100 Inspirational Scientist Baby Names For Your Child

Scientists have always pioneered changes in the world.

Have you always wanted to name your baby after a famous scientist? With so many scientist names to choose from, you may struggle to select just one, so our list is here to help.

Below is a list of 100 inspiring scientist names for children. These scientists and inventors include everyone from Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton to Edwin Hubble and also important female pioneers like Ada Lovelace and Rosalind Franklin.

For more naming ideas related to our planet look at these nature inspired names meaning earth or best tree names for girls.

Inspirational Scientist Names For Girls

Many women have changed the world with their scientific contributions. These science-inspired girl names may be perfect for your daughter.

1. Ada (Germanic origin) meaning “noble”. Ada Lovelace helped in the design of the Analytical Engine with her expertise in mathematics. One of the best scientist girl names.

2. Andrea (French origin) meaning “brave”. Andrea Mia Ghez won the 2020 Nobel prize for Physics.

3. Anna (Latin origin) meaning “grace”. A pioneering name in fossil research is Anna K. Behrensmeyer.

4. Barbara (Greek origin) meaning “foreign”. Barbara McClintock won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

5. Beatrice (French origin) meaning “bringer of joy”. Beatrice Hahn is a virologist.

6. Christiane (Greek origin) meaning “the anointed one”. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard was a biologist.

7. Darleane (American origin) meaning “dear”. Darleane C. Hoffman was the first to discover plutonium in nature.

8. Deborah (Hebrew origin) meaning “bee”. Deborah Jin created a super cold state of matter using fermions.

9. Donna (Italian origin) meaning “lady” or “female”. Donna Strickland discovered CPA.

10. Dorothy (Greek origin) meaning “God’s gift”. British chemist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin made advancements in x-ray crystallography.

11. Elizabeth (Hebrew origin) meaning “God is my oath”. Elizabeth Blackburn discovered the enzyme telomerase.

12. Emmanuelle (Hebrew origin) meaning “the Godly presence”. Emmanuelle Charpentier won the 2020 Nobel Prize in with Jennifer Doudna.

13. Emmy (English origin) meaning “universal”. In quantum mechanics, Emmy Noether’s theory is highly significant.

14. Esther (Hebrew origin) meaning “star”. Esther Conwell worked on electrons passing through silicons.

15. Frances (Latin origin) meaning “free”. Frances Arnold won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018.

16. Gertrude (Germanic origin) meaning “strength”. Gertrude B. Elliot, a pioneer of new drug design techniques for the development of drugs.

17. Gretchen (Germanic origin) meaning “little pearl”. Gretchen Daily is a well-known ecologist.

18. Heidi (Germanic origin) meaning “noble birth”. Heidi Hammel’s work on Uranus is astronomically significant.

19. Ingrid (Norse origin) meaning “beloved”. Ingrid Daubechies invented the Daubechies’ block in mathematics.

20. Irene (Greek origin) meaning “peace”. Irene Joliot-Curie was a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

21. Jacqueline (French origin) meaning “may God protect”. Jacqueline K. Barton discovered the effects of DNA.

22. Jennifer (Welsh origin) meaning a “pure fairy”. Chemist Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

23. Jocelyn (Latin origin) meaning “little goth”. In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars.

24. Kathleen (Irish origin) meaning “pure”. Kathleen Howell’s work led to the use of halo orbits in space missions.

25. Lisa (English origin) meaning “God’s promise”. Lisa Meitner was a physicist.

26. Marie (Biblical origin) meaning “star of the ocean”. Marie Curie was a two-time Nobel Prize winner.

27. Maryam (Arabic origin) meaning “star of the sea”. Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani was the only female Fields Medal winner in mathematics.

28. Melissa (Greek origin) meaning “honey”. Melissa Franklin is an experimental physicist.

29. Mercedes (Latin origin) meaning “mercies”. Mercedes Pascual developed complex ecosystem models.

30. Mildred (English origin) meaning “gentle strength”. Mildred S. Dresselhaus discovered the electronic structure of graphite.

