Baby names starting with B
101 names beginning with B, each with an editorial meaning and origin note and its real popularity rank from the 2025 U.S. Social Security Administration data. Rank is U.S.-only and reflects how records are grouped in that source.
- Bailee modern respelling of Bailey, a transferred English surname from Middle English 'bailli' = bailiff, steward
- Bailey transferred English surname, either from Middle English 'bailli' = bailiff, steward, or from 'bailey' = the outer wall or courtyard of a castle
- Baker transferred English occupational surname, from Old English 'baecere' = one who bakes
- Banks transferred English surname, a topographic name for someone living on a hillside or riverbank, from Middle English 'banke' (Old Norse 'bakki') = slope, bank
- Barrett transferred English surname of debated origin, either from Middle English 'barat' = strife, trouble, a nickname for a quarrelsome man, or from Germanic 'bar' = bear + 'hard' = brave, hardy
- Barron transferred surname from the noble title baron, from Old French 'baron' = nobleman, from Late Latin 'baro' = man
- Bastian short form of Sebastian, from Greek Sebastianos = 'from Sebaste', a city in Asia Minor, itself from 'sebastos' = venerable, august
- Baylee respelling of Bailey, an occupational surname from Middle English 'baili' = bailiff, steward; also 'bailey', the outer wall of a castle
- Baylor transferred American surname of uncertain origin, probably a respelling of the English and German surname Bailer/Beiler; in modern use largely after Baylor University, named for the 19th-century Texas judge R. E. B. Baylor
- Beatrice Italian form of Latin Beatrix, from 'beatus' = blessed, happy; the guide of Dante's Paradiso
- Beau French 'beau' = handsome, fine; used in English from the 18th century for a fashionable man or a suitor
- Beckett transferred English surname of debated origin, variously from a place name meaning 'bee cottage', from Middle English 'bekke' = stream, or as a nickname from Old French 'bec' = beak; borne by St Thomas Becket
- Beckham transferred English surname from a Norfolk place name, probably 'Becca's homestead', from a personal name + Old English 'ham' = homestead; popularized by the footballer David Beckham
- Belen Spanish name for Bethlehem, from Hebrew Bet Lehem = 'house of bread'; a Marian name referring to the Nativity
- Bella Italian and Spanish 'bella' = beautiful; also a short form of Isabella and Arabella
- Bellamy transferred surname from Old French 'bel ami' = fine friend, beautiful friend
- Belle from French 'belle' = beautiful, from Latin 'bella'; also a short form of Isabelle and Annabelle
- Benedict from Latin Benedictus = 'blessed', from 'bene' = well + 'dicere' = to speak; borne by the founder of Western monasticism
- Benicio Spanish, from the Latin Benedictus by way of Benitius; borne by the medieval St Philip Benizi
- Benito Spanish and Italian form of Benedict, from Latin 'benedictus' = blessed, literally 'well spoken of'
- Benjamin from Hebrew Binyamin = 'son of the right hand', the right hand standing for favour and for the south
- Bennett medieval English form of Benedict, from Latin Benedictus = 'blessed'
- Benson transferred English surname meaning 'son of Ben', a short form of Benedict or Benjamin; also from Bensington, a place in Oxfordshire
- Bentley transferred English surname and place name, from Old English 'beonet' = bent grass + 'leah' = clearing, meadow
- Berkley variant of Berkeley, an English place name and surname from Old English 'beorc' = birch tree + 'leah' = wood, clearing
- Bernadette French feminine diminutive of Bernard, from Germanic 'bern' = bear + 'hard' = brave, hardy; borne by the visionary of Lourdes
- Bethany from the village near Jerusalem, probably Aramaic 'beth' = house + a second element read as poor, or as the fig
- Beverly English place name and surname (Beverley in Yorkshire), from Old English 'beofor' = beaver + 'lea' = stream; 'beaver stream'
- Bexley English place name and surname (a district of London), from Old English 'byxe' = box tree + 'leah' = wood, clearing
- Bianca Italian 'bianca' = white, from a Germanic root; the Italian counterpart of Blanche
- Billie diminutive of William, from Germanic 'wil' = will, desire + 'helm' = helmet, protection; also used for Wilhelmina
