If you’ve heard of Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls, you’ll know it’s a series of children’s books featuring bedtime stories about the life of extraordinary women from the past and the present.
I think modern hero names are only going to get more popular, so I thought it would be interesting to know which names everyone would choose for their own daughters to inspire them to do great things!
Here's the full list of women featured (get ready, it's long!)
Book 1
- Ada Lovelace, mathematician
- Alek Wek, supermodel
- Alfonsina Strada, cyclist
- Alicia Alonso, ballerina
- Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President and scientist
- Amelia Earhart, aviator
- Amna Al Haddad, weightlifter
- Ann Makosinski, inventor
- Anna Politkovskaya, journalist
- Artemisia Gentileschi, painter
- Ashley Fiolek, Motocross racer
- Astrid Lindgren, writer
- Aung San Suu Kyi, politician
- Balkissa Chaibou, activist
- Brenda Chapman, Director
- The Brontë sisters, writers
- Catherine the Great, empress
- Cholita Climbers, mountaineers
- Claudia Ruggerini, partisan
- Cleopatra, Pharaoh
- Coco Chanel, fashion designer
- Cora Coralina, poet and baker
- Coy Mathis, elementary school student
- Elizabeth I, Queen
- Eufrosina Cruz, activist and politician
- Evita Perón, politician
- Fadumo Dayib, politician
- Florence Nightingale, nurse
- Frida Kahlo, painter
- Grace Hopper, computer scientist
- Grace O’Malley, pirate
- Harriet Tubman, Freedom Fighter
- Hatshepsut, Pharaoh
- Helen Keller, activist
- Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate
- Hypatia, mathematician and philosopher
- Irena Sendlerowa, war hero
- Isabel Allende, writer
- Jacquotte Delahaye, pirate
- Jane Austin, writer
- Jane Goodall, primatologist
- Jessica Watson, sailor
- Jill Tarter, astronomer
- Jingū, Empress
- Joan Jett, rock star
- Julia Child, chef
- Kate Sheppard, suffragette
- Lakshmi Bai, queen and warrior
- Lella Lombardi, Formula One racer
- Lozen, warrior
- Mae C. Jemison, astronaut and doctor
- Malala Yousafzai, activist
- Manal Al-Sharif, activist
- Margaret Hamilton, computer scientist
- Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister
- Margherita Hack, astrophysicist.
- Maria Callas, opera singer
- Maria Montessori, physician and educator
- Maria Reiche, archaeologist
- Maria Sibylla Merian, naturalist
- Marie Curie, scientist
- Mary Anning, paleontologist
- Mary Edwards Walker, surgeon
- Mary Kom, boxer
- Matilde Montoya, doctor
- Maud Stevens Wagner, tattoo artist
- Maya Angelou, writer
- Maya Gabeira, surfer
- Melba Liston, trombonist
- Michaela Deprince, ballerina
- Michelle Obama, lawyer and First Lady
- Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, drummer
- The Mirabal sisters, activists
- Miriam Makeba, activist and singer
- Misty Copeland, ballerina
- Nancy Wake, spy
- Nanny of the Maroons, Queen
- Nellie Bly, reporter
- Nettie Stevens, geneticist
- Nina Simone, singer
- Policarpa Salavarrieta, spy
- Rita Levi Montalcini, scientist
- Rosa Parks, activist
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice
- Ruth Harkness, explorer
- Seondeok of Silla, Queen
- Serena and Venus Williams, tennis players
- Simone Biles, gymnast
- Sonita Alizadeh, rapper
- Sylvia Earle, marine biologist
- Tamara de Lempicka, painter
- Virginia Woolf, writer
- Wang Zhenyi, astronomer
- Wangari Maathai, activist
- Wilma Rudolph, athlete
- Xian Zhang, orchestra conductor
- Yaa Asantewaa, warrior queen
- Yoko Ono, artist
- Yusra Mardini, swimmer
- Zaha Hadid, architect
Book 2
- Agatha Christie, writer
- Aisholpan Nurgaiv, eagle huntress
- Alice Ball, chemist
- Andrée Peel, French Resistance fighter
- Angela Merke, Chancellor
- Anita Garibaldi, revolutionary
- Anne Bonny, pirate
- Audrey Hepburn, actress
- Beatrice Vio, fencer
- Beatrix Potter, writer and illustrator
- Beyoncé, singer, songwriter, and businesswoman
- Billie Jean King, tennis player
- The Black Mambas, rangers
- Boudicca, Queen
- Brenda Milner, neuropsychologist
- Buffalo Calf Road Woman, warrior
- Madam C. J. Walker, businesswoman;
- Carmen Amaya, Dancer
- Celia Cruz, singer
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer
- Christina of Sweden, Queen
- Clara Rockmore, musician
- Clara Schumann, pianist and composer
- Clemantine Wamariya, storyteller and activist
- Corrie Ten Boom, watchmaker
- Eleanor Roosevelt, politician
- Ellen Degeneres, comedian and TV host
- Florence Chadwick, swimmer
- Gae Aulenti, architect and designer
- Georgia O’Keeffe, painter
- Gerty Cori, biochemist
- Giusi Nicolini, mayor
- Gloria Steinem, activist
- Hedy Lamarr, actress and inventor
- Hortensia, orator
- Isadora Duncan, dancer
- J.K. Rowling, writer
- Jeanne Baret, housekeeper and explorer
- Joan Beauchamp Procter, zoologist
- Johanna Nordblad, ice diver
- Katherine Johnson, Doroty Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, computer scientists
- Katia Krafft, volcanologist
- Khoudia Diop, model
- Lauren Potter, Actress
- Leymah Gbowee, peace activist
- Lilian Bland, aviator
- Lorena Ochoa, golfer
- Lowri Morgan, ultramarathon runner
- Luo Dengping, extreme rock climber
- Madam Saqui, acrobat.
