You can use a hash and populate it based on a list with map:

my %names = map { $_ => '' } qw(foo bar baz);

print "$names{$_}\n" for keys %names;

# access individually

print "$names{foo}\n";
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You can also use an array, but it'll only work if your variables are truly in a numbered order. Note that an array starts at zero and not one though. If your vars aren't literally ordered, use a hash instead.

my @names = ('') x 6;

# the following is wrong, pointed out in the reply by mr_ron
# my @names = '' x 6;

print "$_\n" for @names;

# access individually

print "$names[2]\n"; # prints 3rd element
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