Pet Names · Dog Names
By Brynn McKeon · Updated September 2026
Across 12 pages
of 12
Hindi
"first ray of sun"
A fiery Indian name used enough in the US to make it onto the Top 1000 list in 2010 and 2015.
English, Latin
"sun, solar"
A modern name based on the Latin for "sun" ( sol ) and the French Soleil, Soleia could even be considered a mix of Sol and Leia, giving it the meaning "sun wearied". Bright and pretty in sound, it…
German, Dutch, Hebrew, "tenant, farmer, leader; great; bringer of light, shining"
"tenant, farmer, leader; great; bringer of light, shining"
Old-fashioned but right on trend with the likes of Miller, Baker, Sawyer, and Major, Meyer has been borne by gangsters, businessman, sculptors, composers, and writers alike. A versatile choice in…
Variation of Laney, English
"bright, shining light"
A modern spelling of a vintage nickname.
English, Spanish, and Portuguese variation of Lucia
"light"
Lucinda, an elaboration of Lucia created by Cervantes for his 1605 novel Don Quixote , is a pleasingly pretty alternative to Lucy. It was subsequently used by Moliere in his play The Doctor in Spite…
Hebrew, Norwegian variation of Elina
"oak tree; bright, shining light"
Eila is a Hebrew name heard in Israel. The name also has roots in Finland and Norway, where it's derived from Elina, a variation of Helen, or from Aila, a form of Helga. Eila could gain attention as…
Latin
"dawn; gold"
Oriana is a dashing medieval name, with a meaning similar to Aurora. At this point, though, Oriana is much more unusual than Aurora and makes a unique choice if you're searching for names that mean…
German, Russian, Polish, Scandinavian variation of Clara
German, Slavic and Scandinavian form of Clara, which is a Top 100 girl name in multiple European countries, including Austria, Croatia, Iceland and Poland. While Clara is fashionable in the US, the…
Literary name, possibly inspired by Turkish or Irish
"moon, light or desired"
This character name from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas has an ancient appeal, even though it seems to be a modern coinage. It may have been inspired by similar sounding names, like the…
Japanese
"light; vermilion"
Akari is a gender-neutral Japanese name used fairly evenly between the sexes in the US. There are several well-known female singers and actors named Akira in Japan, and Akira Watanabe is a popular…
German surname or Hebrew
"landlord, farmer; bringer of light"
More common -- when it was common -- with the Meyer spelling.
Hebrew
"I have a light"
Lior is a unisex name frequently heard in Israel, capturing the popular light theme through its meaning. For English speakers, the one down side is possible pronunciation confusion with "liar,"…
"my light"
Friendly but substantial.
Swahili; Arabic
"work of art; shining light"
Simple-yet-unusual name with a creative meaning. Actress Sanaa Lathan promoted it, and it was on the U.S. popularity list from 2003 to 2011. Shaquille O'Neal used it as the middle name of his…
Greek, Germanic
"behold the sun; work, labor"
A pretty, if unusual choice for a summer baby, particularly a girl with an ancestor named Ida. An epithet of the goddess Aphrodite, Idalia is derived from the Greek place name Idalion. It may also be…
English word name
"dawn, sunrise"
Associated with the first light of the day, and more figuratively with new beginnings and fresh starts, Dawn's heyday came in the 1960s and 70s in the US, Canada and the UK. It had been in the charts…
Greek
"sun"
The name of the young Greek sun god, brother to the moon goddess Selene and the dawn goddess Eos, Helios is depicted as riding across the sky each day in a chariot pulled by four horses. A…
Diminutive of Cyrus, Persian
This evocative short name is suddenly chic — it was recently chosen by Jennifer Lawrence for her baby boy. JLaw's son's name honors Cy Twombly, the influential mid-century American artist. Born Edwin…
"ram's horn, ray of light"
Israeli-born singer Keren Ann introduced this traditional Hebrew name to the US, where it could well be mistaken for Karen. Nevertheless, 100 girls were given the name in a recent year.
Persian or Greek
"sun or throne, or lord"
Cyra is an unusual name that can be pronounced either SEER-a or SI-ra, rhyming with Keira or Tyra. This name may be a feminine variation of Cyrus but is also a Persian name that stands on its own.…
