118 Girl Names That Start With Y (With Meanings and Popularity)

118 Girl Names That Start With Y (With Meanings and Popularity)

Girl names that start with Y include a few familiar choices, such as Yvette and Yvonne, Yasmin and Yasmina, Yael and Yolanda. However, Y remains a very rare first initial for girl names today, with only Yara, Yaretzi, and Yareli currently ranking in the US Top 1000.

Along with Yara and Yael, other uncommon and unique Y-starting girl names we recommend include the mythical Yseult, the literary Yvaine, and the smart surname name Yardley.

Girls' names beginning with Y also include several international forms of names that are more commonly spelled with an I or J in English, such as the Spanish variants Ynez and Ysabel, or the popular Russian name Yuliya, which ranks in the Top 50 girl names in Russia.

Here, our full selection of girl names that start with Y, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

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Girl Names

Boy Names That Start With Y

  1. Yara
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "friend, helper"
  2. Yvette
    • Origin:

      French, feminine of Yves
    • Meaning:

      "yew tree"
  3. Yvaine
    • Origin:

      Female variation of Yvain or Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "evening star"
  4. Yuna
    • Origin:

      Japanese, Breton, Korean, Chinese
  5. Yvonne
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "yew wood"
  6. Yael
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "ibex"
  7. Yasmin
    • Origin:

      Persian
    • Meaning:

      "jasmine flower"
  8. Yui
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "superior garment"
  9. Yaretzi
    • Origin:

      Nahuatl, Aztec
    • Meaning:

      "you will always be loved"
  10. Yuki
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "snow"
  11. Yuri
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "lily"
  12. Yasmine
    • Origin:

      Arabic variation of Jasmine
    • Meaning:

      "jasmine flower"
  13. Yolanda
    • Origin:

      Spanish from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "violet flower"
  14. Yareli
    • Origin:

      Native American, Spanish variation of Yara, Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "water lady; small butterfly"
  15. Yari
    • Origin:

      Spanish, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "gold"
  16. Yesenia
    • Origin:

      Spanish tree name
    • Meaning:

      "floral"
  17. Yelena
    • Origin:

      Russian variation of Helen
    • Meaning:

      "bright, shining one"
  18. Yoko
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "good girl; ocean child"
  19. Yona
    • Origin:

      Cherokee or variation of Jonah, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "bear; dove"
  20. Yana
    • Origin:

      Slavic variation of Jana