Malala
Malala Yousafzai
born 1997
Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel laureate, awarded the Peace Prize in 2014 for campaigning for girls' access to schooling.
Civil rights
Names of Modern Icons
Inspiration
Names with real connections to documented people, published works, and living traditions. Every entry is curated by hand, states the year or period involved, and links to its reference.
Collection
Names of Modern Icons
Six contemporary figures in sport, letters, dance, and activism, described factually with no endorsement implied.
6 entries
Serena
Serena Williams
born 1981
American tennis player who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era, the most of any player.
Sport
Names of Modern Icons
Maya
Maya Angelou
1928–2014
American poet and memoirist whose 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings became a landmark of American autobiography.
Literature
Names of Modern Icons
Misty
Misty Copeland
born 1982
American ballet dancer who in 2015 became the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.
Art
Names of Modern Icons
Simone
Simone Biles
born 1997
American gymnast and the most decorated world championship gymnast in history, with four Olympic gold medals at the 2016 Rio Games.
Sport
Names of Modern Icons
Greta
Greta Thunberg
born 2003
Swedish climate activist whose school strikes outside the Swedish parliament in 2018 grew into the international Fridays for Future movement.
Civil rights
Names of Modern Icons
Featured collections
Names That Changed History
Eleven names carried by documented figures in science, medicine, civil rights, exploration, and invention, each with dates and a reference.
Classic Literary Names
Names from novels and plays that have stayed in use for generations, with the work and year they appear in.
Names Inspired by Scientists
Mathematicians, chemists, and physicists whose names remain in common use today.
Timeless Film Names
Screen characters from 1939 to 2001, noting which names were invented for the story and which pre-date it.
Names of Modern Icons
Six contemporary figures in sport, letters, dance, and activism, described factually with no endorsement implied.
Names With Remarkable Stories
Mythological and folkloric names whose stories are recorded in classical and oral traditions across cultures.
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