Dog Names That Start With L

Leif is one of the most recognizable <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/173/scandinavian-names">Scandinavian names</a>, thanks to Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson, and is still one of the best, with a pleasant aural association with the word leaf. 
 Leif Erikson, son of explorer Eric the Red, was the first European to land in North America--some five hundred years before Columbus. Centuries later, the name became associated in the U.S. with 1970s teen idol Leif Garrett, the name peaking on the charts at Number 654 in 1970, dropping off completely in 1987. It climbed back onto the Top 1000 in 2014.
 Pronounced LAYF or LIFE in its Scandinavian milieu, Leif and Lief are sometimes pronounced as Leaf in English-speaking countries. Joaquin Phoenix was for a time known as Leaf, in keeping with the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> of his siblings.

Leif

A rising surname, perhaps inspired by legendary Dallas Cowboys football coach Tom Landry, this name is historically associated with St. Landry, a 7th-century bishop of Paris and founder of the city's first hospital. Derived from the Germanic Landric, giving it a strong and distinctive meaning, it was used as a masculine choice in France during the latter half of the 20th-century, while in the US, it is a gender neutral option. 
 
Landry first entered the Top 1000 for girls in 2014, four years after it had started appearing for boys, though it had been used sparingly since the 80s. It dropped out of the charts in 2022, but a more recent year saw it become one of the fastest rising gender neutral choices of the year, re-entering the Top 1000 for both sexes. 
 . 
Given to 229 boys and 279 girls, parents may now be less concerned with it being confused with laundry — though in an age of Denim, Corduroy, Suede, and Linen, maybe that isn't such a big deal.

Landry

One of the boastful, ultra-modern word names soaring in popularity right now. Though it's a bit more popular for girls than boys -- the "cy" ending reads a little feminine -- it's solidly unisex, with over 100 baby boys being named Legacy in 2017. This is one of the many uplifting words that make <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/562/cool-unique-unisex-names">unique unisex names</a>.

Legacy

Love makes an endearing middle name, as in Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, more parents are considering Love as a first name — enough for it to enter the US charts for the first time in 2022 as one of the fastest-rising names of the year. 
 
Chosen for nearly 270 girls in a recent year — along with 21 boys — Love fits in with the likes of Dream, Blessing, Halo, Chosen, Dove, and Sunny. It was additionally used in the Marvel franchise, borne by the adoptive daughter of Thor; the release of the film Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022 coincided with the name entering the US stats for the first time. 
 
Used as a masculine name in Sweden, Love may also be said as LOO-veh if being viewed as a Swedish form of Louis,
 
Love Love but want something more subtle? Other love-related alternatives include Juliet, Mabel, Amore, and Carys.

Love

Loyal is one of the few <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/373/virtue-names">virtue names</a> suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.
 Loyal was a mid-list name at the end of the nineteenth century, reaching Number 555 in 1890. It has been on hiatus since 1948--and this might be the moment to bring it back as an unusual but usable choice with real meaning. Loyal probably originally signified devotion to country rather than person, but in either case, fidelity is a great attribute to impart to a child. And who knows?--maybe Loy could be the new Roy.

Loyal

Elvis naming his daughter Lisa Marie and Nat King Cole's hit song "Mona Lisa" conspired to catapult one of Elizabeth's many offshoots to a high of #4 in 1970. 

 It has largely fallen from favor in the English-speaking world since then, but still ranks highly in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. It has a sweet and simple charm that could be ripe for an early revival in the US too.

Lisa

St. Landry was a seventh century bishop of Paris, founder of the city's first hospital, though in the US, it may be better connected with legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, an association that makes this a sports hero name with a hint of ruggedness. Familiar in France between the 1970s and 2000s, it also featured at the latter end of the US Top 1000 during the 20210s.
 
Derived from the Germanic Landric, it has the bold meaning of "ruler of the land". Used as a masculine choice in France, in the US, 2025 saw it re-enter the Top 1000 as a gender neutral choice, given to 229 boys and 279 girls. It was a fast rising in general, meaning is has possibly been able to escape the concerns that it will be confused with laundry.

The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map, while actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013, and while it has remained in the charts, it has stayed towards the latter end.
 Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes, Langston being his mother's maiden name. The name itself derived from an Old English place name, that could be interpreted to mean "tall man's town", though "long stone" is an equally likely meaning.
 Some similar choices are Lanford, Landon, Langford and Langley, while Kingston and Landon are more familiar options.

Langston

This concise one-syllable name, has two possible derivations and two positive meanings associated with it. In Hebrew, it means "heart", while in Russian it means "lion". So strong and simple Lev has both a soft and a fierce side.

 Lev is very uncommon in the US, ranking below the Top 1000, but feels eminently wearable thanks to similar names like Levi and Zev. It's a popular choice in Russia and the Netherlands, ranking in or around the Top 100 in both nations.

 The leonine Lev is the Russian birth name of the great novelist Tolstoy, and the mother of Liev Schreiber has stated that she named him in honor of the writer. In the Chaim Potok novel My Name is Asher Lev, about a Hasidic Jewish boy in New York, Lev is the character's surname.

 Actress Candace Cameron has a son she named Lev.