31. Persis (Greek origin) meaning “from Persia”. Persis Drell is a pioneering name related to Large Particle Colliders.

32. Rachel (Hebrew origin) meaning “purity”. Rachel Carson’s work in marine biology is unparalleled.

33. Rita (Indian origin) meaning “pearl”. Rita Colwell’s research in cholera is invaluable for medicine.

34. Rosalind (Latin origin) meaning “rose”. Rosalind Franklin was the first female pioneer in computer science.

35. Ruzena (Latin origin) meaning “rose”. Ruzena Bajcsy helped create robots with sensors.

36. Sandra (Greek origin) meaning “protector”. Sandra Faber formulated a process for galaxy formation.

37. Sheila (Irish origin) meaning “heavenly” Widnall’s work changed the basics of fluid dynamics.

38. Shirley (English origin) meaning “bright meadow”. Shirley Ann Jackson, an inspiring African-American physicist.

39. Stephanie (Greek origin) meaning “crown”. American chemist Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar.

40. Susan (Persian origin) meaning “bee”. Susan Lindquist, an authority on proteins in Biology.

41. Vera (Russian origin) meaning “faith”. Vera Rubin pioneered work on the rotation rates of galaxies.

42. Virginia (Roman origin) meaning “maiden”. Virginia Apgar’s contribution to medicine includes the Apgar Score measure.

Inspirational Scientist Names For Boys

We’ve crafted a list of baby names inspired by famous scientists for your son.

43. Abdul (Arabic origin) meaning “servant of God”. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an inspirational rocket scientist.

44. Alan (Irish origin) meaning “handsome”. Alan Turing is a famous scientist known for his achievements in mathematics and cryptology.

45. Albert (Germanic origin) meaning “intelligent and of noble nature”. Albert Einstein changed the course of science, astronomy and mathematics.

46. Alexander (Greek origin) meaning “defender of his people”. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

47. Antony (Greek origin) meaning “invaluable one”. Antony Hewish won the Nobel Prize by discovering pulsars in astronomy.

48. Arjen (Dutch origin) meaning “bright”. Arjen Lenstra, a Dutch mathematician.

49. Barton (English origin), meaning “farmyard”. Leading string theorist, Barton Zwiebach.

50. Bert (Germanic origin), meaning “bright”, Mathematical physicist, Bert Schroer.

51. Charles (Germanic origin) meaning “a free-spirited warrior”. Charles Babbage specialized in mathematics and computer science.

52. Christopher (Greek origin) meaning “anointed bearer”. Christopher Strachey, a computer scientist.

53. Clyde (Gaelic origin) meaning the “River Clyde”. Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto.

54. Corrado (Germanic origin) meaning “bold”. Corrado Bohm performed ground-breaking work in computer programming.

55. Csaba (Hungarian origin) meaning “shepherd”. Csaba Csáki, a physicist known for works on extra dimensions.

56. Dieter (German origin) means “people ruler”, Dieter Langbein, a German physicist.

57. Dirk (Dutch origin) means “duke”. Dirk van Dalen specializes in mathematics.

58. Edwin (Anglo-Saxon origin) meaning “rich friend”, Edwin Hubble, a famous astronomer.

59. Emil (Latin origin) meaning “rival”. Emil Martinec developed the heterotic string theorist.

60. Erick (Norse origin) meaning “always mighty”. Erick Weinberg is a famous theoretical physicist.

61. Ernst (Dutch origin) meaning “an earnest person”. Ernst Mayr was a leading man in evolutionary biology.

62. Felix (Latin origin) meaning “happy”. Felix Villars, professor of physics at MIT.

63. Francis (Latin origin) meaning “a free man”. Francis Crick, a biologist who helped discover the double helix structure of the DNA molecule.

64. Frederick (Germanic origin) meaning “ruler of peace”. Sir Fred Hoyle formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis in astronomy.

65. George (Greek origin) meaning “farmer”. George Gamow, an earlier developer of the Big Bang Theory.

66. Gordon (Irish origin) meaning “beloved”. Gordon Plotkin, a theoretical computer scientist.

67. Isaac (Biblical origin) meaning “the one who laughs”. Isaac Newton discovered gravity and calculus in mathematics. This is one of the better science-inspired baby boy names.

