Pet Names · Dog Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 370 pages
of 370
English
"a bunch of flowers"
Posey is fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is only starting to be heard here. A possible alternative to Rosy or short form for Josephine. Posey…
Invented name
Tuff, a corruption of "tough," has been given to approximately 50 baby boys each year for the past few years. Tough, on the other hand, has never charted as a baby name.
Greek
"entangler"
Sounds like Serena, but refers to the mythological sirens -- half woman, half bird -- who virtually sang men to death. Not a great role model for your little girl.
English from Latin
"of the sun"
An English innovation based on Latin solaris "of the sun", or on its English cognate "solar". Toyota used it for one of its cars, and Mila Kunis played a character by the name in the 2010…
word name; Turkish
"hero"
This name has two possible derivations - in Turkish it means hero, in English it is used as a reference to mountains. Either offer a soaring option for a little boy.
Word name
One of the new crop of boys' names that manage to be unconventional and macho at the same time — though Blade verges on the threatening.
Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color…
Short form of Alison or Alice or Arabic
"supreme, exalted"
One of the sweet simple unisex names balanced enough to stand on its own. Ali can either be used as a shortening of Al- beginning names. For example, comedian Ali Wong is an Alexandra. Ali is also an…
Russian from Greek Demetrius
Worldly, artistic and attractive Slavic version of the name of the Greek god of fertility and farming.
Italian and Spanish variation of Faust
"fortunate one"
While Faust, who sold his soul to the devil, was anything but fortunate, this Latinate variation is more commonly heard and accepted.
Scottish
"son of"
Any number of Fitz names -- Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, Fitzroy, Fitzwilliam -- have been used as Christian names, in fact Fitzwilliam was the given name of the dashing Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice…
Literary surname and shortened form of Augustine, Latin
"great, magnificent"
While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.
Italian and Spanish variation of Celeste
"heavenly"
We are hearing more of such heavenly names as Celeste and Celia, which opens the door to the range of lovely variations rarely heard before. Celestina is one of them, though given the more accessible…
Irish surname
"proud"
One of the cool new surname-names for girls, likely influenced by the stardom of Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy).
Diminutive of several names
Baby names that started off as diminutives -- Ena, Ita, Etta -- seem too insubstantial for a modern female.
French
"man from Lucania"
Luc is the sleeker Gallic cousin of Luke, and if you want to know the difference between their pronunciations, just watch Kevin Kline's hilarious description in the film French Kiss. Peter Gabriel…
English literary name and place name, Cherokee
"alone; black fox"
Enola has a lot of potential as a name: it includes the stylish 'nola' sound; it follows a similar letter pattern to the likes of Elora, Elara, and Elodie; it has a hint of Nevaeh about it, given…
"blackbird"
Originally a nickname for someone who loved to sing or whistle, Merle is sleek but gentle, with a hint of great grandpa about it..
Hebrew, English, Irish
"strength, powerful, courageous; god's warrior; deer friend"
While some may think of ruby slippers and a yellow brick road, Oz is a legitimate Hebrew name denoting power. An element in a number of names including Ozni, Oziel, and Ozias, it may also be used as…
Latin
"favorable, prosperous"
In France, pronounced PRO-spare, Prosper is a fairly common name; here it presents a worthy aspirational message for a child. Prosper was the name of several early saints, including a noted fifth…
