The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup took place between July 20 and August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. With 32 teams in the field and 23 players per team, there were more than 700 women in the field – which is a lot of potential baby girl names for parents who need unique and diverse baby name ideas.
It was a good year to be inspired, too – with many soccer fans labeling the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as one of, if not the greatest World Cup in women’s history. Nearly 2 million fans filled the stands and 164 goals were scored in the 64-match tournament – averaging 31,000 fans and 2.5 goals per match.
It was the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup and, while the United States had won the previous two, they barely made it out of the group stage and lost to Sweden in the Round of 16. It was Spain who won their first-ever World Cup championship – beating England 1-0, while Sweden went on to earn third place.
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Baby Girl Names for Those Who Watched the Women’s World Cup
Any parent will tell you nothing quite compares to welcoming new life into this world – it’s one of life’s greatest blessings and will change your entire outlook on what it means to live, love, and laugh often. Of course, that doesn’t mean it won’t come without challenges, obstacles, frustration, and a lot of gray hairs.
Some of those gray hairs are a result of the baby-naming process. Whether you’re looking at boy names or girl names, finding the right name that fits your child’s look, personality, and aurora isn’t always an easy task – sometimes it takes a matter of minutes to decide on a name, while other times it takes months.
For all the soccer fans out there who are expecting a baby girl this year, we hope you enjoyed the World Cup and hope you were exposed to a lot of baby girl name ideas. If you haven’t settled on one yet, don’t panic – we’re going to list some of our favorite World Cup-inspired girl names for you to consider!
30. Estefania
Name Meaning: ‘crown’ and ‘garland’ – derives from the Greek Stephanos, which means ‘crown’ and ‘honor’
Inspired By: Estefania Banini (a 33-year-old forward who plays for Argentina and Atletico Madrid)
29. Rachel
Name Meaning: ‘ewe’ – derives from the Hebrew word rāchēl and popularized by the biblical figure Rachel (wife of Israelite patriarch Jacob)
Inspired By: Rachel Daly (a 31-year-old defender, midfielder, and attacker who plays for England and Aston Villa)
28. Asisat
Name Meaning: ‘powerful person’ – of Nigerian origin that resembles love, dedication, and respect
Inspired By: Asisat Oshoala (a 28-year-old striker who plays for Nigeria and Barcelona)
27. Selma
Name Meaning: ‘God’s helmet,’ ‘beautiful view,’ and ‘peace’ – of Old German, Celtic, and Arabic origin
Inspired By: Selma Bacha (a 22-year-old left-back/left winger for France and Lyon)
26. Alessia
Name Meaning: of Italian origin, means ‘defending warrior’
Inspired By: Alessia Russo (a 24-year-old forward who plays for England and Arsenal)
25. Melchie
Name Meaning: ‘independence,’ ‘positivity,’ ‘tenacity of purpose,’ ‘self-confidence’ – someone who is liberal in giving
Inspired By: Melchie Dumornay (a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for Haiti and Lyon)
24. Kerolin
Name Meaning: ‘seeker of truth and wisdom,’ ‘kind,’ ‘thoughtful,’ ‘sociable’ – of Christian origin
Inspired By: Kerolin (a 23-year-old midfielder/forward who plays for Brazil and the North Carolina Courage)
23. Kosovare
Name Meaning: ‘blackbird field’ – of Serbian origin
Inspired By: Kosovare Asllani (a 33-year-old midfielder/striker who plays for Sweden and AC Milan)
22. Racheal
Name Meaning: variant of Rachel, means ‘ewe’ from the Old Testament (the favorite wife of Jacob)
Inspired By: Racheal Kundananji (a 23-year-old striker who plays for Zambia and Madrid CFF)
21. Linda
Name Meaning: from German word ‘lind’ meaning ‘soft, flexible, tender’ or Spanish/Portuguese word ‘linda’ meaning ‘beautiful’
Inspired By: Linda Caicedo (an 18-year-old striker who plays for Colombia and Real Madrid)
20. Wendie
Name Meaning: variant of Wendy, became popular after J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan play in 1904, could be related to Welsh name ‘Gwendolen’
Inspired By: Wendie Renard (a 32-year-old center-back who plays for France and Olympique Lyonnais)
19. Ellie
Name Meaning: shortened version of Eleanor or Ellen, became popular in the UK in the 1990s and was one of the most popular names in the early-2000s
Inspired By: Ellie Carpenter (a 23-year-old right fullback who plays for Australia and Olympique Lyonnais)
18. Lauren
Name Meaning: feminine form of Laurence or Lawrence, was first popularized as a girl’s name by Betty Jean Perske (an actor who went by Lauren Bacall as her stage name)
Inspired By: Lauren James (a 21-year-old right winger who plays for England and Chelsea)
17. Khadija
