Animal Names for Girls

Belle has nothing but positive associations, from "belle of the ball" to "Southern belle" to the heroine of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As if this weren't enough good things, Belle is also one of the most familiar and usable <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/4/baby-names-that-mean-beautiful">names that mean beautiful</a>.
Though it has been overshadowed by the Twilight-influenced Bella and longer forms like Isabella and Annabella, Belle has its own Southern charm and would make a pretty choice as a first or middle name.
 Belle was a Top 100 name in the 1880s, but left the list in 1934. It returned to the US Top 1000 for the first time in 80 years in 2016, only to drop off again in 2021. Its most famous bearer was the legendary Western outlaw, Belle Starr (born Myra); Belle Watling is a character in Gone With the Wind. 
 
Read more about Belle and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Belle

Sleek and serious, yet bright and energetic at the same time, Cynthia appears in classic mythology as an epithet for Artemis or Diana. While it is now a more neglected choice, it was once hugely popular in the middle of the 20th-century, peaking at #7 in the US, and in the Top 20 by diminutive Cindy.
 
The more literal meaning of the name is "woman from Kynthos", though a figurative interpretation is "moon goddess" due to its link to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt, who was born on the mountain of Cynthus. Diana is her Roman equivalent. 
 
A favorite of Elizabethan poets, Cynthia was first used in the English-speaking world during the Renaissance period, but didn't become a common given name until the 19th-century. Some English writers used the name to denote Queen Elizabeth I as a virgin moon goddess, such as in Ben Jonson's allegorical comedy Cynthia's Revels.
 Cynthia also qualifies as a nature name: the two-flowered cynthia is a yellow wildflower in the aster family. 
 The name appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's final novel, Wives and Daughters, along with the film Cynthia, in which Elizabeth Taylor had one of her first grown up roles. There are also Cynthias in the popular show Call the Midwife and the game franchise, Pokemon.
 Notable namesakes include ballerina Cynthia Gregory, writer Cynthia Ozick, actress Cynthia Nixon, and designer Cynthia Rowley. Both Cyndi Lauper and Cindy Crawford were born Cynthia. A contemporary bearer is Cynthia Eviro, the actress and singer who plays Elphaba in the Wicked movies. 
 A more modern, Cindy-avoiding nickname is Thea, and an attractive Italian form is Cinzia (CHIN-zia).

Cynthia

Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos, meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl's name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne Brontë.
 
Agnes, though it was the third most common English girls' name for four hundred years, has long been stuck in the attic. But now it looks like Agnes was so far out it's just about ready to come back in. It did look cute on a little girl in Despicable Me, and nickname Aggie has lots of retro appeal. 
 Agnes has also been making inroads in the celebrisphere—first actress Elisabeth Shue chose Agnes for her third child, while Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany named their daughter Agnes Lark. More recently in 2025, actress Amber Heard named one of her twins Agnes.
 The French pronunciation—ahn-YEZ—could make it more attractive, but few Americans would comply. Other interesting variations: the Welsh Nesta, the Latin/Scandinavian Agneta, the Spanish Inez/Ines/Ynez, and the Scottish Senga—which happens to be Agnes spelled backwards.

Agnes

Artemis, one of the key figures of the female Greek pantheon, is the ancient virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, childbirth, and a protector of young girls, later associated with the moon. Artemis is the equivalent to the Roman Diana, but a fresher and more distinctive choice.
 Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo, one of the twelve deities who lived on Mount Olympus, and has, in more recent years, been associated with the Artemis Lunar program. As such, it may appeal to fans of both mythology and space exploration.
 
 The meaning of the name is largely unknown, but it's related to two Greek words meaning safe or butcher.
 Artemas, on the other hand, is a male name, though some gender confusion could arise from the Artemis Fowl novels, making Artemis one of those rarer feminine names that has also switched into a unisex choice (rather than the other way round). 
 
Appearing in the US charts (briefly) in the 2020s, it has been consistently in the England and Wales Top 1000 since 2018, given to around 40 girls a year. Nicknames Ari, Artie, Emmie, Issy, and Missy may further its appeal.

Artemis

The remarkable success of the girls' name Everly makes a revival of the name Beverly seem possible. More commonly a masculine name in the 19th century, it began to be used for girls in the early 1900s, reaching #14 ion the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names list</a> in 1937. Inspirations: Beverly Johnson was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of Vogue, Beverly Sills was a major American soprano, Beverly Cleary authored the beloved 'Ramona' books, and Beverly Goldberg is the beloved TV matriarch of 'The Goldbergs'.

Beverly

The musical word name Cadence, seemed to come out of nowhere to zoom up the charts; it rose over 700 spots between 2002 and 2004, and showed up in the Top 200 in 2007. It's gone down in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names</a> list since then, though. Some might see it as a feminine relative of the popular Caden. Kadence and Kaydence are also rising.
 An early Cadence sighting was in the 1992 Armistead Maupin novel Maybe the Moon, in which the narrator heroine was a small actress called Cadence Roth, nn Cady. January Jones played a Cadence in American Wedding.

Cadence

This name found in both Celtic and Scandinavian mythology has gone from all-boy to almost all-girl, retaining a strong, unisex quality. However, it has dropped following its three-decade heyday from the 1960s to the 1990s.
 Dana is the birth name of Queen Latifah.

