In short
The names that really mean princess are few: Sarah is Hebrew for "lady, princess, noblewoman", Sarai is "my princess", Amira is the feminine of an Arabic word for prince, and Irish Órlaith (Orla) means "golden ruler". Names that mean queen are easier to find, from Regina and Reina to Rani, Malika and Rhiannon. For a princess from a story, the old tales give Briar Rose, Rapunzel, Kaguya, Vasilisa and Badroulbadour. Real princesses lend Leonor, Amalia, Estelle and Kaʻiulani. Every meaning below is checked, and each source is linked.
Sleeping Beauty has no name in the oldest French version. In Charles Perrault's 1697 tale she is only ever the princess, and the name people think of as hers belongs to her daughter: Aurore, or Dawn, whose little brother is called Day. The Brothers Grimm called her Briar Rose, and in Giambattista Basile's earlier Italian telling she's Talia. A lot of princess names work like that. The most famous ones belong to films, and the older ones have been passed around for centuries.
So this list sticks to the older ones, the names that belong to everyone: princesses from fairy tales, myth and history, real royals, and names whose meanings actually involve a crown. We checked each meaning against Behind the Name or the original story, and we corrected the ones popular lists get wrong. Where we made names up ourselves, for the cute names, pet names and the princess name finder, we say so.
What is a pretty princess name?
Here are twelve from across the list, picked for how they sound and how well they'd work as a real name:
- Aurore, French for dawn, the name Perrault gave Sleeping Beauty's daughter
- Adelaide, "nobleness"
- Leonor, the princess who is heir to the Spanish throne
- Orla, Irish for "golden ruler"
- Rosamund, the name some translations give Briar Rose
- Estelle, from the Old French for star
- Rhiannon, probably "great queen"
- Amira, the feminine of the Arabic word for prince
- Isolde, the Irish princess of Tristan and Isolde
- Sabrina, a princess of British legend
- Kaguya, "bright, shining", the moon princess of Japan
- Sarai, Hebrew for "my princess"
What names mean princess?
Very few given names carry the word itself. The biggest family comes from the Hebrew sara, which Behind the Name translates as "lady, princess, noblewoman". The Irish word flaith, "ruler, sovereign, princess", turns up in a few old royal names.
- Sarah. Hebrew, "lady, princess, noblewoman." Abraham's wife in Genesis. Behind the Name
- Sarai. "My princess", Sarah's name before God changed it in Genesis 17. Behind the Name
- Sara. The spelling used in many languages. Behind the Name
- Sadie. A pet form of Sarah. Behind the Name
- Amira. The feminine of Amir, Arabic for "commander, prince". Behind the Name
- Ameera. Another spelling of Amira. Behind the Name
- Órlaith. Old Irish ór, gold, and flaith, "ruler, sovereign, princess." A sister of the king Brian Boru had it. Behind the Name
- Orla. The usual English spelling of Órlaith.
- Gormlaith. Old Irish gorm, "blue" or "illustrious", and flaith. Brian Boru's wife. Behind the Name
- Armelle. The feminine of Armel, from the Old Welsh arth (bear) and mael (prince, chieftain). Behind the Name
What names mean queen?
A queen's name is easier to find. Most come straight from the word for queen in Latin, Spanish, French, Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew or Greek.
- Regina. Latin for queen. A city in Canada is named for Queen Victoria with it. Behind the Name
- Reina. Spanish for queen. Behind the Name
- Reine. French for queen. Behind the Name
- Rani. Sanskrit rāṇī, queen. (A separate Hebrew Rani means "to sing".) Behind the Name
- Malika. Arabic for queen. Behind the Name
- Malka. Hebrew for queen. Behind the Name
- Milcah. From the Hebrew malka. Two women in the Old Testament have it. Behind the Name
- Basilissa. Greek for queen. Behind the Name
- Rhiannon. Probably from an old Celtic name meaning "great queen", and a heroine of the Welsh Mabinogion. Behind the Name
- Queenie. A pet form of Queen. Behind the Name
- Sultana. The feminine of Sultan, "ruler, king". Behind the Name
Names that mean royal, noble or lady
These don't say princess outright, but they come close: a lady, a noblewoman, something royal.
