75 Badass Baby Names for Boys and Girls

Whether you like the idea of choosing a name that honors a legend, idolizes an action hero, or one that just sounds totally wild, every one of these badass baby name ideas will prove your baby's a force to be reckoned with.

Published on November 12, 2019

Looking for the perfect baby name for your future trailblazer? Consider one of these badass baby names for boys and girls that are all a bit brash, bold—and maybe just a little bit dangerous. In a good way, of course!

RELATED: These Are the Top 20 Baby Names for 2020

baby in leather jacket with bandana — Getty Images

Monsters of Rock Baby Names

There's nothing more rock 'n' roll than naming your kid after your favorite music legend—or your favorite rock anthem. Some of the more popular names in this genre include surname picks like Jagger, Hendrix, and Lennon (after Mick, Jimi, and John, naturally), but there's plenty of anthemic baby name picks out there.

Alice — think Alice Cooper, or the Jefferson Airplane classic Alice
Axl — mercurial Guns 'n' Roses front man Axl Rose
Bowie — David, of course
Dylan — i.e. Bob
Elton — as in John
Elvis —Presley or Costello!
Freddie — after Queen frontman Freddie Mercury)
Genesis — from the hall-of-fame English rock band
Gibson — after the legendary guitar maker
Grace — as in legendary Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick
Hendrix — as in Jimi
Jagger — as in Mick
Jett — as in Joan Jett
Joplin — as in Janis
Journey — 80s anthem rockers
Jovi — Jersey rock great Bon Jovi
Jude — Beatles' classic "Hey, Jude"
Kurt — Cobain
Layla — Eric Clapton's classic
Lennon — as in epic Beatles' singer/songwriter
Lola — the classic tune from the Kinks
Marley — after reggae legend Bob Marley
Presley — surname of the King of Rock & Roll
Prudence — from the Beatles' classic
Queen — from the legendary rock band
Ramone — from the legendary punk band
Rhiannon — Fleetwood Mac's legendary witchy classic
Rio — as in the Duran Duran classic
Santana — guitarist extraordinaire

Stevie — for Stevie Wonder or Stevie Nicks
Ziggy — as in David Bowie's alter ego, Ziggy Stardust

Hero & Heroine Baby Names

Your favorite leading ladies and guys could inspire perfect badass baby names, whether you're looking at action heroes like Rocky or take-no-prisoners literary badasses like Elizabeth Bennet.

Arya — fierce fighter from the Stark clan in Game of Thrones
Bennet — surname name from beloved classic Pride & Prejudice
Bruce — Batman's alter ego
Ferris — beloved school-skipper Bueller
Hermione — from brilliant badass witch Hermione Granger)
Holden — Caulfield, from classic Catcher in the Rye
Huck — short for Twain hero Huckleberry Finn
Indiana — Jones, AKA everyone's favorite adventurous archaeologist
Josephine — AKA Jo March from Little Women
Katniss — Everdeen, of Hunger Games fame
Kent — Superman's alter-ego surname
Leia — as in Star Wars badass Princess/General Leia Organa
Logan — AKA Wolverine
Luke — Skywalker
Natasha — AKA the Black Widow)
Phoenix — AKA Jean Grey's alter-ego Dark Phoenix
Rocky — ultimate boxer Rocky Balboa
Sawyer — Mark Twain's wild child hero Tom
Scarlett — antebellum vixen Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind
Snow — surname given to Stark-Targaryen heir, Jon Snow, from Game of Thrones

Groundbreaker Baby Names

Want to honor a hero from history—or a more modern model citizen? Consider some of these names:

Amelia — as in famed female aviator Amelia Earhart
Edison — inventor Thomas Edison gives us this cool take on Edward
Greta — after small-but-mighty climate activist Greta
Harriet — as in Underground Railroad founder Harriet Tubman
Hawking — as in legendary physicist Stephen
Hemingway — after the classic author and adventurer, Ernest Hemingway
Lincoln — the 16th president's surname is also trending for girls
Malala — Yousafzai, student activist
Nelson — Mandela, South African activist
Serena — as in tennis great Serena Williams
Susan — B. Anthony
Sojourner — African-American abolitionist and women's rights advocate Sojourner Truth