Animal Names for Girls

Anora is a phonetic respelling of Honora, a longer form of the virtue name Honor. It also might qualify as a trendy Fast Fashion name, a composition of euphonious syllables without any specific provenance.

Anora is the name of a film whose lead character of the same name is a Russian-American escort who gets entangled with an oligarch's son. Names play an important symbolic role in the film, with the character insisting on being called the more American Ani.

About 80 baby girls were named Anora in the US last year while another 50 were given the Annora spelling, not many enough to make the Top 1000 nor few enough to be truly rare, which may make it a sweet spot name for you.

Anora

The name of a popular Mexican singer and a telenovela character, Aranza incredibly rose out of obscurity to become Number 607 in the US in 2014.
 The name comes from Arantzazu, a shrine associated with the Virgin Mary in Basque Country, Spain. Legend has it that a shepherd discovered a statue of Mary in a hawthorn bush in 1468 and exclaimed, "Arantzan? Zu?"—"You? Among the thorns?" It's been a pilgrimage site ever since, and occasionally a given name, too.

Aranza

One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace.
 Dove was actually an early bird, used as a first name in the seventeenth century and in the U.S. Top 1000 through the 1890's.
 One admirable surname association is with Rita Dove, the Pulitzer Prize winning poet and former United States Poet Laureate.

Dove

Alyana is a feminine name with multiple potential origins, possibly developing as a variant of Aliana, Eliana, or as a combination of the popular prefix 'Al-' with the '-yana' suffix common in Slavic and Latin-derived names. This melodic name has gained modest popularity in recent decades across diverse cultures, appreciated for its flowing sound and elegant construction. Alyana carries a contemporary feel while maintaining connections to traditional naming elements. The name offers cross-cultural appeal, finding resonance in Hispanic, Filipino, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern communities. With its balanced structure of three syllables and harmonious vowel sounds, Alyana appeals to parents seeking a name that sounds distinctive yet accessible, modern yet timeless.

Alyana

This spikier form of the Turkish Aysel has a poetic meaning and a familiar sound. A rising star in the UK, it fits in with the popular Ayla. Ayzal may also be a variation of the Arabic Aizal, a name with a variety of meanings including "noble" and "gift of God". 

Ayzal

Constance is one of the more subtle of the virtue <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a>, but still has quite a prim and proper image. One impediment to its revival has been the decidedly dated nickname Connie, though modern parents might well opt for using the strong and dignified name in full.
 One of William the Conqueror's daughters was named Constance, and in Shakespeare's King John, Constance is the devoted mother of King Arthur. Constance was widely used in the seventeenth century by Puritans: Constance Hopkins was a young passenger on the Mayflower.
 The fictional Constance Billard School appears in TV's Gossip Girl, and Constance was the first name of the decidedly non-prim and proper Lady Chatterley.
 Oscar Wilde's wife was Constance, and Mozart's spouse was the German form Constanze, nicknamed Stanzi.
 Though Constance has been neglected here for a number of years, it's still ranks at Number 120 in France.
 Trivia tidbit: Constance was the birth name of 1940's peekaboo-hairdo star Veronica Lake and also, not surprisingly, Connie Britton.

Constance

A sleek, literary alternative to Eleanor, this stripped back form of Eleanor is a well-established spelling. It notably appears in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, borne by Elinor Dashwood, along with George Eliot's Middlemarch and Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind , as a middle name. 
 
Ultimately a form of the Occitan Alienòr, a name that means "the other Aenor", Aenor referring to a an early bearer's mother, Elinor was a popular choice in the US back in the 1910s and 20s, but fell out of favor in the 50s. A recent year saw it given to 140 babies, making it a familiar, though quietly used spelling option. 
 
On and off the UK charts since the 90s, Elinor could make a stand-out alternative to Eleanor, Ellie, and Ellen, or it could do visually at least. Sound-wise, they are often said identically to Eleanor, though Elinor might get you more emphasis on the final nor sound in England, at least.
 
Notable bearers include political economist Elinor Ostrom, Olympic cyclist, Elinor Barker. actress Elinor Lawless, and poet Elinor Wylie

Elinor

Aritzel

A rising choice for girls that fits in with tailored surnames such as Sloane, Greer, and Blair.

Clarke

A name with plenty of celebrity glamor and contemporary flair, Anniston has a variety of origins. On one hand, it's a place name, deriving from a city in Alabama of the same name. Founded in the late 19th century by Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, it was named in honor of the latter's daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler. 
 