- Billy diminutive of William, from Germanic 'wil' = will, desire + 'helm' = helmet, protection; 'resolute protector'
- Birdie from the English word, first as an affectionate name for a small child; also used as a pet form of Bertha
- Bishop English word name and occupational surname, from Old English 'bisceop', from Greek 'episkopos' = overseer
- Blair from a Scottish surname and place name, from Gaelic 'blar' = plain, field, battlefield
- Blaire variant spelling of Blair, a Scottish surname and place name from Gaelic 'blar' = plain, field, also battlefield
- Blaise French form of the Latin name Blasius, probably from 'blaesus' = lisping, stammering; borne by an early martyr, St Blaise
- Blake a surname drawn from two opposite Old English words, 'blaec' = black and 'blac' = pale, wan; both have fed into the name
- Blakely transferred surname from an English place name, from Old English 'blaec' = black or 'blac' = pale (the two are easily confused) + 'leah' = wood, clearing
- Blaze from the English word 'blaze' = flame, from Old English 'blaese' = torch; also a respelling of Blaise, from the Roman family name Blaesus = 'lisping'
- Blessing English word name, from Old English 'bletsian' = to consecrate; common as a given name in Nigeria and Ghana
- Bo Scandinavian, from Old Norse 'bua' = to live, to have a household; also an English short form of names such as Beauregard
- Bobby diminutive of Robert, from Germanic 'hrod' = fame + 'beraht' = bright; 'bright fame'
- Bode modern American given name, popularized by the skier Bode Miller; the same form is a German surname from Middle Low German 'bode' = messenger
- Boden surname of debated origin, taken either from the Germanic name Bodo, from 'bod' = messenger, or from an English place name meaning valley bottom
- Bodhi from Sanskrit and Pali 'bodhi' = awakening, enlightenment, from the root 'budh' = to wake, to know; the Bodhi tree is where the Buddha attained enlightenment
- Bodie modern name of debated origin, variously taken as a respelling of Bodhi, a transferred surname, or a use of the California mining-town name Bodie
- Bonnie from the Scots word 'bonnie' = pretty, fine, attractive, from French 'bonne' = good
- Booker transferred English occupational surname for a scribe or binder of books, from Old English 'boc' = book
- Boone transferred surname, either from Old French 'bon' = good, used as a nickname, or from the Norman place name Bohon; associated with the frontiersman Daniel Boone
- Boston from the Lincolnshire town, usually read as Botolph's stone, and from the American city named after it
- Bowen Welsh surname from 'ab Owain' = son of Owen
- Bowie from the Scottish and Irish surname, from Gaelic 'buidhe' = yellow, fair-haired; widely known through the musician David Bowie
- Braden from the Irish surname O Bradain, from 'bradan' = salmon
- Bradley surname from English place names, Old English 'brad' = broad + 'leah' = wood, clearing
- Brady from the Irish surname Mac Bradaigh, from 'bradach', a byname read as spirited or as thieving
- Braelyn modern American coinage joining the Brae- prefix to the -lyn ending (compare Braden, Katelyn); no older documented root
- Braelynn modern American coinage joining a Brae- element to the -lynn ending; no older documented root
- Brandon transferred English surname and place name, from Old English 'brom' = broom (the shrub) + 'dun' = hill; often confused with the separate Irish name Brendan
- Branson transferred English surname = 'son of Brand', from the Germanic and Old Norse 'brand' = sword, firebrand
- Brantley transferred English surname from a place name, from Old English 'brant' = steep + 'leah' = clearing
- Braxton transferred surname from an English place name, probably 'Bracca's settlement', from a personal name + Old English 'tun' = enclosure, settlement
- Brayan Spanish respelling of Brian, an Irish name of debated root, variously read as high, noble, or hill
- Brayden modern variant of Braden, from the Irish surname O Bradain = 'descendant of Bradan', from Irish 'bradan' = salmon
- Braylen modern American coinage joining the Bray- element (compare Braden, Braylon) to the -len ending; no older documented root
- Brecken modern American name from the Irish surname Bracken/Breckin, from 'breac' = speckled, freckled
