Girl Dog Names That Start With M

A top ten choice in Chile and a popular name throughout the Spanish-speaking world, Maite is a mighty-sounding name with a soft and sweet meaning.
It is also found as a contracted form of María Teresa or María Esther.

Maite

Yes, it's pronounced with a long o sound at the end, just like Margo and Margot.  This spelling was popularized by supermodel, actress, and tragic Hemingway granddaughter Margaux, whose name spelling came courtesy of a bottle of French wine.  (The original spelling of her name was Margot; she changed it when she heard her parents were drinking a bottle of Chateau Margaux the night she was conceived.)

Margo itself is a diminutive of Margaret, which means "pearl" or, in its French version, "daisy."  Margaret or Marguerite would be more stylish variations now.

Margaux

Oh dear! We can see where you were going with connecting this name to the classic "Leah," but it just doesn't work. We recommend sticking with the classic Malia. 

Maleah

May is a sweet old-fashioned name that hasn't been on the national charts in several decades, but is definitely sounding fresh and springlike. Parents are beginning to see it once more as one of the prettiest middle name options. May was as high on the list as Number 57 in the 1880s; it's now 228 on Nameberry.
 May started as one of the innumerable pet forms of Mary and Margaret, as well as a springtime month name along with April and June. She's represented in literature by May Bartram in Henry James's The Beast in the Jungle and May Welland in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. 
 Actresses Emily Morton and Madeline Stowe named their daughters May, and Eric Clapton and Jodie Sweetin used it in middle place for theirs.

A combination of vintage Mae with popular suffix -lynn, Maelyn feels reminiscent of glamorous Marilyn and contemporary Raelynn. 

In use since at least the 80s, Maelyn practically doubled in popularity 2019 after singer Maelyn Jarmon won that year's season of The Voice. Given to around 180 babies in 2023, when you combine this with the 215 girls with the alternative -lynn spelling the same year, that makes for nearly 400 Maelyns.

Maelyn

Both Madisyn and Madison have lost ground in recent years.

Madisyn

A feminine form of Martin, this strong and zestful sounding name is popular in Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Italy, where it ranks in the Top 30. Also familiar in Czechia, the UK, Slovakia, and Switzerland, it has never made it big in the US, and fell out of the charts back in the 2000s. 
 
Ultimately associated with Mars, the Roman god of war and with the 3rd century patron saint of Rome, it has also been borne by two notable tennis players, Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis.

Martina

Mercedes is one of the few names attached to luxury living that we can wholeheartedly recommend, it being a legitimate Spanish appellation stemming from one of the epithets given to the Virgin Mary--Santa Maria de las Mercedes, or Our Lady of the Mercies. The car, by the way was named after the eleven-year-old daughter of the Daimler company's French distributor in 1901.
 Always well used in the Spanish-speaking community, Mercedes had a sudden spurt of overall popularity in the 1990's, moving as high as Number 164 in 1991.
 Mercedes has been widely used in a variety of art forms--from the opera Carmen to Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo to the film Pan's Labyrinth to the TV show Glee.

Mercedes

Made most familiar by Miah Persson, a famous Swedish opera singer.

Miah

Tied to the bluesy southern city and to the world heritage cite in Egypt after which it was named, Memphis is a modern choice with ancient history. Currently significantly more popular for boys in the US, as a place name with sounds reminiscent of Paris, Meredith and Emma, it has plenty of potential as a unisex choice. 
 
Musician-activist Bono chose the name for his daughter back in the 90s, but it failed to catch on, with even his daughter going by her middle name, Eve. It wasn't until 2006 when the name entered the Top 1000 for boys that it began to take off for girls and it has been mostly on the rise since then.
 
Given to around 200 girls in 2023, it is still three times more popular for boys - however, this gap is slowly getting narrower.

Memphis

Although Malak can be used for both sexes, it's much more widely-used for girls in the US and throughout Europe, where it ranks on several popularity lists. More than 100 baby girls were named Malak in the US last year.