- Basilia. The feminine of Basil, from the Greek for "royal, kingly." Behind the Name
- Adelaide. "Nobleness, nobility", from the Germanic Adalheidis. Behind the Name
- Alice. A short form of the same name as Adelaide. Behind the Name
- Freya. Old Norse for "lady", and a Norse goddess of love and beauty. Behind the Name
- Donna. Italian for "lady." Behind the Name
- Martha. Aramaic, "the lady, the mistress." Behind the Name
- Tiara. The crown itself, from a word of Greek origin. Behind the Name
Give her the castle to match the name
Upload one photo and we'll paint her as the princess of Princess Kingdom. Nothing prints until you approve the watermarked proof.
Fairy-tale princess names
The princesses in the best-known tales mostly have no names. Perrault's Sleeping Beauty doesn't, and neither does Andersen's princess and the pea. These are the ones who do, from collections and plays old enough to belong to everyone.
Who was Sleeping Beauty?
Three versions, three answers. Each of these comes from the Sleeping Beauty tale's history.
- Talia. The sleeping princess in Giambattista Basile's "Sun, Moon, and Talia", printed in 1634 to 1636, whose twins are named Sun and Moon.
- Aurore. Perrault's princess has no name. Her daughter is Aurore, Dawn.
- Briar Rose. The Grimms' name for her, from the thorn hedge around the castle. Behind the Name
- Rosamund. The name some English translations of the Grimms give her. It comes from the Old German for "horse protection." Behind the Name
- Aurora. The Latin word Aurore comes from, "dawn", and the name of the Roman goddess of morning. Behind the Name
Princesses from European tales
- Rapunzel. Named for the edible plant her parents stole from a sorceress's garden, in the Grimms' 1812 tale. Behind the Name
- Vasilisa. In one telling of the Russian tale The Frog Princess, the bewitched frog bride is Vasilisa the Wise, a princess under a spell. The name is the Russian feminine of Basil, "royal." Behind the Name
- Marya Morevna. A warrior queen of Russian folklore who defeats an army and keeps the villain Koschei the Deathless chained in a closet. Marya is a Russian form of Maria. Behind the Name
- Elena. Elena the Beautiful is the frog bride in another telling of The Frog Princess. A form of Helen. Behind the Name
- Irene. The eight-year-old princess of George MacDonald's 1872 novel The Princess and the Goblin. Greek for "peace." Behind the Name
- Ozma. The rightful ruler of Oz, first seen in L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904).
- Sara. Sara Crewe, the schoolgirl who keeps pretending she's a princess in Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess (1905).
Princesses from the Arabian Nights and Asia
- Badroulbadour. The princess Aladdin marries, in the version Antoine Galland added to the Arabian Nights. Her name is Arabic for "full moon of full moons", the full moon being the old image of beauty.
- Budur. The shorter form, Arabic for "full moons." Behind the Name
- Shahrazad. Scheherazade, the storyteller-queen of the Nights. Possibly "noble lineage" in Persian. Behind the Name
- Turandot. The riddle-setting princess of China in Carlo Gozzi's 1762 play and Puccini's opera, from a princess called Turandokht in an earlier French collection.
- Kaguya. "Bright, shining." In The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a baby found in a bamboo stalk is named Kaguya-hime, "shining princess", and turns out to come from the moon. Behind the Name
- Otohime. The princess of the undersea Dragon Palace in the Japanese tale of Urashima Tarō. Oto marks her as the younger daughter of the Dragon King.
- Hime. Simply Japanese for princess, the ending on both names above.
Princesses from Shakespeare
- Perdita. Latin for "lost", the abandoned daughter of a king in The Winter's Tale. Behind the Name
- Miranda. "Admirable", created by Shakespeare for The Tempest. Behind the Name
- Titania. Queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Behind the Name
- Mab. Queen of the fairies in Romeo and Juliet, of uncertain origin. Behind the Name
Titania and Mab are on our fairy names list too, which goes further into fairy queens.
Princess names from myth and legend
These are king's daughters from Greek myth, the Indian epics and the legends of Britain and Ireland. A few of their stories are grim, so read up before you borrow one for a bedtime story.
