Pet Names · Dog Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 18 pages
of 18
Literary name
The mixed-race heroine of one of Gertrude Stein's Three Lives searches for knowledge and power.
Dutch from Hebrew
"city of the king; king of light"
The least used of the Three Wise Men's names, but a strong option for bold namers to consider. The exact origins of Melchior are unknown, but it is speculated that it derived from either the Hebrew…
A Finnish tribe and language
If you've heard this name, it's probably from the hero of the acclaimed Julia Glass novel, Three Junes , or else the political scientist Richard Fenno. As well as a Finnish name, it's alos a Frisian…
Word and occupational name
"writer"
An occupation name with a preppy, scholarly air, Author could fit in alongside Arthur and August or Chosen and Booker, in terms of sound and style. Author saw more usage that you might think in the…
English literary name
Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.
German surname
"oyster"
Fans of writer Paul Auster might consider this a worthy alternative to the trendy Austin.
Scottish, variation of Menzies
"tenants of a manor"
Supermodel Helena Christensen named her son in honor of jazz great Charles Mingus, opening up a whole category of jazzy possibilities: Kenton, Calloway, Ellington, Gillespie, Mulligan, Tatum, and…
Scottish
"mouth of the river Ro"
Takes Monroe out of the Dead Presidents category and gives it new life.
Greek
"daffodil"
This Greek flower and mythological choice doesn't make it into the pantheon of possibilities because of its association with narcissism. But narcissa is December's flower of the month, so Narcissa…
Literary name and Scandinavian
"daring"
Nenna is the name of the heroine of Penelope Fitzgerald's novel Offshore , but it's also sparingly used in Scandinavia as a variant of the name Nanna. Nanna is a diminutive of various names,…
Literary name, Czech
"bad-tempered"
Evocative of the great Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, real last name Basoalito, who took on the surname Neruda to honor a Czech poet of that name. One of the most poetic and arty boy names…
Italian and Spanish diminutive of Nina
"little girl"
Might be carrying things too far -- little little girl? -- though could freshen up this favorite.
French
"northerner"
A British surname that was used only for males until Mrs. Norman Mailer, Norris Church (born Barbara), came under the public eye.
Irish surname
To modernize and add some oomph to the dated CASEY, add an O'-and also honor the great Irish playwright Sean.
Word name
Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl.
"gold"
Orleanna was the young heroine of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible , whose name may share the same golden meaning as New Orleans, or be a twist on Orlena and Arlena.
Is it a real name....or no?
Latin feminine variation of Faunus
"to befriend"
Faunia is more often rendered as Fauna, who was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing. Faunia was the downtrodden yet loving heroine of Philip Roth's Human Stain . Faunia and Fauna have…
English flower name from French
"thought"
Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.
Name of the winning young heroine of Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye .
