Animal Names for Babies

This traditional Cherokee name could easily be borne by a modern baby girl with connections to the tribe.

The given name of Conocotocko II, or Standing Turkey, a Cherokee chief in the 18th century. He advised the tribe to go to war against the then-colonies of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Drover, an ancient occupational surname, is right in step with today's styles and would make a distinctive choice. Drover and brothers are fresh updates of such now-widely-used names as Carter and Cooper.

For the parent who might also have Buck and Ryder on his list.

When considering the playground years, might be too close to gory.

The name of a breed of Spanish sheep is hardly worthy of a child.

Love the name wren but need something not quite so trendy? Consider Jedda. Jedda is derived from the word 'djida' meaning "wren" in the language of the Noongar people of Western Australia. Jedda was also the name of the eponymous heroine of the film "Jedda", which was one of the first Australian films to be shot in color and was the first to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival (it was nominated for the Palme d'Or). The perfect name for nature enthusiasts and film buffs alike.

Gopal is an alternative form of Gopala, meaning "cow protector", making it a significant name within Hinduism in which cows are considered sacred. It was also the name of the 8th century founder and ruler of the Pala Empire in Bengal and of a medieval Indian mathematician.

This Latinate form of Bernard hovered in the lower regions of the US Top 1000 from the late 1940s until 2006, possibly inspired by the character in West Side Story. It remains popular in Portugal and it does have a little more flair than the grandpa style Bernard.

A cute-sounding name from Iceland with an equally cute animal meaning: "bliki" is the Icelandic word for "drake", a male duck.

Rhythmic and powerful, if you don't mind the nickname Vern.

Panda, welcome to the baby name menagerie! Panda is an adorable animal name (after an adorable animal) that is sure to be both very rare and very cute. In Skins there was a character called Panda, which was short for Pandora. The name Panda comes from the Nepali word ponya meaning "bamboo eater".

A modern version of the dated Betty. You might want to consider varying Elizabeth, too, to the Italian Elisabetta.

Roar! This popular name in the Arab world was once almost unused by English speakers, but is now given to a few boys in the States each year. It can also be spelled Fahad and Fahed.

The name of a small songbird, similar to a Lark – but far less commonly used as a name. Could give you the adorable nickname Pip.

This striking mini-name comes with a fierce animal edge — vuk is the Serbian word for "wolf".

A spelling variant of Herschel, a gentle Yiddish name with a sweet animal meaning.

Konan is a spelling twist on the more familiar Irish Conan, given to a few dozen baby boys in the US last year. In the Irish language, there is no letter K but Irish names such as Ciaran and Caitlin are often "Anglicized" with K spellings as in Kieran and Katelyn, so Konan is not a stretch.

Kimana, the name of a resort in the foothills of Mountain Kilimanjaro in Kenya, would make an unexpected path to the nickname Kim.

High-collared and straightlaced, with the deadly "Ox" nickname.