Greek princesses
- Ariadne. Daughter of King Minos of Crete, who gave Theseus the thread out of the labyrinth. Possibly "most holy." Behind the Name
- Andromeda. An Ethiopian princess rescued by Perseus. Now a galaxy. Behind the Name
- Europa. A Phoenician princess carried to Crete by Zeus in the shape of a bull. "Wide face." Behind the Name
- Psyche. "The soul", the maiden loved by Eros. Behind the Name
- Cassandra. A Trojan princess who could see the future and was never believed. Behind the Name
- Antigone. Daughter of Oedipus, who defied a king to bury her brother. Behind the Name
- Nausicaa. The princess who helps Odysseus home in the Odyssey. Behind the Name
Princesses of the Indian epics
- Sita. "Furrow" in Sanskrit, the heroine of the Ramayana. Behind the Name
- Draupadi. "Daughter of Drupada", the princess of Panchala in the Mahabharata. Behind the Name
- Damayanti. "Subduing", a beautiful princess of the Mahabharata and the wife of Nala. Behind the Name
- Savitri. "Of the sun", who talks the god of death out of taking her husband. Behind the Name
- Shakuntala. From the Sanskrit for "bird", raised in the forest by birds before she marries a king. Behind the Name
Princesses of British and Irish legend
- Sabrina. A princess drowned in the River Severn in Geoffrey of Monmouth's chronicle. The river's old Welsh name is Habren. Behind the Name
- Gwendolen. Possibly "white ring." In Geoffrey's chronicle, an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle. Behind the Name
- Isolde. The Irish princess of Tristan and Isolde. Behind the Name
- Iseult. The older spelling, of uncertain origin. Behind the Name
- Guinevere. Arthur's queen. From the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, "white phantom." Behind the Name
- Elaine. An Old French form of Helen, and several ladies of Arthurian legend. Behind the Name
- Enid. Probably Welsh for "soul, spirit, life", and the wife of Erec, later Geraint. Behind the Name
- Deirdre. The heroine of an Irish legend, possibly from the Old Irish for "daughter." Behind the Name
- Brunhild. "Armour" and "battle", queen of the Valkyries in Norse legend. Behind the Name
What are the names of real princesses?
Real royals have handed down plenty of the names on this list.
Princesses from history
- Kaʻiulani. The last heir to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1875 to 1899. Her name comes from ka ʻiu lani, "the royal sacred one", and she was a celebrated surfer at Waikiki.
- Wencheng. A Tang dynasty princess who married the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo in 641.
- Anastasia. The youngest daughter of the last tsar of Russia. From the Greek for "resurrection." Behind the Name
- Olga. Her eldest sister. The Russian form of the Norse Helga. Behind the Name
- Tatiana. The second sister, from an old Roman family name. Behind the Name
- Maria. The third sister. Behind the Name
- Augusta. Given by King George III to his second daughter in 1768. Behind the Name
- Amelia. Popular in England once the Hanoverian kings gave it to their daughters. Behind the Name
- Matilda. "Strength in battle", the name of medieval queens and an empress. Behind the Name
- Isabella. Borne by queens of England, France, Portugal and Hungary, and by Isabella of Castile. Behind the Name
- Eleanor. Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen of France and then of England in the 12th century. Behind the Name
- Astrid. A Swedish princess who became queen of Belgium and died in 1935. Behind the Name
- Soraya. Princess Soraya, wife of the last Shah of Iran, made this Persian name for the Pleiades famous in Europe. Behind the Name
Queens who ruled
- Nefertiti. "The beautiful one has come", a queen of Egypt in the 14th century BC. Behind the Name
- Zenobia. "Life of Zeus", the queen of Palmyra who broke away from Rome. Behind the Name
- Theodora. The name of several Byzantine empresses. Behind the Name
- Arwa. "Female ibex" in Arabic, and a 12th-century queen of Yemen. Behind the Name
- Razia. "Satisfied, pleased", the 13th-century woman who ruled the Delhi Sultanate. Behind the Name
- Esther. Possibly "star" in Persian, the Jewish queen of Persia in the Book of Esther. Behind the Name
- Victoria. Latin for "victory." Behind the Name
- Charlotte. A French feminine of Charles, and the name of an 18th-century British queen. Behind the Name
Who are the princesses today?
Five European princesses are now first in line to their thrones, and four of them are under 30.
- Leonor. Heir to Spain, born 2005. A Spanish form of Eleanor. Behind the Name
- Sofía. Leonor's younger sister. "Wisdom" in Greek. Behind the Name
- Amalia. Princess Catharina-Amalia, heir to the Netherlands, born 2003. From a Germanic word for "unceasing, vigorous, brave." Behind the Name
- Catharina. Her first name, a form of Katherine.