- Madonna, singer, songwriter, and businesswoman
- Marie Tharp, geologist
- Marina Abramović, performance artist
- Marta Vieira da Silva, soccer player
- Mary Fields, mail carrier
- Mary Kingsley, explorer
- Mary Seacole, nurse
- Mary Shelley, writer
- Maryam Mirzakhani, mathematician
- Mata Hari, spy
- Matilda of Canossa, feudal ruler
- Merritt Moore, quantum physicist and ballerina
- Molly Kelly, Daisy Kadibill, and Gracie Fields, freedom Fighters
- Nadia Comaneci, gymnast
- Nadia Murad, human rights activist
- Madine Gordimer, writer and activist
- Nefertiti, Queen
- Oprah Winfrey, TV host, actress, and businesswoman
- Pauline Léon, revolutionary
- Peggy Guggenheim, art collector
- Poorna Malavath, mountaineer;
- Qui Jin, revolutionary
- Rachel Carson, environmentalist
- Rigoberta Menchú Tum, political activist
- Rosalind Franklin, chemist and x-ray crystallographer
- Ruby Nell Bridges, activist
- Samantha Cristoforetti, astronaut
- Sappho, poet
- Sara Seager, astrophysicist
- Sarinya Srisakul, firefighter
- Selda Bağcan, singer and songwriter
- Serafina Battaglia, anti-mafia witness
- Shamsia Hassani, graffiti artist
- Simone Veil, politician
- Sky Brown, skateboarder
- Sofia Ionescu, neurosurgeon
- Sojourner Truth, activist
- Sonia Sotomayor, Justice of the Supreme Court
- Sophia Loren, actress
- Sophie Scholl, activist
- Steffi Graf, tennis player
- Temple Grandin, professor of animal sciences
- Troop 6000, Girl Scouts
- Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut
- Valerie Thomas, astronomer
- Violeta Parra, composer and musician
- Virginia Hall, spy
- Vivian Maier, photographer
- Wisława Szymborska, poet
- Yeonmi Park, activist
Book 3 (immigrant women)
- Adelaide Herrmann
- Alice Guy-Blaché
- Angelica Rozeanu
- Anita Sarkeesian
- Anna Wintour
- Anne Hidalgo
- Anne Wafula Strike
- Annika Sörenstam
- Arianna Huffington
- Asma Khan
- Bana Alabed
- Carmen Herrera
- Carmen Miranda
- Carolina Guerrero
- Chinwe Esimai
- Clara Juliana Guerrero Londoño
- Clara Lemlich Shavelson
- Claudia Rankine
- Daniela Schiller
- Daniela Soto-Innes
- Daphne Killer
- Diane von Fürstenberg
- Doreen Simmons
- Edmonia Lewis
- Eileen Gray
- Elena Poniatowska
- Elisa Rojas
- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
- Elizabeth Nyamayaro
- Emilie Snethlage
- Emmy Noether
- Fatma Ipek Alci
- Frieda Belinfante
- Geraldine Cox
- Geraldine Heaney
- Gerda Taro
- Gloria Estefan
- Golda Meir
- Hannah Arendt
- Hazel Scott
- Ilhan Omar
- Indra Devi
- Jawahir Jewels Roble
- Josephine Baker
- Judy Cassab
- Julieta Lanteri
- Karen Corr
- Karen Horney
- Karin Schmidt
- Keiko Fukuda
- Laskarina “Bouboulina” Pinotsis
- Lina Bo Bardi
- Lisa Sthalekar
- Liz Claiborne
- Lorella Praeli
- Lupe Gonzalo
- Lupita Amondi Nyong’o
- Madeleine Albright
- Malika Oufkir
- Marcela Contreras
- Maria Goeppert Mayer
- Marjane Satrapi
- Marta Empinotti
- Merlene Joyce Ottey
- Min Jin Lee
- Min Mehta
- Muzoon Almellehan
- Nadine Burke Harris
- Nami and Ren Hayakawa
- Niki Yang
- Noor Inayat Khan
- Olga Korbut
- Paula Newby-Fraser
- Pearl Tran and Thu Getka
- Pnina Tamano-Shata
- Rapelang Rabana
- Reyna Duong
- Rihanna
- Roja Maya Limbu and Sujana Rana
- Rosalie Abella
- Rose Fortune
- Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann
- Samantha Power
- Sandra Cauffman
- Sara Mazrouei
- Sara McLagan
- Sau Lan Wu
- Surya Bonaly
- Susan Francia
- Susan Polgar
- Tereza Lee
- Timnit Gebru
- Turia Pitt
- Velma Scantlebury
- Xiye Bastida Patrick
- Yoky Matuoka
- Yoshiko Chuma
- Young Jean Lee
- Yuan Yuan Tan
- Zainab Salbi
Here are my favourites:
Firsts
Agatha
Astrid
Bonny
Brontë
Claudia
Clementine
Coco
Frida
Frieda
Marta
Maud
Maya
Pauline
Peggy
Temple
Truth
Wilma
Middles
Amelia
Beatrice
Beatrix
Bly
Florence
Isabel
Jane
Jeanne
Josephine
Gray
Lovelace
Merritt
Nightingale
Noor
Rosalind
Sheppard
Sky
Valentina
Woolf