Alternatively, it might be a an adaptation of the English surname Aniston, meaning "Anis' town", Anis being an old variant of Agnes. There's also the theory that is emerged as an Anglicized form of several Greek surnames beginning with Anastas-, the most famous example being the surname of F.R.I.E.N.D.S actress, Jenifer Aniston, whose grandfather changed the Greek Anastasakis to Aniston shortly after he entered the US. This would lend it the meaning "resurrection" or "resurrected town".
 
Actor couple Chyler Leigh and Nathan West added this one to the lexicon when they adapted the surname of the aforementioned actress as their daughter's first name. Anniston has made two brief appearances in the Top 1000 since 2010, and it likely that at least some of the parents were inspired by the sitcom star.
 
Given to around 160 girls in a recent year, the name could be a to great way to honor an Anne or an Agnes, and a way to avoid the popularity of similar Addison, Anna, and Adelyn.

Anniston

This variation of the English word "blessing" is on the rise, while the original Blessing actually fell in use in 2022. This may soon become a Journee/Journey type of situation, where the misspelled version becomes more popular than the original. The name Blessyn was given to 149 baby girls in 2022, and Blessing to 236.

Blessyn

First the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's 1822 novel The Pirate, then a glamorous 1940s debutante, then the troubled twin on Beverly Hills 90210, and now fading in favor of more modern Brenna, Briana, and Bryn. Much more likely to be worn by a mother or grandmother these days. The song "Brenda's Got a Baby" was late rap megastar Tupac's debut single.

Brenda

Names that sound and/or are spelled like Dalila exist in several languages, from the Swahili Dalili to the Arabic Dalil to the Hebrew Delilah. A beautiful cross-cultural choice.

Dalila

Eloisa captures a lovely name back from the spoiled little girl at the Plaza.  Historical romance writer Eloisa James has helped make this antique name sound fresh and sassy again.

Eloisa

An updated form of Emmeline or Emmaline or a compound name that makes your chosen pronunciation more obvious. Spelling variation Emmalyn reached the US Top 500 in2017, but has since fallen out of Top 1000. However, if you put the two spellings together, this smoosh name is given to nearly 400 girls, placing it above Emmeline or Emmaline. Influence Emmalynn Minassian and Canadian singer, Emmalyn Estrada are notable bearers. 

Emmalynn

Epithet of the goddess Lakshmi with a watery meaning.

Aarna

Cecily is as dainty as a lace handkerchief. Cecily has a wide assortment of namesakes. One Cecily was the mother of King Richard III, whose beauty gained her the title "the Rose of Raby," Cecily Parsley is a Beatrix Potter bunny, Cecily Cardew is a character in The Importance of Being Earnest, and the author of the Gossip Girl books is Cecily von Ziegesar.
 Sisters of Cecily that may also interest you: Cecilia, Cicely, and Celestia. Variant Cicely has a distinguished bearer in actress Cicely Tyson and was used by Sandra Bernhard for her now grown daughter..

Cecily

The sweet old-fashioned Adeline is one of the prime up-and-coming <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/339/vintage-baby-names">vintage baby names</a>; Addilynn is a phonetic spelling. 
The only dubious advantage Addilynn offers is that is clarifies pronunciation. But we say stick with the original.

Addilynn

Part Ava, part Evelyn, this name made its first appearance in the US Top 1000 in 2013 when it was one of the fastest-rising names of the year. Joining Gracelyn, Raelynn, and Emmalyn in the charts, Avalyn followed the same pattern of smooshing together a popular name with the suffix -lynn.
 
As a modern creation, Avalyn has several different origins and inspirations behind it. The most obvious it that it is a compound name, created from much-loved Ava and well-loved Lynn. Due to the various different meanings of both names, this means the name can have a variety of possible meanings, including "beautiful like a bird", "island on the lake", "beautiful life", or "bird on the lake".
 
Alternatively, Avalyn could be a variant of the Germanic name Aveline, meaning "desired", a twist on the French word for hazelnut, or a creative spelling of the legendary island of Avalon from Arthurian myth. 
 
While Ava and Evelyn have remained top choices, Avalyn has declined in popularity and as of 2024, it is half as popular when it peaked in 2017.

Avalyn

Delia is a somewhat neglected southern charmer that stands on its own but also might be short for Adelia or Cordelia. 
 Delia's name is based on that of the Greek island of Delos, which in Greek myth was the home of Apollo and Artemis and was an epithet of the moon goddess Artemis, and later taken up by the seventeenth century pastoral poets. 
 In Britain it has been associated with the cookbook writer and broadcaster Delia Smith; in the U.S. with novelist/screenwriter Delia Ephron, who often collaborated with her sister Nora. There have been characters named Delia on Everwood and Ghost Whisperer.