Pet Names · Dog Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 18 pages
of 18
Scottish place-name
An undiscovered place-name with an appealing o-sound ending.
English literary name
"kite"
Poetic and easy to pronounce (it's keets), this is one of many poets' names to consider, such as Auden, Eliot, Frost, Byron, Lorca, Marlowe, Blake, Emerson and Tennyson. Likely meaning "kite", in…
Breton literary name
Kerouac could make for a meaningful possible modern literary inspiration, via On the Road author Jack. The writer's baptism certificate read Jean Louis Kirouac, though he later claimed his full name…
Irish literary name, variation of Casey
Kesey is a possible literary hero name honoring Merry Prankster Ken Kesey, whose characters flew over the cuckoo's nest. Kesey rhymes with easy.
Place-name
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn was born on the Greek Island of Lefkada, the origin of the name he used as a first. But as a writer, he was known as Koizumi Yakumo, a collector of Japanese folk tales and…
Scottish
"lord of the land"
Laird is a Scottish title for the landed gentry – it ranks just below a Baron – with a pleasantly distinctive Scottish burr that must have appealed to Sharon Stone, who chose it for her son. Laird…
Sanskrit
"playful, charming"
Lolita without the naughty implications.
French surname
Pronounced GHEED, this surname of Nobel Prizewinning novelist Andre could make a smooth, sleek middle name choice.
Occupational name
"servant in charge of a larder"
The surname of humorist Ring is a new entry in the trendy occupational class -- but watch the lard.
Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris…
French
"young lion"
Lionel is yet another traditional boy's name entering the girls' column--at least once-- via prizewinning novelist Lionel (born Margaret Ann) Shriver.
Latin, diminutive of Frances
"from France or free man"
If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.
English, variation of Foster
"scissors maker"
Forster, a variation of Foster or potentially even Forester, is associated with British novelist E.M. Forster, author of A Passage to India , Howard's End , and A Room with a View . But if you choose…
Hebrew
"daughter of an oath"
Popular with the Puritans, this name of the shrewd and beautiful wife of King David and mother of King Solomon could be a bit of a load for a modern girl to carry. Bathsheba is the name of the…
English
"grower or seller of barley"
A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.
An archipelago near the center of the Mediterranean, the name derives from the Greek word for honey. Malta has been heard as a girl’s name in the past and was used as a character name by both Dickens…
Fruit name
Fig was the unlikely name of a beautiful character in Curtis Sittenfeld's Man of My Dreams . It could make a playful middle name or a sparky nickname for the likes of Philippa, Fiona, Felicity, and…
German
"brave friend"
One "bald" name we can get behind, thanks to pioneering African-American author James Baldwin – though the name is now also associated with the Baldwin brothers, particularly Alec.
"grace"
Ayn is a nonconformist name associated with controversial Russian-born writer and philosopher Ayn Rand, (born Alisa) author of The Fountainhead , who adopted it when she moved to the US in 1926.
"son of Ewan"
Shows some promise via its connection to the growing interest in Ewan.
