Girl Dog Names That Start With S

Unusual choice that was the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor, but is an interesting elaboration of Star, taking it into avian territory.

A rare unisex word/virtue name that is currently given to around 10 babies of each gender per year in the US. It could make for an unexpected route to bright, easygoing nickname Sol (or trendy nickname Ace).

A simple and pretty multicultural name: as a Japanese name, it's unisex and means "sky"; as a Korean name, it's feminine and means "conch shell".

Siena is a soft and delicate Tuscan town name given a big fashion boost by lovely young actress/gossip column staple Sienna Miller. A real up-and-comer.

Sharp but sweet, ancient but with a contemporary sound, Sarai has been rising steadily up the US charts since the 90s and now sits comfortably in the Top 1000. In the Old Testament, God changed Sarai's name to Sara, so this would make a clever and legitimate honor name for an ancestral Sarah.

Savanna has lost ground in recent years. It remains eclipsed by its more traditionally spelled cousin Savannah.

Sidra is an uncommon name shared by a gulf off the coast of Libya. Popular in the Jewish community of North Africa, its Hebrew meaning refers to a weekly reading portion of the Torah. In Arabic, it's the name of a tree, which is an Islamic symbol of the upper limit of heaven.

Shirley Temple almost single-handedly lifted the gloom of the Great Depression, and in tribute (and perhaps wishing for a similarly curly-headed, dimpled darling of their own), thousands of parents of that generation gave their little girls her name. In 1935, Shirley was the second most popular girls' name in the country with more than 42,000 babies named Shirley.

A popular Irish name virtually unknown here, but one that feels like it could follow in the footsteps of Siobhan and Saoirse. It's pronounced SOR-ka, but with a little hiccup between the 'r' and the 'c' that's difficult for non-Gaelic speakers to reproduce. Spelled (and pronounced) Sorsha, she is a major character in the movie Willow.

Selma has recently been given a more youthful spin via actresses Selma Blair and Salma Hayek. But while Selma has not yet become popular again in the US, it is widely used in both Sweden and Norway.

Apt name for a little drama queen with a long future ahead of her. Saga is a Top 30 girls' name in Sweden.

Suzanne became popular along with Susan but has just dropped out of the Top 1,000. Wait a generation (or two) in the US, though in France Suzanne is once again tres chic.

2012's Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday. While in recent years it's been associated with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as a baby name Sandra is sinking beneath the waves.

The origins of Senara, the name of a Cornish saint who is patron of the village of Zennor, are not so straightforward. Some say she was the same person as Azenor, a legendary Breton princess whose mother-in-law cast her out to sea in a trunk. Other stories say she was a mermaid turned Christian.

Satine, the name of the Nicole Kidman character in Moulin Rouge,, is, by definition satiny smooth. Jacinda Barrett named her daughter Satine Anais.

Nickname name in the era of Grease. Sandy fits well in the era of boyish nicknames for girls - a la Scottie and Stevie - or as an alternative to the rapidly rising Goldie. While it peaked in 1960, Sandy is still given to about 60 baby girls each year.

Supermodel Christie Brinkley launched an entire name genre when she picked this breezy occupational name for her daughter in 1998, and it has become more prevalent in recent decades. The Saylor version, which you might consider a spelling spin or a surname-name, is now among the Top 500 names for girls, given to three times as many baby girls as the Sailor spelling. Counted together, Saylor and Sailor were used for about 1000 baby girls in one recent year in the US, versus about 100 boys.

If you live in a state where marijuana is legal (or maybe even if you don't), you might know that Sativa is one of the major strains of weed.

Sheila peaked in popularity from the 1930s to the 1960s (she reached Number 49 in 1965), along with Maureen and Colleen; parents today would probably go back to the original Cecilia or forward to Shea.

A mystical name with a watery feel to it, selkies are mythical creatures that resemble seals in the water but assume human form on land. Appearing in Scottish folklore, their name comes from the word selch meaning "gray seal".