Songs with names in the title have a special way of resonating with us. Whether it’s a girl’s name or a boy’s name, these songs bring the names to life, weaving stories around them. These songs span decades and genres, all built around one simple thing: a name.
Below is a list of some of the best songs with names in the title, divided into two sections: one for female names and another for male names.
Best Songs with Female Names in the Title
1. “Jolene” – Dolly Parton
Lyric Sample: “Jolene, I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man.”
Dolly Parton’s classic ballad tells the story of a woman pleading with the beautiful Jolene not to steal her man.
Related: “Jolene” Song Meaning
2. “Valerie” – Amy Winehouse
Lyric Sample: “Why don’t you come over, Valerie?”
Winehouse’s version of this Zutons song turned it into something far bigger than the original. She sings to someone she’s been missing, wondering what’s changed in their life while she’s been gone.
3. “Demi Moore” – Phoebe Bridgers
Lyric Sample: “Take a dirty picture, babe, I can’t sleep and I miss your face.”
Bridgers’ 2017 indie track is about missing someone and not knowing what to do with that feeling.
4. “Barbara Ann” – The Beach Boys
Lyric Sample: “Ba-ba-ba-ba Barbara Ann.”
The Beach Boys turned this Regents song into one of their most fun recordings, and it’s basically just a great excuse to sing a girl’s name over and over.
5. “Jessie” – Joshua Kadison
Lyric Sample: “Jessie, paint your pictures about how it’s gonna be.”
Kadison’s biggest hit is about a woman who keeps calling from wherever life has taken her, spinning dreams of a great future together that her ex knows will probably never happen.
6. “Uma Thurman” – Fall Out Boy
Lyric Sample: “She wants to dance like Uma Thurman, bury me ’til I confess.”
Fall Out Boy named this 2015 track after the actress, but it’s really about wanting someone to see you as the hero of your own story.
7. “Molly” – Mindless Self Indulgence
Lyric Sample: “Molly was a good girl, and she knew the reasons why.”
“Molly” is a punk-infused track about a girl who keeps up a good-girl image while hiding who she really is.
8. “Rhiannon” – Fleetwood Mac
Lyric Sample: “Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night.”
Stevie Nicks wrote this 1970s track after reading the name in a novel, and it became one of Fleetwood Mac’s most iconic songs. It’s about a woman who can’t be caught or held down, moving through life like something mythical.
Related: “Rhiannon” Song Meaning
9. “Nancy” – Frank Sinatra
Lyric Sample: “Nancy, with the laughing face.”
Sinatra wrote this warm tribute to his daughter Nancy, describing the simple joy of watching a child grow up.
10. “Helena” – My Chemical Romance
Lyric Sample: “What’s the worst that I can say? Things are better if I stay.”
MCR wrote this track as a tribute to Gerard and Mikey Way’s late grandmother. It dramatizes loss and the pain of not being there at the end.
Related: “Helena” Song Meaning
11. “Layla” – Eric Clapton
Lyric Sample: “Layla, you got me on my knees.”
Eric Clapton wrote “Layla” about his love for Pattie Boyd, who was married to his friend George Harrison at the time. He later married her.
Related: “Layla” Song Meaning
12. “Eleanor Rigby” – The Beatles
Lyric Sample: “Ah, look at all the lonely people.”
This 1966 Beatles track is about two lonely people whose lives never intersect in any meaningful way.
Related: “Eleanor Rigby” Song Meaning
13. “Stacy’s Mom” – Fountains of Wayne
Lyric Sample: “Stacy’s mom has got it going on.”
Fountains of Wayne’s pop-rock hit is told from the perspective of a teenager who’s completely infatuated with his girlfriend’s mother.
14. “Alice” – Avril Lavigne
Lyric Sample: “I found myself in Wonderland, get back on my feet again.”
Lavigne wrote this for the 2010 Alice in Wonderland soundtrack, leaning into the film’s themes of escapism and feeling out of place in the real world.