Dana

Alexa was a steadily popular modern classic until Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa was released in 2013. It remains relatively well used in the US despite this, though its standing keeps dropping for obvious reasons. Too bad, because it's a strong and pretty name (which is probably why Amazon used it.)

Alexa

Although feminizations ending in "ette" are not particularly popular now, Bernadette is a pleasant, feminine, but strong name that doesn't feel prohibitively dated. And though strongly associated with the saint who saw visions of the Virgin Mary—Saint Bernadette of Lourdes—it is now no longer strictly inhabiting the Catholic diocese. 
 Bernadette was much more widely used at one time than it is now. The year after Saint Bernadette was canonized, her name reached Number 252, and not long after the successful film The Song of Bernadette was released, it hit Number 188 in 1946.
 Bernadette Peters is a contemporary bearer, and Minnie Driver's breakthrough film role was as Bernadette "Benny" Hogan in Circle of Friends.

Bernadette

Elliot is another traditional <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy name used for girls"</a>, a trend led by political commentator George Stephanopoulos and his actress wife Ali Wentworth. 
 Variously spelled Eliot, Elliot, Elliott and Elliotte (used by Marla Sokoloff), its star is definitely on the rise for girls. Bonus for girls is cute and feminine nickname, Elle. And many parents, of course, choose Elliot to get to the trendy short form Ellie or even Ella. At this point, Elliot has become one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/unisex-names/e">unisex names starting with E</a>.
 Dr. Elliot Reid was a female character on Scrubs.

Elliot

A common choice in Greece, Eleni is starting to rise in the US too thanks to its bouncy rhythm and cool -i ending. Also familiar in England and Wales, Eleni was chosen for 255 girls in the US in 2024, placing it just outside the Top 1000.
 
While English speakers may lean towards the nicknames Ellie, Elle, and Leni, Greek nicknames include Elenitsa, Elenaki, Lena, and Lenio.
 
Notable bears of the name include singer Eleni Foureira, tennis player Eleni Daniilido, and composer Eleni Karaindrou.

Eleni

This diminutive, similar to Alex or Alexis, has been yo-yoing in popularity since the turn of the 21st century.

Alexia

Eimy is an alternative spelling of the French name Amy and is used in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently popular in Chile, Eimy was also given to 124 babies in the US in 2023, having nearly doubled in use since 2021. 
 
It can also be used as an alternative spelling for the Japanese name Eimi, which can mean "eternity + beauty", though there are many other interpretations.

Eimy

The Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Daphne.

Dafne

Araya is one of those names that seems to have a different derivation and meaning on every website. The one we consider most reliable is that it's a variation of the very popular Arya, which means noble, taken from the Thai araya and the Sanskrit arya. 
 
Other derivations you may come across include Araya as: a Basque and Catalonian place name; a Japanese surname meaning "wide or new valley"; an Ethiopian or Eritrean boy name meaning "leader by example"; and a variation of Raya meaning "queen", "beloved", or "celebration".

Araya

Dua is one of those names that has been popularized in English speaking countries by a single celebrity: British-Albanian model-singer Dua Lipa. It's simple, modern, appealing, and may find a wider audience thanks to its attractive namesake. 
 
In Islam, du'a is a prayer in which Muslims ask for help or assistance from God and must be given with sincerity, patience, and good intentions. In Albanian, it translates to "I want" or "I love", and in Malay, Dua means "two". Well established before its celebrity appeal, Dua makes a meaningful choice. 
 
Currently in the Top 100 in Switzerland and the Top 200 in the UK, Dua is also on the rise in the US. Since Dua Lipa's music first made it onto the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2016, the name has quadrupled in popularity and was given to 170 baby girls in 2024.

An medieval English form of Helen, the sensitive but clear-eyed Ellen has swung in and out of style for centuries, often alternating with the parent name. Ellen was the more common in medieval England, until after the Renaissance, when Helen overtook her. In Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, set at the end of the nineteenth century, one character wonders why another has not changed her "ugly" given name to something prettier, like Elaine—a statement few would make today.
 Ellen has been the name of two First Ladies—Arthur and Wilson—and is Scarlett O'Hara's mother in Gone with the Wind. These days, it's most strongly associated in the US with comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Ellen

Dania is a fun, offbeat name with international flair that would be a wonderful choice to honor a Danielle, Daniel, or a Dana. It is both an Italian diminutive of Daniela and a spelling variation of the Arabic Daniya.
 
While Dania has cracked the US Top 1000 nine times between 1996 and 2024, its presence there is usually only brief. Given to around 220 girls in a recent year, it is a familiar yet rare choice.

Dania

One of the original unisex Irish surname names, energetic Casey bounced onto the scene in the 1960s, then peaked in the 1980s for both boys and girls. Today Casey is having a resurgence for both girls and boys and re-entered the charts on the girls' side, likely due to the character Kayce Dutton (pronounced like Casey) on the hit show Yellowstone.
 "Casey at the Bat" is an 1888 poem by Ernest Thayer.

Casey

Chiara is a lovely and romantic Italian name that's familiar but not widely used here: a real winner. You might consider Chiara instead of Claire, Clara, Cara, or even Keira.
 Santa Chiara, Aglicized as St. Clare, was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.
 Two members of European cinema royalty, Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni, named their now grown daughter Chiara.
 Chiara currently ranks in the Top 100 in Switzerland, Germany and Italy.