Pet Names · Dog Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 370 pages
of 370
Yiddish
"white; bashful"
Also written as Bayla, Baila is reminiscent of the Spanish word for "dance". Its meaning is debated: it may come from the Slavic root word for "white", or it may be a form of Bilhah, one of the four…
English Surname
"meadow with coarse grass"
We can't account for the popularity of this name, for either a boy or a girl, given the first syllable, the tacky connotations with a luxury car, and the range of other options which are more…
Hebrew
"God will hear"
Ishmael is most familiar through "Call me Ishmael," the opening line spoken by the youthful narrator of Moby-Dick . Few American parents have followed that advice, though the Spanish and Arabic…
Variation of Judson
The surname name Jetson may have originated as a variation on Judson, a patronymic related to Jordan, but it is more familiar to most Americans as the last name of the futuristic cartoon family.…
Diminutive of Montgomery, Norman, Spanish
"man power; mountain"
Monte, pronounced with two syllables as brother Monty, is an old-fashioned nickname-name that's reclaiming a certain amount of dash and charm. It was recently chosen by actor Guy Pearce--which may…
Spanish
"bold wolf"
Romanticizes Rudolph and distances the name from the red-nosed reindeer. After remaining steadily in the US Top 500 for much of the twentieth century, Rodolfo has been slipping of late.
Word name
"royalty; father, senior"
Historically, Sire was a formal term for addressing male royalty, particularly a king. Sire can also mean "father" or "senior" as both a noun and a verb. Now, like Prince, Sir, Messiah, and Saint,…
Short form of Luzia or Terézia, Hungarian, Portuguese
"light; harvest"
A short and zippy name that would blend right in with but also stand out among a group of girls named Mia, Gia, Lia and Tia. It is a multicultural choice, used in Hungary as a short from of Terézia,…
English from German
"ruler, strong as an eagle"
Strange as it may now seem, the venerable St. Arnold was a Greek by birth, a musician who became a member of the court of Charlemagne. The name is said to have been introduced into Britain by the…
Greek
"bearer of the heavens"
While Atlas is a decidedly male god and this name is in the US Top 300 for boys, it is used for an increasingly significant number of baby girls in the US. And undeniably, it's a name that imparts…
Scottish form of Gaelic Eoghan
"born of the yew tree"
This appealing name has a good chance of catching on due to the popularity of Ewan McGregor, and the trend towards Gaelic names in general. Pronunciation is YOO-un. Ewan has a complex family tree,…
Latin
"truth"
If you love Puritan virtue names and want to move beyond Hope and Faith and Grace, this is a wonderful choice, both for its meaning and its sound. A rare find here, though occasionally heard in…
Variation of Lake, English
Not quite a nature name and not quite a surname — whatever Laken is or isn't, we know it's definitely a name to watch.
English occupational name
"blacksmith"
Even if it is the Number one surname in the U.S.--with more than 2.5 million bearers--we still think that Smith would make a cool first or middle name, whether or not it has family history. Though…
Basque
"Among the thorns"
The name of a popular Mexican singer and a telenovela character, Aranza incredibly rose out of obscurity to become Number 607 in the US in 2014. The name comes from Arantzazu, a shrine associated…
"blind"
Once a powerful Roman clan name, Cecil has lost much of its potency over the years, though it retains a strong presence in the sports and jazz worlds. Past bearers include film giant Cecil B.…
Nature name
"dove, a bird"
One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace. Dove was actually…
Irish
"fair"
Finnian is a fair jig of a name, energetic and easy on the ear. Finnian (and brother Finian) is also familiar in its alternate spelling through the classic 1968 Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow ,…
Diminutive of June
A cute nickname, but June is a much better bet for the birth certificate.
Spanish and Italian
"moorish"
Mauro, a Top 100 name in Spain and Puerto Rico, is etymologically unrelated to the girls' name Maura, but that won't stop many English speakers from drawing the comparison.
