White Dog Names

This presidential name is in style limbo today - or, some might say, in the the sweet spot of familiar but little-used.

An unusual Gwyn name with a lovely meaning, this compound name pairs Gwyn with the name Eira, meaning "snow". A relatively modern creation, it remains very rare.

Finola, the readily accessible version of some of the more problematic Gaelic versions of the name, would make a welcome addition to the stockpot of Irish girls' names.

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

You can call your daughter Sugar, but only as a term of endearment. Her real name has to be something, almost anything, else.

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

The meaning of this sweet Japanese name varies depending on the combination of kanji used, but the first element mi means "beautiful".

Popular in India and among Indo-Americans, this name of the hero of a famous Hindu epic has an extremely pleasing sound.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

Olaf, though sainted and regal in Norway, is slightly oafish here. It is one of those names that has become completely familiar in the U.S. without ever becoming assimilated. Now that he's a comical character in Disney's Frozen, he might get some more attention.

Rym is one of those simple-yet-uncommon names that's extremely rare in the US , where no baby girls were given the name last year. But it certainly can travel anywhere.

Lumen is a Latin word meaning "light", and the term used for the measurement of light output (making it an attractive choice for science-buffs).

Relaxed western place-name that still has some masculine punch, but be warned: this whole posse of similarly trendy names, like Sierra and Dakota, will soon ride toward the sunset.

Whitman, a namesake surname for poet Walt, would be much more suited to a boy, probably because of that "man" part. Whit or Witt makes an uplifting short form which can be used on its own.

The name of a French city famous for its fine lace. Another association: Chantilly cream – a sweetened whipped cream apparently invented there in the 17th century by a chef at the Château de Chantilly. The town probably takes is name from the Gallo-Roman personal name Cantilius, derived from a word for "white".

With word names, almost anything goes. But maybe not Ghost, unless you're naming a white dog.

Western place-name that feels equally appropriate for both genders. Note: Natives say rhyme that second syllable with had, so it's not nehv-AH-da.

Nimbus is a word from nature for a type of cloud that has occasionally -- very occasionally -- been used for a human. But it's evocative and upbeat and certainly makes an intriguing and stylish nature name.

Gwenora teeters on the line between unique gem and modern invention. But it's not a smoosh name fashioned from Gwen and Nora but an old Cornish form of Guinevere, like its much more famous sister Jennifer.

More colorful than Blanche, but blanker than Bianca.