There was a scene in an episode of this season’s Girls in which a guy asks Lena Dunham‘s character her name, and she commands him to guess.

“Uh….Daisy?” he says.

“Daisy?!? I WISH my name was Daisy!” replies the much-less-fancifully-named Hannah.

Which made us think, as many things do, of Nameberry and our Question of the Week.

What do you wish your name was?

It may not be your favorite name, the one you’d choose for a child.  But for whatever reason — and I hope you’ll tell us what that reason is — the name conveys how you’d like to be seen, who you wish others thought you were.

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Animal names are hot these days: We mean flat-out animal names such as Bear, Fox, and Wren used for children.

But there is also a – well, can we say herd? pack? – of names that are much more subtle about their animal connections.

These names have animal meanings but you’d only know that if you read a name dictionary.  Discovering their secret animal connection is likely to prove delightful for a child given one of these attractive names.

While the list of names with animal meanings is longer than this – here’s a full list of animal names for boys and one of animal names for girls – we’ve picked some of our favorites.

Arthur – bear

This classic Celtic name has, after hitting a low in 2010, turned upward and may be heading back to the Top 20 status it enjoyed a century ago.  Cited as a possibility for the upcoming royal baby, Arthur is a kingly choice with the bonus creative nickname Art.

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Our tally of the 100 most popular girls’ names of 2012 on Nameberry is in, and we have a new Number 1: Katniss.

The predominance of Katniss is more a testament to the power of the Hunger Games franchise than to baby name trends.

Our Number 2 girls’ name Charlotte, which has been Nameberry’s most popular girls’ name every year until now, is more reflective of a name that will actually be chosen by parents.  Imogen, which has moved up from Number 6 to claim the Number 3 spot, is another choice we see on the rise in the real world, though it has yet to break into the U.S. Top 1000.

Katniss is also the girls’ name that has risen the furthest on our list, followed by Penelope, propelled upward by its choice as a Kardashian baby name.

The girls’ names that have risen the most places since our 2011 count are:

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Names and class is a touchy issue, particularly for Americans.  In the U.S., we like to pretend that class doesn’t exist, much less get signaled by factors like names.

In Britain, the class standing of names may be more widely acknowledged, yet everywhere the question of which names are classy and which are trashy changes over time.

Take Harry, the name of one of the young princes of England.  A royal connection definitely gives a name class.  Yet for years in the U.S., Harry has been one of the ultimate working man names, its image more pauper than prince.

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