15. “Diana” – One Direction
Lyric Sample: “Diana, let me be the one to light a fire inside those eyes.”
This 2013 pop track is about wanting to be the person who helps someone through their pain.
16. “Sweet Caroline” – Neil Diamond
Lyric Sample: “Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good.”
Diamond wrote this 1960s crowd-pleaser about a feeling of joy so big it needed a name attached to it. He later confirmed it was inspired by Caroline Kennedy, and it’s become one of the most sung-along songs at sporting events worldwide.
Related: “Sweet Caroline” Song Meaning
17. “Anna Begins” – Counting Crows
Lyric Sample: “It does not bother me to say this isn’t love.”
This mid-’90s track follows a man who keeps telling himself he’s not in love while all the evidence points the other way.
18. “Come On Eileen” – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Lyric Sample: “Come on, Eileen, oh, I swear what he means.”
This 1980s hit is about a guy pleading with a girl from his past to let go of everything holding her back. It became one of the defining songs.
Related: “Come On Eileen” Song Meaning
19. “Evangeline” – Stephen Sanchez
Lyric Sample: “I’ll be the pillow, and I’ll be the bed, holding your dreams as you lie to rest.”
This 2023 retro-pop track is about a guy so head over heels he’s offering to be everything his love interest needs, begging her not to fall asleep so the night doesn’t end.
20. “Amanda” – Boston
Lyric Sample: “I’m gonna take you by surprise, and make you realize, Amanda.”
Boston’s soft rock ballad is a love song about finally working up the nerve to say how you feel.
21. “The Diary Of Jane” – Breaking Benjamin
Lyric Sample: “I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.”
Breaking Benjamin’s 2006 rock track is about a man so desperate for a woman’s attention that his obsession has started overriding his better judgment.
22. “Sara” – Fleetwood Mac
Lyric Sample: “Sara, you’re the poet in my heart, never change, never stop.”
Stevie Nicks wrote this 1979 track during a complicated period in her life, and it’s layered enough that its exact meaning has been debated for decades. The name Sara is believed to refer to a close friend.
Related: “Sara” Song Meaning
23. “Grace Kelly” – MIKA
Lyric Sample: “I tried to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too sad.”
MIKA wrote his 2007 debut single as a response to record labels telling him to change his sound, rattling off celebrity names to make the point that he refuses to be anyone but himself.
Related: Brit Awards – Song of the Year
24. “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson
Lyric Sample: “Billie Jean is not my lover.”
Jackson’s iconic hit is about a woman who falsely claims he fathered her child. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time and features one of the most recognizable basslines in pop history.
Related: “Billie Jean” Song Meaning
25. “Annie’s Song” – John Denver
Lyric Sample: “You fill up my senses like a night in a forest.”
John Denver wrote “Annie’s Song” in 1974 in about ten minutes on a ski lift, inspired by how his wife Annie made him feel.
26. “Nancy Mulligan” – Ed Sheeran
Lyric Sample: “She took my name and then we were one.”
Sheeran wrote this Irish folk-influenced track about his grandparents’ love story, naming it after his grandmother and covering their whole relationship.
Related: Best Songs About Grandmothers
27. “Sara Smile” – Hall & Oates
Lyric Sample: “When I feel cold, you warm me.”
Daryl Hall wrote this 1976 song for his girlfriend Sara Allen, and it launched the duo’s career into the mainstream.
Related: “Sara Smile” Song Meaning
28. “Fancy” – Reba McEntire
Lyric Sample: “Here’s your one chance, Fancy, don’t let me down.”
“Fancy” tells the complicated story of a young woman pushed into survival through sex work by her dying mother. It became Reba’s signature song.
Related: “Fancy” Song Meaning
29. “Clementine” – Halsey
Lyric Sample: “I don’t need anyone, I just need everyone and then some.”
This 2020 track is about wanting to be independent while knowing you still need people, cycling between self-sufficiency and the admission that you can’t do it all alone.
