Baby names starting with Y
22 names beginning with Y, 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.
- Yadiel modern Spanish-American name built on the Hebrew ending '-el' = God, usually explained as 'yad' = hand + 'el' = God; not a biblical name
- Yael Hebrew Ya'el = ibex, mountain goat
- Yahir modern Spanish-American name of uncertain origin, sometimes connected to the Hebrew Jair = 'he shines'; popularized by the Mexican singer Yahir
- Yahya Arabic form of John, the name given in the Quran to John the Baptist; in Arabic it is linked to a root meaning to live
- Yakov Hebrew form of Jacob, Ya'aqov = 'supplanter' / 'holder of the heel'
- Yamileth Spanish-American form of the Arabic name Jamila, from 'jamil' = beautiful; the -th ending was added in Latin America
- Yaneli modern Spanish-American coinage of the late 20th century; no older documented root
- Yara Arabic Yara, read as small butterfly or from Persian 'yar' = friend, helper; a separate Yara from Tupi is a water spirit of Brazilian folklore, from 'y' = water
- Yareli modern Mexican-American name of uncertain origin; often said to be Nahuatl, but no older root is documented
- Yaretzi modern Mexican name of Nahuatl derivation, usually glossed 'you will always be loved'; the gloss is popular rather than firmly documented
- Yaseen from Ya-Sin, the two Arabic letters that open the 36th sura of the Quran; their meaning is unexplained, and the name is traditionally taken as an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad
- Yasin from Ya-Sin, the two Arabic letters that open the 36th sura of the Quran; the meaning of the letters is not established
- Yasir Arabic 'yasir' = easy, prosperous, from the root y-s-r = to be easy
- Yasmine from Persian 'yasamin', the jasmine flower, taken into English through Arabic
- Yazan Arabic name borne by the pre-Islamic Himyarite dynasty of Yemen (Dhu Yazan); the underlying meaning is uncertain
- Yehuda Hebrew form of Judah = 'praised'
- Yeshua Hebrew and Aramaic Yeshua, a later form of Yehoshua (Joshua), from the divine name Yah + 'yasha' = to save; 'the Lord is salvation', and the Semitic form of the name Jesus
- Yohan variant of Johan / Yohanan, from Hebrew Yochanan = 'Yahweh is gracious'
- Yosef Hebrew form of Joseph = 'he will add'
- Yousef Arabic form of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef = 'he will add'
- Yusra from Arabic 'yusr' = ease, prosperity; the feminine form of 'aysar'
- Yusuf Arabic form of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef = 'he will add'
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.
Still deciding?
Run one of these through a free Name Check — its real rank and trend, how common it actually is, how it flows with your surname, and the initials it makes. No card. When you want your whole shortlist handled, The Report is $149.