Pet Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 17 pages
of 17
Biblical place name from Akkadian or Babylonian
"house of fish"
An ancient city in Assyria, where Jonah was sent to spread the word of God.
English word name
"shine brightly"
Over-the-top glitzy. Sparkle debuted in 1976 and peaked in 1979 when it was given to 124 baby girls. Since then, it has only been given to a small handful of girls most years in the US. Pretty…
Japanese
"harbor wave"
Tsunami is a Japanese word, derived from the elements tsu meaning "harbor," and nami , "wave." It was first used as a name in 2004 and 2005, then left the charts and reemerged in 2020. At the very…
"whimsical or fanciful"
Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers'…
Short form of Bardolph or Aboriginal
"water"
Bardo has a poetic beginning and upbeat ending, with roots in several diverse cultures. It may be most familiar today via George Saunders' novel Lincoln in the Bardo , which refers to the Tibetan…
French occupational name
"fisherman"
How to spruce up Fisher or Beau? This French surname-name might be an option for a parent unafraid of the unusual. The name derives from Barbel, a type of fish, which is how it became a surname for…
Word name
"string instrument"
When Australian actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention, but noted Australian poet and writer of Waltzing Matilda , Banjo…
Word name, English from Spanish and Portuguese
"banana"
Banana is one fruity name we wouldn't recommend. Pick Plum instead. There is a Japanese novelist whose pen name is Banana Yoshimoto--birth name Mahoko.
Portuguese
"bay"
This possible word name, which rhymes with Maia, makes an even more distinctive alternative.
"sweetfish"
Cherokee
"fish"
Traditional Cherokee choice that would make a one-of-a-kind baby name today.
Irish mythological name
Lir is the Irish god of the sea, the equivalent of the Welsh Llyr which some equate with Shakespeare's King Lear. This is one of those rare names that is simple and has a deep history with an…
"swimmer"
One-of-a-kind water-related choice.
"true, reality, hope"
Popular name in Japan in its own right, but also as a nickname for Miyako or Makiko. It appears in the visual novel Danganrompa , borne by the character Maki Harukawa. Succinct and simple, it can…
Occupational name
With the rise of such working names as Gardener, Miller, and Bailey, someone out there might want to dub their child a Wizard — though we're not sure this exactly classifies as an occupation.
Fruit name
Mango might be cute as a short form of a related name like Manuel, or for a pet name. But we're not feeling it as a full baby name for a child of any gender.
"undulating"
Short for Waverly or a fresh twist on Navy, Wavy is a quirky and interesting new word name option.
French, English
"fashionable, stylish, of the moment"
Synonymous with style, Vogue is the name of a global fashion magazine and a word referring to something popular and on trend. Derived from Old French, it originally meant "wave" or "course of…
German
If you're German and you love to fish -- then maybe.
Swahili from Arabic, Hindi, Sanskrit
"coral; cleansing, purification"
A name with the kind of pan-cultural feel that's in vogue now... and forever, it is both a Swahili name meaning "coral", ultimately from the Arabic marjan , and a Hindi name, meaning "purification".…
