Ancient Baby Names, Names from Old Rome or Greek, Page 11
Choosing an ancient baby name is a way to hand your child a piece of deep history the moment they're born. These names echo from the temples of Rome, the agoras of Greece, the courts of Byzantium, and the pages of old scripture, and they carry a weight that trendy modern picks simply can't match. If you want your baby to stand out with a name that feels timeless, mysterious, and quietly powerful, ancient baby names are a wonderful place to start.
You'll find striking options like Cassius and Octavia from Rome, Atticus and Calliope from Greece, Theodora and Alaric from Byzantium, and Ezra and Naomi from biblical tradition. Each of these ancient baby names carries a story — Atticus means "from Attica" and evokes wisdom, Theodora means "gift of God," and Alaric was the Visigoth king who shook an empire. These names have survived thousands of years precisely because they sound strong and mean something worth remembering.
When you read these names aloud, notice which ones feel natural with your family's rhythm and which ones invite nicknames you'll actually use. If this collection inspires you, you may also love our Biblical baby names, Arthurian picks, or our Celtic origins collection for more storied options. An ancient baby name gives your little one a name that has outlasted empires — and will grow gracefully with them through every stage of life.
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Recorded origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phaethusa | Myth Name | Female | Greek |
| Phemius | Myth Name (A Bard) | Male | Greek |
| Philemon | Loves Thought | Male | Greek |
| Phillida | Loving | Female | Greek |
| Philo | Friend | Male | Greek |
| Philoctetes | Myth Name (Killed Paris) | Male | Greek |
| Philoetius | Myth Name (A Cowherd) | Male | Greek |
| Philomela | Nightingale | Female | Greek |
| Phineas | Oracle | Male | Hebrew |
| Phoebe | Myth Name (Mother Of Leto) | Female | Greek |
| Phoenix | "Mystical Bird, Purple" | Male | Greek |
| Phorbas | Myth Name | Male | Greek |
| Phorcys | Myth Name (A Sea God) | Male | Greek |
| Phrixus | Myth Name (Son Of Nephele) | Male | Greek |
| Phyllis | A Green Branch. | Female | Greek |
| Pittheus | Myth Name (King Of Trozen) | Male | Greek |
| Podarge | Myth Name (A Harpy) | Female | Greek |
| Polydeuces | Myth Name (Pollux) | Male | Greek |
| Polyxena | Myth Name (Daughter Of Priam) | Female | Greek |
| Poseidon | Myth Name (God Of The Sea And Ocean) | Male | Greek |
| Priam | Myth Name (King Of Troy) | Male | Greek |
| Priscilla | Female | English | |
| Procne | Myth Name (Wife Of Pandion) | Female | Greek |
| Procrustes | Myth Name (Stretcher) | Male | Greek |
| Prokopios | Declared Leader | Male | Greek |
| Protesilaus | Myth Name (Offered Himself As A Sacrifice For The Greeks When They Arrived At... | Male | Greek |
| Psyche | Myth Name (Lover Of Cupid) | Female | Greek |
| Ptah | Myth Name (God Worshiped In Memphis) | Male | Egyptian |
| Pylades | Myth Name (Friend Of Orestes) | Male | Greek |
| Pyrrha | Myth Name (Daughter Of Epimetheus) | Female | Greek |
| Pyrrhus | Myth Name (King Of Epirus) | Male | Greek |
| Quinn | Wise | Male | Gaelic |
| Ra | Doe | Female | English |
| Ramses | Name Of A Pharaoh | Male | Egyptian |
| Rana | Behold | Female | Arabic |
| Raynor | Strong Counselor. From The Ancient Personal Name Ragnar. | Male | English |
| Rhea | Myth Name (Wife Of Cronus) | Female | Greek |
| Rhesus | Myth Name (King Of Thrace) | Male | Greek |
| Rhiannon | Myth Name (Daughter Of Hefeydd) | Female | Celtic |
| Rhoda | Rose | Female | Greek |
| Roman | From Rome | Male | Spanish |
| Rourke | An Ancient Given Name Adopted As An Irish Clan Name. Surname. | Male | Irish |
| Roxane | Dawn | Female | French |
| Rufina | Red-Haired | Female | Italian |
| Rune | A Rune | Male | English |
| Sabina | Sabine | Female | Romanian |
| Sakhmet | Myth Name (Goddess Worshiped In Memphis, Lioness) | Female | Egyptian |
| Salem | Peace. Biblical Name Of Ancient City Later Identified With Jerusalem. | Male | Hebrew |
| Salmoneus | Myth Name (During Trojan War, Pretended To Be Zeus) | Male | Greek |
| Samara | Protected By God | Female | Hebrew |
622 names found. Page 11 of 13.
More Ancient Baby Names
Persian Mythology Baby Names: Heroes of the Shahnameh and Names From Ancient Iran
Persian mythology offers two distinct wells for baby names: Ferdowsi's Shahnameh — the epic Book of Kings, completed around 1010 CE — and the older Zoroastrian and Avestan tradition, which deserves respect as a living faith. This guide groups the names by real-world wearability rather than dumping them in one pile. The crossover tier (Cyrus and Kourosh, Darius and Dariush, Roxana, Soraya, Daria, Yasmin) already crosses easily onto Western birth certificates. The hero tier from the Shahnameh (Rostam, Sohrab, Arash, Jamshid, Kaveh, Bahram, Esfandiyar, Zal, Khosrow) is bolder but still in everyday use across Iran and Central Asia. The heroines and lovers (Tahmineh, Rudabeh, Shirin, Manijeh, Farangis, Gordafarid, Parisa) make soft, literary choices, while the Zoroastrian deity and scripture names (Anahita, Mithra and Mehr, Mehrdad, Avesta, Zarathustra) range from quietly usable to admire-only. The piece flags Simorgh as a mythic bird rather than a human name, gives a pronunciation key for the trickier names, and decodes the shared roots — mehr for sun and love, the suffix -dad for given, the bright-roots inside Roxana and Jamshid — that explain why these names have survived a thousand years of continuous use.
8 Pretty Girl Baby Names From Ancient Culture
For a baby name that truly stands apart, step back through centuries to these eight ancient picks for girls. Amica is the Latin feminine of Amicus, meaning a friendly, loving woman, while Aurelia has flowed gracefully since the Roman Empire. Cassia comes from Greek for "spicy cinnamon," Fabia belongs to the Roman Fabius clan, and Flavia means golden, perfect for a blonde-haired baby. Gaia is the Greek earth goddess and universal mother, Junia is a Biblical name meaning "youth," and Russian Mila translates to "people's love." Each name hands your daughter a story that predates every trend.