- Brennan Irish surname, anglicized from O Braonain, from 'braon' = drop, moisture (often glossed 'teardrop') with a diminutive ending
- Brewer occupational surname for a brewer of ale, from Old English 'breowan' = to brew
- Bria modern American short form of Brianna, the feminine of Brian; Brian is Irish and of uncertain meaning, often linked to 'bri' = high, noble
- Brian Irish name of debated origin, probably from a Celtic root 'brig' = high, noble; borne by Brian Boru, the medieval high king of Ireland
- Briana feminine of Brian, an Irish name of debated root, variously read as high, noble, or hill
- Brianna feminine form of Brian, probably from a Celtic root 'bri' = high, noble, esteem; the exact root is debated
- Briar from the English word for a thorny shrub, Old English 'brer'; familiar from the Sleeping Beauty tale as Briar Rose
- Bridger occupational surname for someone who kept or lived by a bridge; in America tied to the mountain man Jim Bridger
- Bridget anglicized form of the Irish Brighid, from 'brigh' = strength, power; the name of a goddess before it was the name of the saint of Kildare
- Briella modern short form of Gabriella, from Hebrew Gavriel = 'God is my strong man'
- Brielle modern short form of Gabrielle, the feminine of Gabriel, from Hebrew Gavri'el = 'God is my strength'
- Briggs transferred English surname meaning 'dweller by the bridge', from northern Middle English 'brigg', a Norse-influenced form of Old English 'brycg' = bridge
- Brinley transferred English surname from a place name, usually read as 'burnt clearing', from Old English 'berned' = burnt + 'leah' = clearing
- Bristol from the English city, in Old English Brycgstow, from 'brycg' = bridge + 'stow' = place; 'the place at the bridge'
- Brixton from the district of south London, in Old English 'Brixi's stone', the boundary stone of a man named Beorhtsige
- Brock surname from Old English 'brocc' = badger, first a byname
- Brodie Scottish surname from a place in Moray; the root is uncertain, most often linked to Gaelic 'brothach' = muddy place
- Brody transferred Scottish surname, from Brodie, a place in Moray whose name is of uncertain, possibly Pictish origin
- Bronson transferred English surname meaning 'son of Brown', from the nickname Brown, Old English 'brun' = brown, for hair or complexion
- Bronx from the New York borough, named after the 17th-century Swedish settler Jonas Bronck
- Brooke English word and surname name, from Old English 'broc' = brook, stream; first a surname for someone living beside one
- Brooklyn from the New York borough, named by Dutch settlers after Breukelen in the Netherlands, a place name usually explained as marshland
- Brooklynn modern respelling of Brooklyn, the New York borough, named for Breukelen, a town in the Netherlands
- Brooks surname for someone who lived beside a stream, from Old English 'broc' = brook
- Bruce Norman surname from a place in Normandy, probably Brix; carried by Robert the Bruce, king of Scots
- Bruno from the Germanic 'brun' = brown, first a byname for hair or complexion
- Bryan variant spelling of Brian, an Irish name of debated root, variously linked to Celtic words for high, noble and for hill
- Bryce from the medieval name Brice, borne by a Gaulish saint and bishop of Tours; the underlying Celtic name is of uncertain meaning
- Bryer modern respelling of Briar, from Old English 'brer' = a thorny shrub, briar
- Brylee modern American coinage joining the Bry- of Bryan and Bryn to the fashionable -lee ending; no older documented root
- Brynlee modern American coinage joining Bryn, from Welsh 'bryn' = hill, to the popular -lee/-leigh ending
- Brynleigh modern American coinage joining Bryn (Welsh 'bryn' = hill) to the fashionable -leigh ending; no older documented root
- Brynley Welsh-influenced name from 'bryn' = hill with the -ley ending; also a modern respelling of Brinley
- Brynn from Welsh 'bryn' = hill; masculine in Welsh, but used as a feminine name in English
- Bryson transferred surname meaning 'son of Brice'; Brice is of uncertain, probably Gaulish origin, sometimes linked to a Celtic root meaning 'speckled'
Only names carrying a meaning note are listed here. Popularity-only records exist for many more spellings and are reachable through the full directory search.
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