- Elisabeth. Heir to Belgium, born 2001, set to be its first queen in her own right. A form of Elizabeth, "my God is an oath." Behind the Name
- Ingrid. Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, heir to Norway, born 2004. Old Norse for "Ing is beautiful." Behind the Name
- Alexandra. Her second name, the feminine of Alexander. Behind the Name
- Estelle. Princess Estelle of Sweden, born 2012, second in line after her mother, Crown Princess Victoria. "Star." Behind the Name
- Aiko. Princess Aiko of Japan, the emperor's only child. "Love" and "child." Behind the Name
- Beatrice. Princess Beatrice of York. The Italian form of Beatrix. Behind the Name
- Eugenie. Her sister. A form of Eugenia. Behind the Name
See her as the princess she named
Once she's picked her princess name, you can show her the princess. Our Princess Kingdom world turns one photo of your child into a kind young royal in an enchanted castle garden, with butterflies and a little fairy dust in the air, and keeps her real face, hair and skin tone. It works for a prince just as well. It prints as a jigsaw puzzle from $59, a canvas or a fleece blanket, and the chunky 30-piece puzzle is sized for ages 3 to 5. You approve a watermarked proof before anything prints. Her name, princess or otherwise, never goes to the image model, so it only appears where you choose to write it.
Prince names
Princess Kingdom has a prince version, and a prince needs a name too. Here are princes from stories and history, plus names that mean prince, king or royal.
Names that mean prince, king or royal
- Amir. Arabic for "commander, prince", the origin of the English word emir. Behind the Name
- Malik. Arabic for "king." Behind the Name
- Basil. From the Greek for "royal, kingly." Behind the Name
- Armel. The Old Welsh arth (bear) and mael (prince, chieftain). Behind the Name
- Frederick. "Peaceful ruler." Behind the Name
- Henry. "Home ruler." Behind the Name
- Albert. "Noble and bright." Behind the Name
- Magnus. Latin for "great." Behind the Name
- Sultan. Arabic for "ruler, king, sultan." Behind the Name
Princes from stories
- Florizel. From the Latin for "flower", the prince of Bohemia in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, who falls for Perdita. Behind the Name
- Ferdinand. "Peace" or "journey" and "boldness." The prince of Naples in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Behind the Name
- Ivan. Ivan Tsarevich, the tsar's son who rescues the princess in Russian tales. Behind the Name
- Arthur. Meaning unknown, perhaps "bear" with "man" or "king." Behind the Name
- Arjuna. "White, clear", the archer prince of the Mahabharata. Behind the Name
- Siddhartha. "One who has accomplished a goal", the prince who became the Buddha. Behind the Name
- Ahmed. Prince Ahmed, who marries the fairy Pari Banu in a tale Galland added to the Arabian Nights. Behind the Name
Princes and kings from history
- Alexander. "Defending men." Behind the Name
- Philip. "Friend of horses", the name of five kings of Macedon. Behind the Name
- Edward. "Rich guard." Behind the Name
- William. "Will helmet." Behind the Name
- George. "Farmer, earthworker." Behind the Name
- Louis. The name of 18 kings of France. Behind the Name
- Leopold. "People" and "bold", a favorite of the Habsburgs. Behind the Name
- Rupert. Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a nephew of Charles I. Behind the Name
- Casimir. "Destroy" and "peace", the name of four kings of Poland. Behind the Name
- Gustav. Possibly "staff of the Geats." Behind the Name
- Harald. The name of several kings of Norway and Denmark. Behind the Name
- Haakon. A spelling of Håkon, the name of Norway's king. Behind the Name
- Christian. Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, born 2005. Behind the Name
- Felipe. The king of Spain, Leonor's father. Behind the Name
- Oscar. Possibly "deer friend", and the name of two kings of Sweden. Behind the Name
Cute princess names
These are our own picks: small, sparkly names for a doll, a stuffed bunny or a very young princess.
- Petal
- Bluebell
- Rosebud
- Snowdrop
- Moonbeam
- Honeybee
- Sparkle
- Twinkle
- Dewdrop
- Marigold
- Clover
- Pearl
What's my princess name?
Take your princess name from your birthday month and your kingdom from the first letter of your first name. A March birthday and a name starting with S makes you Princess Aurore of Starfall.
| Month | Princess name | Month | Princess name |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Estelle | July | Kaguya |
| February | Amira | August | Orla |
| March | Aurore | September | Miranda |
| April | Briar Rose | October | Isolde |
| May | Rhiannon | November | Sadie |
| June | Leonor | December | Adelaide |
| Initial | Kingdom | Initial | Kingdom |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, B | of Moonmeadow | O, P | of the Rose Tower |
| C, D | of Silverwood | Q, R | of Honeyvale |
| E, F | of the Crystal Lake | S, T | of Starfall |
| G, H | of Bramblecastle | U, V | of the Golden Hill |
| I, J | of Willowmere | W, X | of Snowpeak |
| K, L | of the Seven Bridges | Y, Z | of Bluebell Glen |
| M, N | of Lanternfall |
It works at a princess birthday party: write each guest's full title on a paper crown and read it out like a herald as they arrive.