68. Johann (Hebrew origin) meaning “God is merciful”. Johann Gottfried Galle was the first person to discover in Neptune.

69. Kenneth (Gaelic origin) means “handsome” and is linked with physicist Kenneth G. Wilson.

70. Kip (Dutch origin) meaning “hut”. Kip Thorne has worked extensively in astrophysics.

71. Konrad (Germanic origin) meaning “a brave advisor”. Konrad Zuse was a German civil engineer and inventor, who invented the first programmable computer.

72. Louis (French origin) meaning “famous battle warrior”. Countless advancements in biology and medicine were made by Louis Pasteur, including vaccinations and pasteurization.

73. Marvin (Welsh origin) meaning “great lord”. Marvin Leonard Goldberger is a theoretical physicist.

74. Michael (Hebrew origin) meaning “like God”. English scientist Michael Faraday was known for his contributions to electromagnetism and the Faraday law of induction.

75. Neil (Gaelic origin) meaning “a passionate champion”. Neil De Grasse Tyson is well regarded in mathematics, astronomy and science.

76. Nikola (Greek origin) meaning “people’s victory”. Many scientists have been inspired by Nikola Tesla.

77. Paul (Greek origin) meaning “humble”. Chemist Paul Walden is known for his work in stereochemistry.

78. Robert (Germanic origin) meaning “possessing intelligence and fame”. Robert Brown was a pioneering botanist who advanced the field of biology through microscopes.

79. Rod (Anglo-Saxon origin) meaning “fame”. Rod Burstall is a renowned computer scientist.

80. Stephen (Greek origin) meaning “covered in a wreath of honor”. World-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking carried this name.

81. Thomas ( origin) meaning “a leader”, attributed to great inventor Thomas Alva Edison.

82. Tim (Greek origin) meaning “honored by God”. Tim Teitelbaum is a pioneer in computer science.

83. William (Northern Europe origin) meaning “emphatic protector”. William Harvey is famous for his works on anatomy, physiology, and biology.

84. Wolfgang (Germanic origin) meaning “wolf’s path”. Wolfgang Pauli did pioneering work in quantum mechanics.

Unique Unisex Scientist Baby Names

Looking for unisex names inspired by scientists for your baby girl or boy? Our list below may have exactly what you are looking for.

85. Adriaan (Dutch origin), meaning “from Adria”, Adriaan van Wijngaarden, Dutch mathematician and computer scientist.

86. Chien (Vietnamese origin) meaning “warrior”. Chien-Shiung Wu – an experimental physicist.

87. Gerty (Gaelic origin) meaning “assembly”. Gerty Cori was the third female Nobel Prize winner.

88. Ieke (Hebrew origin), meaning “gift”; Ieke Moerdijk, a Dutch mathematician.

89. Janaki (Indian origin) meaning “courageous”. Botanist Janaki Ammal worked extensively on plant breeding.

90. Kristen (Latin origin) meaning “follower of Christ”. Kristen Nygaard is a Norwegian computer scientist.

91. Lee (English origin) meaning “meadow”. Lee Smolin, an American theoretical physicist.

92. Lene (Germanic origin) meaning “wealthy”, Physicist Lene Hau.

93. Lynn (English origin) meaning “pool”. Lynn Margulis has contributed to evolutionary biology.

94. Max (Greek origin), meaning “greatest”, Max Planck, one of the greatest theoretical physicists.

95. Robin (Germanic origin) meaning “fame bright”. Computer scientist Robin Milner won the Turing Award.

96. Shannon (Irish origin) meaning “old river”. Shannon W. Lucid – an American who stayed the longest in space.

97. Sigurd (Norse origin) meaning “victory”. Physicist Sigurd Zienau is known for the theory of polaron.

98. Taylor (Latin origin), meaning “cutter”, astrophysicist Matt Taylor.

99. Terry/Terrie (Germanic origin) meaning “tribe’s power”. Terrie William is an inspiration for all marine biology enthusiasts.

100.  Tu (Vietnamese origin) meaning “intelligent”. Tu Youyou discovered therapies for malaria.

has many more baby names articles. If you liked our suggestions for scientist baby names, take inspiration from the night sky with our moon related names or names that mean star.