Best Songs with Male Names in the Title
30. “Jessie’s Girl” – Rick Springfield
Lyric Sample: “I wish that I had Jessie’s girl.”
“Jessie’s Girl” is a catchy pop-rock track about wanting to be with a friend’s girlfriend, a situation Springfield reportedly experienced in real life
Related: Best Songs About Cheating
31. “Bennie and the Jets” – Elton John
Lyric Sample: “She’s got electric boots, a mohair suit.”
Elton John and Bernie Taupin invented a fictional band called the Jets for this 1973 glam-rock track, using it to poke fun at the music industry and rock star culture.
Related: “Bennie and the Jets” Song Meaning
32. “Jeremy” – Pearl Jam
Lyric Sample: “Jeremy spoke in class today.”
Frontman Eddie Vedder wrote this classic ’90s track about a troubled teenager who took his own life in front of his class.
Related: “Jeremy” Song Meaning
33. “Hey Joe” – Jimi Hendrix
Lyric Sample: “Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?”
Hendrix made this song famous in 1966 with his debut single. It’s a dark track about a man on the run after shooting his unfaithful partner.
34. “Alejandro” – Lady Gaga
Lyric Sample: “Don’t call my name, don’t call my name, Alejandro.”
In this 2010 dance-pop track, Gaga rejects a string of suitors, cycling through their names as a kind of rhythmic refusal.
35. “Charlie Brown” – The Coasters
Lyric Sample: “Why’s everybody always picking on me?”
The Coasters turned the name Charlie Brown into a stand-in for every class clown and troublemaker. It’s a funny story of a kid who can’t stay out of trouble no matter how hard he tries.
36. “Luka” – Suzanne Vega
Lyric Sample: “My name is Luka, I live on the second floor.”
Vega wrote this 1987 track from the perspective of a child who hints at abuse without ever saying it outright, making what it leaves unsaid more devastating than anything explicit would be.
Related: Grammy Award for Record of the Year
37. “Who’s David” – Busted
Lyric Sample: “So go live in the house of David if you like.”
“Who’s David” is a 2003 track about someone finding out their girlfriend has been cheating after scrolling through her phone and coming across a name they don’t recognize.
38. “Johnny B. Goode” – Chuck Berry
Lyric Sample: “Go, go, go, Johnny B. Goode.”
This 1958 rock and roll classic is about a self-taught guitarist from Louisiana who dreams of making it big. It became one of the defining songs of the genre and one of the most covered tracks in history.
39. “Ben” – Michael Jackson
Lyric Sample: “Ben, the two of us need look no more.”
Jackson recorded this 1972 ballad at age 13 for the film Ben, a movie about a boy’s friendship with a rat.
40. “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” – Paper Lace
Lyric Sample: “Billy don’t be a hero, don’t be a fool with your life.”
This 1970s rock song tells the story of a soldier’s girlfriend begging him not to volunteer for dangerous missions.
41. “Baba O’Riley” – The Who
Lyric Sample: “Don’t cry, don’t raise your eye, it’s only teenage wasteland.”
Pete Townshend named this 1971 track after two people he admired: composer Terry Riley and philosopher Meher Baba. Most people know it as “Teenage Wasteland” from the repeated lyric.
42. “Fernando” – ABBA
Lyric Sample: “Can you hear the drums, Fernando?”
“Fernando” tells the story of two old friends looking back on a shared experience from a long-ago battle. The song captures the mix of pride, fear, and the lasting impact of war.
Related: “Fernando” Song Meaning
43. “Adam’s Song” – Blink-182
Lyric Sample: “I never thought I’d die alone.”
Blink-182 wrote this track after reading a letter from a fan who was struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. It’s one of the most serious songs they’ve released and ends on a note of finding reasons to stay.
Related: “Adam’s Song” Lyrics Meaning
44. “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” – Christopher Cross
Lyric Sample: “If you get caught between the moon and New York City.”
