Pet Names · Dog Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 14 pages
of 14
German, diminutive of Alfonso
All anyone will think of is the Fonz.
Scottish
"seal folk"
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…
Diminutive of Francisco
"free man"
Frisco is a frisky, roguish semi-place-name (San Francisco natives never call it that) that could make a lively, unusual o-ending choice. Frisco is the kind of nickname name sometimes used for cowboy…
Literary name
An admirable meaning, with roots in a Germanic word meaning wisdom, but we fear it will never be detached from the hobbit hero of The Lord of the Rings .
Chia is a feminine name with diverse cultural origins. In Italian, it's a diminutive of Lucia, meaning "light." In Chinese, depending on the character used, it can mean "good" or "beautiful." The…
Irish
"rough peace"
Occasionally used in the African-American community to honor Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, known as "Emperor of the Kingdom of Africa," though his first name is more frequently chosen. Another…
"son of the beige one"
Although Maguire is such a prominent Irish surname —it ranks in the Top 40 in the Emerald Isle —this lively and cheerful family name has rarely been used as a first, unlike more familiar…
Diminutive of Mae
Maeby sprang into the modern consciousness via the cult TV favorite Arrested Development , in which the appealing teen character Maeby's name is a nickname for Mae. It's also a homonym for Maybe,…
Word name, English from Tupi
"pepper"
Spicy.
English word name
"waterfall"
A nature name evocative of rushing waterfalls and flowing water, with a plausible, name-y sound thanks to it similarity to Cassie, Cassidy, and Cade.
Italian
"mulberry tree"
An international nature name, Gelso was originally given to those who grew mulberry trees or lived near a place where they grew. More conventionally used as an Italian surname, Gelso has very…
Japanese
"great (or eldest) son"
An energetic Japanese name that would make for an on-trend choice in the English-speaking world. Especially appropriate for a first-born son.
Modern invented name
Gidget was the surfer girl who started it all. She was the subject of six novels by Frederick Kohner, and the 1959 film in which she made her theatrical debut, starring Sandra Dee, helped make…
Slavic
"from Thessaly"
Tesla, the surname of Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla that has more recently been used as the brand name for an electric car, is gaining some use as a first name for girls . Exactly 100 girls were…
"from Greece"
A name with a lot of panache, with ties to the great Spanish Mannerist painter El Greco--though his real name was DOMENICOS.
Greek mythological name, meaning unknown
Thisbe, the name of a beautiful but tragic lover in mythology, is lively and cute -- in a slightly thistly, prickly way. Ovid retold the story of Thisbe and Pyramus, young lovers in ancient Babylon…
Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene
"of Tibur (Tivoli)"
Commonly heard in Hungary and some Slavic countries, Tibor has a large measure of continental dash. The name derives from the Roman town of Tibur, now called Tivoli. It is a Top 100 pick for baby…
Invented nickname
Tippi is best known as the nickname of actress Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchcock's "The Birds" and "Marnie." Hedren's real name was Nathalie Kay; her father dubbed her Tippi. Although the name will…
Place name, surname, and literary name
Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work. A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a…
Hitchcock is an extremely rare masculine given name derived from an English surname. The surname itself has Anglo-Saxon origins, combining the Old English personal name 'Hicce' with 'cock' (meaning…