Princess names for pets
A cat who sleeps on the best cushion has earned a title. These are our picks.
- Duchess
- Countess
- Majesty
- Marquise
- Biscuit
- Lady
- Crumpet
- Velvet
- Pippa
- Your Highness
For more, our cat names by color and dog names by color are checked the same way as this list.
Princess names that don't mean what the lists say
These are the claims we saw most while checking other princess-name lists. Each one links to the entry that settles it.
| Name | What lists say | What it actually is |
|---|---|---|
| Soraya | ✗ Princess | The Persian form of Thurayya, the Pleiades. Princess Soraya made it famous. |
| Zara | ✗ Princess | Used by the playwright William Congreve in 1697, perhaps from Arabic Zahra |
| Kiara | ✗ Princess | A variant of Ciara or Chiara, the Italian Clara |
| Alyssa | ✗ Princess | A variant of Alicia, the Latin form of Alice |
| Camilla | ✗ Princess warrior | A Roman family name of unknown meaning. Virgil's Camilla was a warrior maiden. |
| Tiana | ✗ Fairy princess | A short form of Tatiana or Christiana |
| Gladys | ✗ Royalty or princess | Probably from Welsh gwlad, "country" |
| Diana | ✗ Moon princess | "Divine, goddesslike", a Roman goddess of the moon |
| Aurora | ✗ Sleeping Beauty's name in the fairy tale | Perrault's princess has no name. Aurore is her daughter. |
| Arabella | ✗ A princess name with a fixed meaning | Probably a variant of Annabel, long linked with Latin for "yielding to prayer" |
How do you make up a princess name?
Start with a real name you love, ideally one with a royal story behind it, like Leonor, Orla or Isolde. Then give her a kingdom instead of a surname: a place in nature (Willowmere, Silverwood), a building (the Rose Tower) or a time of day (Starfall, Moonmeadow). Say the whole title out loud, "Princess Orla of Silverwood", before settling on it. If she wants to feel properly royal, add an ordinal: Elisabeth of Belgium will one day be Queen Elisabeth, and a living-room princess can be Sadie the First. For a real baby name, stick to the lists above, since each of those has a documented history.
For more to share with a princess-mad child, our mermaid names and fairy names are checked the same way, and our gifts by what a child is obsessed with picks up from there. A princess title also makes a good sign-off on a card, and our birthday wishes for a daughter are sorted by her age and by who's writing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pretty princess name?
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Aurore, Adelaide, Leonor, Orla, Rosamund and Estelle all come from real princesses or fairy tales and still work as everyday names. Sarai, which means "my princess" in Hebrew, and Amira, the feminine of the Arabic word for prince, carry the meaning outright.
What name means princess?
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Sarah, from the Hebrew for "lady, princess, noblewoman", along with Sara, Sadie and Sarai ("my princess"). Amira is the feminine of the Arabic Amir, "commander, prince". The Irish Órlaith, or Orla, means "golden ruler", from flaith, "ruler, sovereign, princess".
What name means queen?
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Regina in Latin, Reina in Spanish, Reine in French, Rani in Sanskrit, Malika in Arabic, Malka in Hebrew and Basilissa in Greek. Rhiannon probably comes from an old Celtic name meaning "great queen".
What was Sleeping Beauty's real name?
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It depends on the version. Basile's 1634 Italian tale calls her Talia. In Perrault's 1697 French tale she has no name, and Aurore is her daughter. The Brothers Grimm called her Briar Rose, which some translations give as Rosamund.
What are some real princess names?
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The princesses now first in line to European thrones are Leonor of Spain, Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Elisabeth of Belgium and Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, with Estelle of Sweden second in line after her mother. From history: Kaʻiulani of Hawaii, Wencheng of the Tang dynasty, and the Romanov sisters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.
What are good prince names?
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Amir means prince in Arabic and Malik means king. From stories: Florizel and Ferdinand from Shakespeare, Ivan Tsarevich from Russian tales and Arjuna from the Mahabharata. From history: Frederick ("peaceful ruler"), Henry ("home ruler"), Leopold and Rupert.
How do I find my princess name?
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Use your birthday month for your name and the first letter of your first name for your kingdom. January is Estelle, February Amira, March Aurore and so on; the kingdoms run from Moonmeadow for A and B to Bluebell Glen for Y and Z. A March birthday and the initial S makes you Princess Aurore of Starfall.
