Badass Girl Dog Names

The dynamic personality and paintings of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo have inspired growing numbers of parents to resurrect this form of the name. It does much better in certain European countries, especially in Denmark and Norway. The Frieda and Freida spellings were more popular in the US until the middle of the 20th century.

This endearing nickname name is one Katherine pet form that predates all the Kathys and Katies, having been fairly common in the eighteenth century. With the current mini-craze for animal-related names, Kitty is sounding cute and cuddly again—she's already jumped back onto the U.K. list, at number 199.

Echo, the pretty, resonant name of a legendary nymph, was the heroine of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Dollhouse. Nick Hexum, of the band 311, named his daughter Echo Love.

Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

A sassy, spunky name for the bold parent who doesn't remember Mrs. Ed Norton on The Honeymooners or who's into the nicknames-as-given-names trend sweeping the UK and returning to the US.

Hermione's costarring role in Harry Potter has made this previously ignored, once stodgy name suddenly viable. Hermione could really take off once today's children start having kids of their own.

Indie is an independent-sounding nickname name that is in the Top 100 in Wales. As a diminutive, it's growing in popularity -- along with indie films, indie publishing -- and the reason some parents are choosing names like India and Indigo. The Indie version seems more feminine, while Indy as in Indiana Jones tends toward the boyish.

Fresher, brisker and, yes, cooler than Summer or Autumn or Spring, Winter is now a full-fledged female choice, especially since Nicole Richie and Joel Madden used it for daughter Harlow's middle name, and Gretchen Mol picked it as her daughter's first, as did media mogul Sean Parker. Winter continues to be the preferred spelling and has risen in popularity significantly over the past few years.

Clarissa, the daintier version of Claire, has a long literary history of its own, having been featured in the novels of Samuel Richardson, Charles Dickens, and Virginia Woolf—Clarissa was the title character of Mrs. Dalloway—not to mention the 1990s teen sitcom, Clarissa Explains it All.

In English, the word 'maven' refers to an expert or connoisseur, someone who possesses deep knowledge. Comedian Tracy Morgan brought this name into the spotlight when he chose it for his daughter, Maven Sonae, in 2013. Now, over 100 newborn girls in the US are given this name each year.

Soraya is a Persian name made famous in the Western world by the one-time empress of Iran, who settled in Europe, primarily in France. Soraya is derived from Thurayya, the Arabic name of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus.

Khaleesi is an invented name introduced to the world by inventive and prolific author George R. R. Martin for his wildly popular Game of Thrones series—it's Dothraki for "queen" and is one of the titles of the character Daenerys. It entered the US Top 1000 in 2014.

Magdalena is a pretty name forever associated with the fallen-yet-redeemed Mary Magdalen; often heard in the Hispanic community. But forward thinking parents are reviving Magdalena along with Magdalene and the unrelated but similar-sounding Marguerite.

Indian actress Sameera Reddy chose this name for her daughter in 2019, sending it sharply up the charts. It is connected to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom, music, speech, art, and learning.

A spunky boyish diminutive in the vein of Frankie, Billie and Charlie, but far less popular in the US. Georgie could be a nickname for Georgia, Georgette, Georgina or Georgiana – or just use it as it is, as over 90 sets of American parents did in 2021.

A soft and interesting Hebrew name long popular in France, where it has ranked in the Top 400 since 1986 (as Salomé). Ex-ER star Alex Kingston named her daughter Salome Violetta.

A starry-eyed, intergalactic name, far rarer than Stella or Esther. It's attached both to a comic book character and to Princess Astra on "Doctor Who".

Eulalia is a melodious name with a southern drawl, thanks to those lilting double Ls.

With its relation to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and to the Olympic games, this name has an athletic, goddess-like aura, making it the perfect Olivia substitute.

Sapphira is a lovely name which unfortunately has an unsavory Biblical history. The New Testament Sapphira was killed by God for lying about a tax payment.