Name Meaning: ‘premature child’ in Arabic, was the name of Prophet Muhammad’s first wife and mother of his children (she was the first person to convert to Islam)
Inspired By: Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (a 26-year-old striker who plays for Jamaica and Manchester City)
16. Marta
Name Meaning: an international form of Martha, which means ‘the lady,’ ‘the mistress,’ and ‘master’
Inspired By: Marta (a 37-year-old forward who plays for Brazil and the Orlando Pride)
15. Ashley
Name Meaning: ‘ash tree clearing,’ derived from a combination of ‘æsc and leah’ in Old English, was originally a common boys name, but is now most commonly used for girls
Inspired By: Ashley Lawrence (a 28-year-old right full-back/center back who plays for Canada and Chelsea)
14. Danielle
Name Meaning: of French origin, a feminine form of Daniel, grew in popularity in the United States in the 20th century
Inspired By: Danielle van de Donk (a 31-year-old central midfielder who plays for the Netherlands and Olympique Lyonnais)
13. Kadidiatou
Name Meaning: a form of Khadija (‘premature child’) that’s commonly used in French-influenced parts of western Africa
Inspired By: Kadidiatou Diani (a 28-year-old right winger who plays for France and Paris Saint-Germain)
12. Yui
Name Meaning: ‘tie’ and ‘bind’ in Japanese, but can also mean ‘excellence,’ ‘superiority,’ and ‘gentleness’
Inspired By: Yui Hasegawa (a central attacking midfielder who plays for Japan and Manchester City)
11. Fridolina
Name Meaning: a feminine form of Fridolin, which means ‘peace’ and is a diminutive form of ‘Frid’ or ‘Frido’
Inspired By: Fridolina Rolfo (a 29-year-old left winger who plays for Sweden and Barcelona)
10. Pernille
Name Meaning: a shortened version of Petronilla – of Danish and Norwegian descent
Inspired By: Pernille Harder (a 30-year-old attacking midfielder who plays for Denmark and Bayern Munich)
9. Debinha
Name Meaning: a diminutive form of Debora and Deborah, which means ‘bee’ and is of Hebrew descent
Inspired By: Debinha (a 31-year-old playmaking central midfielder who plays for Brazil and the Kansas City Current)
8. Alex
Name Meaning: a shortened version of ‘Alexander’ and/or ‘Alexandra’ – which means ‘to defend’ or ‘to help’
Inspired By: Alex Morgan (a 34-year-old striker who plays for the United States and San Diego Wave FC)
7. Alexandra
Name Meaning: the feminine form of ‘Alexander’ that means ‘to defend’ or ‘to help’
Inspired By: Alexandra Popp (a 32-year-old striker who plays for Germany and VfL Wolfsburg)
6. Keira
Name Meaning: a variant of Ciara, which is derived from the Irish word for ‘black’ – the spelling was popularized by Keira Knightley (a British actress)
Inspired By: Keira Walsh (a 26-year-old defensive midfielder who plays for England and Barcelona)
5. Lena
Name Meaning: shortened version of ‘Helena,’ ‘Magdalena,’ or ‘Yelena’ that’s used in a lot of European nations
Inspired By: Lena Oberdorf (a 21-year-old defensive midfielder who plays for Germany and VfL Wolfsburg)
4. Ada
Name Meaning: shortened version of Adelaide or Adelina – ‘adal’ means ‘noble’
Inspired By: Ada Hegerberg (a 27-year-old striker who plays for Norway and Olympique Lyonnais)
3. Alexia
Name Meaning: feminine form of Alexis, which means ‘helper’ or ‘defender’
Inspired By: Alexia Putellas (a 29-year-old central playmaking midfielder who plays for Spain and Barcelona)
2. Sophia
Name Meaning: ‘wisdom’ in Greek, was popularized in the United States in the 1990s and was the most popular girl’s name for quite some time in the US
Inspired By: Sophia Smith (a 22-year-old left-wing/striker who plays for the United States and the Portland Thorns)
1. Aitana
Name Meaning: the name of a mountain range in Valencia, Spain and was popularized by Spanish poet, Rafael Alberti, who named his daughter ‘Aitana’
Inspired By: Aitana Bonmati (a 25-year-old central midfielder who plays for Spain and Barcelona)
Most Popular Girl Names of 2023
According to the Social Security Administration, the top girl names (in general) of 2023 include Olivia, Emma, Charlotte, Amelia, Ava, Sophia, Isabella, Mia, Evelyn, Harper, Luna, and Camila. If you’d like to fit the bill of pretty much every other family in the United States, one of those names would do just that.
With that said, those looking for unique girl names will have to do a little thinking. Some good ideas include Paloma, Ocean, Fatima, Coraline, Briella, Thalia, Ximena, Xiomara, Yara, Zahra, Yaretzi, and Universe. There are billions of girl names to choose from, but the right one is out there somewhere.
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No matter what girl’s name you end up going with, we hope you enjoy this moment of growth for you and your family. There are going to be a lot of challenges ahead and you’ll have a lot of obstacles to overcome, but it’ll be the greatest journey of your life and will be filled with so much love and support.
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