You want your new baby girl (or female character) to enter the world with a bang. She’s going to need a name that lets you know exactly who not to mess with. Whether you’re looking for a historical badass name, a fictional badass name, names that mean something badass, or hip modern badass names, you came to the right list.

Historical Badass Girl Names

Boudica – The Celtic warrior-queen who led her people in open revolt against the Romans.

Policarpa – Named after the revolutionary Policarpa Salavarrieta, it also shortens nicely to “Polly.”

Hedy – After “Hedy Lamarr.” Though famous as an actress, she also helped invent radar and wifi.

Raden – Raden Ajen Kartini was an activist on the isle of Java who fought for women’s right to vote.

Hildegard – A strong name that can shorted to Hilda, Hildegard von Bingen advised religious leaders and even kings.

Amelia – A name that invokes Amelia Earhart, the famed female aviator.

Zenobia – Or “Zen” or “Zee” for short, Zenobia was a historical female general and Queen who took on Rome itself.

Aubigny – After “Julie D’Aubigny,” a swordswoman and opera singer famous for defeating over ten men in duels.

Nefertari – An Egyptian queen and diplomat.

Tamar – A princess turned King (she insisted on the title), Tamar even fought with her troops in battle.

Fictional Badass Girl Names

Beatrix – After “Beatrix Kiddo,” the Bride in Kill Bill who goes on her Kung Fu revenge rampage.

Faith – The name of the trash-talking third Slayer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Jaina – Jaina Proudmoore is a powerful mage and leader of the Alliance in the Warcraft universe.

Eowyn – The shield-maiden of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings who ends up killing the Witchking.

Ripley – Named after Ellen Ripley, the Alien-killing protagonist of the Alien franchise.

Rey – In the new Star Wars trilogy, Rey is the undefeated up-and-coming Jedi facing off against Kylo Ren.

Jack – Both from Pitch Black and the Mass Effect series, Jack is a powerful name for a girl.

Marion – Think “Marion Ravenwood,” from the first and fourth Indiana Jones movies.

Hermione – Smart and badass, Hermione is one of the most powerful witches of her age.

Zoe – A short, powerful badass girl name, it also belongs to the tough-as-nails female soldier in Firefly.

Mythical Badass Girl Names

Morgan – As in “Morgan le Fay,” a powerful sorceress who battle Merlin himself.

Hera – Zeus’ wife, Hera is one of the more powerful gods and has put Zeus in his place a few times.

Bastet – The Egyptian goddess of fire and cats, and fought in many battles.

Epona – The Celtic deity of horses and leading the dead to the afterlife.

Diana – The name of the Roman goddess of the hunt, it’s also shared by Wonder Woman.

Valkyrie – Shortens to “Val” or “Kyrie” easily, and is the name of the winged warrior women who brought the honored dead to Asgard.

Artemis – The Greek goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, it’s perfect for an outdoorsy family.

Hel – Or “Hela,” she’s the Norse goddess of the underworld who ends the world.

Amaterasu – A Shinto goddess who fought the god of storms. Shortens to “Ama.”

Athena – Hard to find a more badass girl name then the goddess of war.

Modern Badass Girl Names

Jessie – Or “Jesse,” it’s a name that invokes an Old West bandit.

Blaze – A fiery name for a fiery lass.

Raizel – A Jewish name that means “flower,” it shortens to the ultra-badass nickname “Raze.”

Rook – A strong monosyllabic name that means either “bird” or “castle.”

Cinder – Or Synder, it reminds you of both Cinderella and the leftovers of a fire.

Raven – A dark bird with a lot of mythological weight, it’s also the name of a superhero or two.

Skald – A Norwegian word for a warrior-bard.

Sid – Or “Syd,” short of “Sydney,” it’s a punchy, androgynous name that kicks the door in.

Ganner – A name that has shown up very recently, “Ganner” is unique and strong and difficult to slip past.

Lara – A cool twist on “Laura,” it’s also the name of the main character from the Tomb Raider games.

Badass Girl Names that Mean Something Badass

Sloane – Means “warrior” and soldier, it works for a girl or a boy.

Raina – Derived from Latin, “Raina” means Queen in many languages.

Briana – In the Irish language, Briana means “strong.”

Bertilde – This badass girl name means “shining warrior.”

Alexandrine – A cool twist on “Alexandra,” it was also Queen Victoria’s given name.

Odeda – Hebrew for “strong.”

Camilla – Camilla means “warrior companion.”

Tia – A Spanish and Greek name, Tia means “princess.”

Valerie – Means “health and strength,” and also shortens to the badass “Val.”

Valentina – Another “Val” name, it means strength.

Go Forth and Be Badass

What’s in a name? Pretty much everything. We tell people not to judge books by their covers, but why are covers facing out in the book store? Giving your girl a badass girl name will lend her strength, self-respect, and grant a history of excellence to look up to.