Malak

Even in the Hispanic community, very religious and old-fashioned.

Milagros

In English, the word 'maven' refers to an expert or connoisseur, someone who possesses deep knowledge. Comedian Tracy Morgan brought this name into the spotlight when he chose it for his daughter, Maven Sonae, in 2013. Now, over 100 newborn girls in the US are given this name each year.
 
With its similarity to the classic Irish name Maeve and the trendy, serene Haven, Maven strikes a balance between being unique yet familiar, making it a modern favorite for parents seeking something distinctive yet approachable.

Maven

Mari enjoyed some mid-century popularity as a nicknameish version of Mary, but now deserves a second look as a multicultural classic. Popular in Norway and Armenia as a variation of Marie, it is also the name of a Basque goddess and an Estonian word name.
 
As a Welsh, Breton, Swedish, Norwegian, Finish, Portuguese, Spanish, Georgian, and Armenian choice, Mari ultimately comes from the Hebrew Miriam, via Mary, Maria, Marie, or Mariam, giving it the possible meanings "drop of the sea", "bitter" and "beloved". The pronunciation of the name would vary depending on where it is used, with MA-ree used in Welsh and Spanish, mah-REE used in Swedish, MAH-ree in Finnish, and MAW-ree in Hungarian and Norwegian. 
 
From its Basque roots, Mari has mythological ties, appearing in Basque legend as a goddess of nature, fertility, and the weather. She is said to live on the slopes of Mount Anboto and cares for both the environment and for justice. In this case, the name comes either emari or amari meaning "gift" and "mother" respectively. MA-ree is the pronunciation here. 
 
The name also has its roots in Japanese, though the meaning shifts depending on what Kanji combination is used. Possibilities include "truth", "genuine logic", "real village", "long distance", and "hemp, white jasmine". MA-REE is the pronunciation in this case.
 
Additionally, Mari may also be used in Korea as a name meaning "mountaintop" or "good, greatest", while in Estonia, it is both a Mary/Marianne variant, and a word name meaning "berry"! 
 
Finally, it is also a male saint's name, borne by Mari of Edessa, venerated by the Assyrian Church. His name may relate to Mary or to the Latin Maris meaning "sea".

Mari

Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman. It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer.
 
The name was inspired by the Hebrew term Mazzikin, which refers to sinister invisible spirits one encounters in daily life, in Jewish mythology.

Mazikeen

Mika is a sparky and stylish Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. Also used as a Slovene and Hebrew diminutive for Mihaela and Michaela, as an alternative spelling to the Biblical Micah, and as a Greek diminutive of Dimitra (via Mimika), it is a truly multi-cultural choice.
 
Also used as a masculine name, usually as a short form for Michael and its variations, Mika is a Top 100 choice in Israel for girls, while in the US, it is a unisex choice, given to 157 girls in a recent year, along with 49 boys. In Japan, it was a particular favorite back in the 70s and 80s.
 
Notable bearers include actress and singer Mika Nakashima, television host Mika Brzezinski, singer Mika Arisaka, and social media star Mika Salamanca.

Mika

This modern name gathers some steam from the wildly popular Isabel. The meaning of Mary is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

Maribel

Pretty feminissima name that never became as overused as cousin Melissa. The more streamlined Maris is a more modern sounding option. Namesakes include Marissa Mayer, the former CEO of Yahoo!.

 The meaning of Maria is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

Marissa

Maylin is following in the footsteps of Maelynn and Maelyn — two modern invented Mae and Lynn compounds that are on the rise.
 
Maylin could also be considered an Anglicized spelling variation of Mei-Lin, a Chinese name meaning "beautiful jade."

Maylin

Is it pronounced MEE-ah or MY-ah? Only the bearer knows for sure, which is one of the central problems with this hybrid name.
 Miya is also a Japanese name that comes from the word meaning "palace" or "temple."
Miya Tachibana is a Japanese Olympic swimmer.