Cross wrote this for the 1981 film Arthur. It’s about a man stuck between the life he has and the love he wants, and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
45. “Denis” – Blondie
Lyric Sample: “Denis, Denis, oh with your eyes so blue.”
Blondie covered this 1963 Randy and the Rainbows track (originally “Denise”) and flipped the gender, with Debbie Harry singing about a boy named Denis instead.
46. “Buddy Holly” – Weezer
Lyric Sample: “Ooh-wee-hoo, I look just like Buddy Holly.”
Weezer named this classic ’90s track after the rock and roll pioneer, but it’s really about shrugging off people who criticize your relationship.
Related: “Buddy Holly” Song Meaning
47. “A Boy Named Sue” – Johnny Cash
Lyric Sample: “My name is Sue! How do you do?”
“A Boy Named Sue” tells the humorous story of a boy named Sue who grows up to resent his father for giving him the name.
Related: Best Songs About Fathers
48. “Dear John” – Taylor Swift
Lyric Sample: “Dear John, I see it all now that you’re gone.”
Swift wrote “Dear John” as a message to someone who strung her along and took advantage of her youth. She doesn’t name him outright, but the song is widely believed to be about John Mayer.
49. “Sam’s Town” – The Killers
Lyric Sample: “I see London, I see Sam’s Town.”
The Killers named their 2006 album and this track after a casino in their hometown of Las Vegas. The song is about growing up in the American West and feeling both proud of and trapped by where you’re from.
50. “Floyd the Barber” – Nirvana
Lyric Sample: “Bell on door clangs, come on in.”
This early Nirvana track uses The Andy Griffith Show character Floyd the Barber as the centerpiece of a dark horror-comedy scenario.
51. “Daniel” – Elton John
Lyric Sample: “Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane.”
“Daniel” is a ballad told from the perspective of a younger brother watching a Vietnam veteran leave Texas for Spain, just trying to escape the hero treatment he never asked for.
Related: “Daniel” Song Meaning
52. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” – Billy Joel
Lyric Sample: “Anthony works in the grocery store.”
“Movin’ Out” is a song about working-class New Yorkers grinding away their whole lives for things that don’t end up mattering.
53. “You Can Call Me Al” – Paul Simon
Lyric Sample: “If you’d be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal.”
Simon wrote this 1980s hit after a party guest accidentally called him “Al” all night. He turned that awkward moment into a song about identity, middle age, and finding your place in the world.
Related: “You Can Call Me Al” Song Meaning
54. “David’s Last Summer” – Pulp
Lyric Sample: “We made our way slowly down the path that led to the stream.”
“David’s Last Summer” is a 1994 track about the last stretch of a summer, following a couple through lazy days and late nights until the season shifts and they both feel it ending.
55. “Johnny Come Home” – Fine Young Cannibals
Lyric Sample: “Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home?”
“Johnny Come Home” is a 1985 ska track about someone who’s left home and ended up lost in the city, broke and out of options, while the people who love him beg him to come back.
56. “Stan” – Eminem
Lyric Sample: “Dear Slim, I wrote you, but you still ain’t callin’.”
“Stan” tells the chilling story of a fan’s obsessive devotion to Eminem, blurring the lines between admiration and dangerous obsession. The name Stan has since entered the cultural vocabulary as a word for intense fandom.
Related: “Stan” Song Meaning
57. “Hurry Up Harry” – Sham 69
Lyric Sample: “Come on come on, hurry up Harry come on.”
Sham 69 kept it simple with this 1978 punk track: A group of mates tries to get Harry off his backside and down to the pub.
Conclusion
Songs with names in the title give songwriters a unique way to tell stories, from love songs and songs about friendship to tunes about heartbreak and mystery. The characters they bring to life offer a personal touch, making each track feel as if it’s meant just for the listener.
For more tracks with unique themes, be sure to check out Songs with Colors in the Title and our other curated lists!
