Unique Baby Names Beginning With 'U'

Publish date: 2024-07-22

Are U looking to give your baby a name beginning with the letter “U”? You have set yourself up for a challenge — but not an unobtainable one. It will, no doubt be unique, or at least unusual. (Ummm, that’s exhausting.) Among the top 1000 baby names of 2019 (the most recent year for which we have data)in the U.S., there are only two boys names (and zero girls names) that begin with U: Uriah and Uriel.

But we love a good name challenge. Among the names that begin with “U” are many with origins far beyond the typical European cultural influences. There are also new twists on traditional spellings — if you eliminate the silent “E” from names like Eudora and, or replace the “O” in Ondine. These names now upend the usual, and they’re also utterly beautiful.

Traditional “U” names for girls

Udaya/Udhaya (a Sanskrit name meaning first light)

Ujjwala (love the double “j” in this name, which is a “bright” one)

Ula/Ulla (this sing-song name is Celtic for “sea jewel” and Scandinavian for “wealthy”)

Ulani (Hawaiian for “cheerful,” a great wish for any child)

Uriela (“light of God” in Hebrew)

Ulrica/Ulrika (Scandinavian/German and powerful, for your mighty little queen)

Uma (another Sanskrit name meaning bright)

Una (the Gaelic form of Agnes, or “one” in Spanish)

Ursula (“little bear,” and ready to break free from the Little Mermaid villain)

Ute/Uta (a “rich” variation on a German name)

Trendy “U” names for girls

Undomiel (J.R.R. Tolkein fans will recognize this elvish name, meaning “evening star”)

Udele (yet another “wealthy” name, with Anglo-Saxon origins)

Udora (a variation of Eudora, Greek for “excellent gift”)

Usha (in Sanskrit, the daughter of heaven and sister of night, if that’s how you see yourself)

Umeko (a lovely Japanese flower name, meaning “plum blossom child”)

Urika (not a version of Eureka, but a name from the Native American Omaha language that means “useful”)

Ululani (the name of a Hawaiian chieftess, meaning “divine inspiration”)

Uzoamaka (like the famous Nigerian-American actor, it means “the road is good”)

Ulissa (the girl version of Ulysses, but also a nice alternative to Alyssa)

Umbra (from the Latin word for shadow or shade, should your baby be ready to throw any)

Unisex “U” names

Uaine (an Irish name that, fittingly, means “green”)

Uchenna (a Nigerian name meaning “god’s thoughts,” which we’d really like to know)

Uhuru (Swahili for “freedom,” and with an “a” it’s a Star Trek character)

Ukasha (an Arabic name meaning “spider,” but not in a creepy way)

Underwood (if you’re into the English surnames as first names)

Undine (from the Latin word for “little wave,” like your baby saying “hi!”)

Unique (that’s one way to make your kid’s name singular)

Unity (we need more of this in the world, so make your own)

Utah (from the Apache word for “people of the mountains”)

Uzo (the shortened version of the Nigerian name, making it more gender-neutral)

Traditional “U” names for boys

Uday (an Arabic name for “one who runs fast,” as well as a Hindi name for “sunrise”)

Ulf (the Swedish version of Wolf)

Ulrich (German for a “noble leader”)

Ulysses (the Greek commander, and hopefully yours will have fewer perilous adventures)

Umberto (an Italian warrior name)

Umar (a variant on the Arabic name Omar, meaning “life”)

Umed (a Hindi name for “hope” or “wish”)

Uri (a name of Hebrew origin meaning “my light, my fire”)

Uriah/Urijah (longer versions of Uri)

Uther (King Arthur’s father, of Welsh origin)

Trendy “U” names for boys

Unathi (“God is with us” from the South African Xhosa language)

Upton (another good surname turned first name, meaning “from the upper farm”)

Urban (just don’t have a kid who longs for the country)

Uriel (like Uri and Uriah, but with a more angelic tone)

Uwe (“Universal ruler” of German origin)

Usher (there’s already been five of them in Usher Raymond’s family; what’s one more?)

Uritu (ancient Inca name for “parrot”)

Utara (an Indonesian name for “the north”)

Uwais (a Muslim name for “small wolf”)

Uziah/Uzziah (a king in the Old Testament whose name means “God is my strength”)

Here are some of the weirdest celebrity baby names we love.