Sweet Lorraine might just be old enough to be ripe for reconsideration. This French place name has moved in and out of fashion in the few hundred years it's been used as a girls' first name, somewhat influenced by the alternative name of Joan of Arc--Saint Joan of Lorraine. It was quite popular from the 1920s to the fifties, but has pretty much been in limbo since then. 
 Some memorable Lorraines are A Raisin in the Sun playwright Hansberry, actress Bracco and original SNL cast member Laraine Newman--the alternate spelling Laraine was popularized by forties star Laraine Day. Lorraine is also the name of Jack Nicholson's now grown daughter.
 In the movie Uptown Girls, Dakota Fanning's Lorraine character was nicknamed Ray--more modern sounding than Lorrie.

Lorraine

A variation of Landon, this form has a slightly softer look to it, but it is the less favored of the two. The name itself comes from a surname and a place name meaning "long hill", which likely refers to a ridge in the landscape. 
 
The Landen spelling entered the US Top 1000 back in the late '90s, nearly 40 years after Landon appeared in the charts for the first time. It peaked back in 2008, when it reached #199, but has since declined to the latter end of the rankings. Given to 302 boys in a recent year, for every one Landen, there are 12 boys named Landon. 
 
Landen recently came in Number 1 on a list of names of voters that tilt the most red. According to voter registration figures, over 80 percent of the voters named Landen vote Republican.

Landen

Straightforward single-syllable name, though children named Lyle may get tired of hearing "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile". Lyle was at the height of fashion in the 1920s, which makes him due for a comeback right about now. The double L certainly gives it a fashionable sound.

Lyle

Your friendly next-door neighbor...not your baby. Although Larry was once one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/l">boys' names starting with L</a>, that title now belongs to Liam.

Larry

Laramie was derived from the French word la ramée, meaning "leafy canopy." It was historically a French surname, but today it is a viable first name option for girls or boys. The balance is currently running at about seven girls for every boy named Laramie. The Wyoming city gives it more of a cowgirl Western than French vibe.

Laramie

Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names like Clementine and Marigold. In fact, 2024 saw it enter the US Top 1000 for the first time, when it was given to nearly 260 girls.

 The flower's name derives from Latin lividus "bluish", influenced by lavō "wash" due to use of lavender in washing clothes. It has long been used in traditional medicine and in cooking for its sweet fragrance and soothing properties. But it also has a long history as a name, going back to the eighteenth century, when it was also used for boys. 

 Famous fictional namesakes include Lavender Brown, a witch character in the Harry Potter saga, and the eponymous heroine's best friend in Roald Dahl's Matilda.

Lavender

This creative spelling variation of Landon is widely used but still lags far behind the original.

Landyn

Lucius is an old Roman clan name that has lots of religious and literary resonance, yet is still vital today. It was the name of three popes, appears in several Shakespeare plays, and, like all the names beginning with 'luc' relates to the Latin word for light.It was one of a limited number of forenames used in ancient Rome, and because of its meaning was often given to boys born at dawn.
 In the Bible, Lucius is the name of three people; Shakespeare used it for the son of Titus in Titus Andronicus, a young servant of Brutus in Julius Caesar, a lord in Timon of Athens and a Roman general in Cymbeline.
 Other fictional bearers of the name can be found in Le Morte d'Arthur, The Golden Ass, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Faulkner's The Reivers, Batman, Talladega Nights, and The Incredibles. Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco, is a Harry Potter villain, and other Luciuses have been portrayed on screen by Morgan Freeman, Joaquin Phoenix and Luke Wilson.
 Real-life namesakes include renowned World War II General Lucius B. Clay, and writer, photographer, and bon vivant Lucius Beebe.

Lucius

The French spelling of Lucy feels particularly light and shimmery.

Lucie

Lazarus is a name that looks as if it could possibly be raised from the dead, just like its biblical bearer. Look for it in the next wave of Old Testament revivals that transcend their long-bearded images, the way Noah, Moses, and Abraham have for this generation.
 In the Bible, there are two people named Lazarus, the better known being the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany whom Jesus raised from the dead. There have been also several saints named Lazarus.
 As a surname, Lazarus is most identified with poet Emma Lazarus, whose words are displayed on the Statue of Liberty.
 Related options are the original Hebrew Eleazar, the Italian and Spanish Lazaro, and the Yiddish form Lazer/Laser, the name of the son in the film The Kids are All Right.

Lazarus

Through all the years when Betty, Betsy, Beth, Liz, and Lizzie were the Elizabethan nicknames of choice, the bubblier Libby was set aside, but today it may be the most modern of all—it has already made a strong comeback in England and Wales, where it ranks Number 139.
 Libby Holman was a colorful torch singer in the 1920s and '30s, Libby Smith was a mysterious character on Lost, and Carly Simon wrote a song titled "Libby."

Libby

Female dog names that start with L currently in the Top 100 dog names include 

Luna, Lucy, Lily, Lola, Lulu, Lexi, Layla, Lady 

Dog names currently trending on Nameberry include 

. Unique female dog names that start with L include 

Male dog names that start with L in the Top 100 dog names include 

. Unique male dog names that start with L include 

male and female dog names that start with L (Page 6)