aloud. The ones to check are the names from Irish, Welsh and Italian, where the spelling rules are different. If relatives will see the name in writing before they hear it, a quick note on the birth announcement helps.
| Full name | Nickname ideas |
|---|---|
| Beatrix, Beatrice | Bea, Bee, Bebe, Bice (Italian) |
| Elizabeth | Beth, Bess, Bessie, Betsy, Betty, Bettie, Bettina, Bethan (Welsh) |
| Barbara | Bärbel (German), Basia (Polish), Bobbie |
| Bridget | Bedelia (Irish) |
| Bertha, Bernice | Birdie |
| Brianna | Bree, Brie, Bria |
| Gabriella, Gabrielle | Briella, Brielle, Bree, Brie, Bria |
| Isabella | Bella, Belle |
| Birgitta | Britt |
| Benedetta | Bettina (Italian) |
Sibling, Twin and Middle Name Ideas
These pairings are ideas, not rules. Sister or twin sets that share a letter work best when the names differ in length, ending or rhythm:
- Beatrice and Blair
- Bella and Bridget
- Bonnie and Blakely
- Brianna and Bess
- Blossom and Briar
- Bianca and Benedetta
- Bethan and Bronwen
- Birgitta and Bodil
- Basma and Bushra
- Bryony and Betony
For a brother, look at our same-day list of boy names that start with D, or keep the letter with Blake, Bryn, Beau or Bowie from the gender neutral table above.
For middle names, contrast helps. A short middle balances a long first name, and a longer middle gives a short first name some weight: Bea Rosalind, Beatrix Rose, Bonnie Ruth or Bridget Rosalie. If you want a B in the middle instead, try a short one like Belle or Bree after a longer first name.
The Initials Check and Other Quick Tests
Before you settle on girl names that start with B, run each finalist through four quick tests:
- Initials: write out first, middle and last initials. B.A.D. and B.O. are combinations many parents would rather avoid, and two B initials in a row (B.B.) are catchy but very noticeable. Swap the middle name if you spot a problem.
- Say it out loud: call the full name across a room. A first name that ends in a vowel (Bella, Bianca) can blur into a surname that starts with a vowel, so listen for that.
- Spelling: many B names come in several spellings (Bryony and Briony, Brook and Brooke, Brynn and Bryn). Decide whether you mind spelling it out for years.
- Nicknames: check the nickname table above. If you dislike the obvious short form, assume someone will use it anyway.
One more check is optional: how common the name is. No B name is in the 2025 top 10, but that does not make every B name rare. For any name, the SSA’s Popularity of a Name search lets you look it up by sex and range of years, which is a quick way to tell familiar from truly rare.
If you are stuck between two finalists, try each one in the sentences you will say most: calling her to dinner, introducing her to a neighbor, spelling it for a receptionist. The name that still feels easy after a few days of that is usually the one.
Related Betteroo Guides
- Girl Names That Start With R
- Girl Names That Start With A
- Baby Girl Names
- Unique Girl Names
- Flower Names
- Gender Neutral Names
The Bottom Line
Girl names that start with B cover every style: familiar picks like Bella, Brianna, Beatrice and Bridget, rare finds like Briallen and Bellatrix, short names like Bea and Bess, flower names like Blossom and Bryony, and names from Welsh, Irish, Spanish, Scandinavian, Slavic, Arabic, Indian and Yoruba traditions. Shortlist three to five, read each meaning, test the initials and the sound, and say each one out loud for a week.
Then give yourself permission to stop looking. A name you have checked, said aloud and still love after a week is a good name.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most popular girl names that start with B?
No B name made the Social Security Administration’s top 10 for girls born in the United States in 2025. Familiar B names include Bella, Brianna, Beatrice, Bianca, Brooke, Bridget, Bonnie and Barbara. Bella and Belle are short forms of Isabella, which ranked No. 7 for girls in 2025.
What are rare girl names that start with B?
Rare B names include Briallen, a modern Welsh name meaning primrose, plus Bellatrix, Berenice, Belphoebe, Betony, Berengaria and Bathilde. The Social Security Administration leaves names with fewer than 5 occurrences out of its lists, so the very rarest names never appear in its data at all.
What are pretty B names for girls?
Taste is personal, but meaning can help. Bella and Belle are linked with words for beautiful, Bonnie and Bonita mean pretty, Blodwen means white flowers in Welsh, Briallen means primrose, and Blažena means blissful, happy and blessed. Blossom, Bryony and Buttercup are nature names with a soft sound.
What are short girl names that start with B?
Short B names include Bea, Bee, Bebe, Bice, Bess, Brie, Bria, Bree, Beth, Basia, Britt and Bríd. Most began as pet forms of longer names: Bea and Bee come from Beatrix, Bess and Beth from Elizabeth, Bice from Beatrice, and Basia is a Polish pet form of Barbara.
What are biblical girl names that start with B?
Bathsheba, Beulah, Bilhah, Basemath and Bithiah come from the Old Testament, according to Behind the Name. Bethany is a New Testament town where Lazarus and his sisters lived, and Bernice appears briefly in Acts. Belén is the Spanish form of Bethlehem, which means house of bread in Hebrew.
Which B names work for both girls and boys?
Behind the Name lists Bailey, Blake, Blair, Bellamy, Beverly, Billie, Bobbie, Beau, Bowie, Briar, Brook, Bryn, Blue and Brooklyn as both feminine and masculine. Use can differ by country: Brooklyn is considered feminine in the United States but is more often masculine in the United Kingdom, and Bryn is almost always masculine in Wales.
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6 Sources
- Social Security Administration. Popular Baby Names (top 10 names of 2025).
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/index.html - Social Security Administration. Background Information for Popular Names.
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/background.html - Behind the Name. Browse Names: feminine names with the first letter B.
https://www.behindthename.com/names/gender/feminine/letter/b - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Beatrix.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/beatrix - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Bridget.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/bridget - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Elizabeth.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/elizabeth
