Pet Names · Dog Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 370 pages
of 370
Latin
"female warrior"
J.K. Rowling is a modern master of naming who brought a whole constellation of ancient and celestial names to modern parents. Bellatrix, of one of the stars of Orion, combines fashionable names Bella…
Diminutive of Robert, English
"bright fame"
This classic Robert nickname is starting to sound sweet again, along with ultra-retro Bobby.
Color name
Blue suddenly came into the spotlight, as the unusual color name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy. Blue is also a starbaby middle name du jour, used for both sexes in…
English variation of Brasilia, Portuguese place name
"land of brazilwood; ember-colored land"
Place-name with character.
French, diminutive of Elizabeth or Lise
"pledged to God"
Lisette, also spelled Lizette, is a dainty,, if somewhat dated, Gallic offshoot of Elizabeth. It reached its U.S. peak of popularity in 1999, then fell off the list in 2001. Lisette Model (born…
Diminutive of Wilhelmina, German
"resolute protection; love"
One of those pan-European nickname names much more familiar in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe than in the US, though related name Mina is making a comeback here. Light and bright, it could be an…
Irish
"little king"
As Ryan quickly becomes a plausible option for a girl, some parents may be interested in the spelling Rian — the more authentic and original form of the name.
"castle, stone fort"
Cashel is one of the many appealing Irish names that have not yet emigrated to the US. Cashel was chosen by actor Daniel Day-Lewis and his writer-director wife Rebecca Miller for their son. In…
English word name
"secret"
Runes are symbols in ancient Germanic alphabets. They are often viewed as mysterious and therefore as a name, Rune imparts a feeling of folkloric mystery. As intriguing as that might be, the homonym…
Greek
"shining; wood; beaver"
If you can put aside the oil connection, Castor is a mythological option, borne by one of the (half) twins that make up the constellation Gemini, the other being Pollux. A son of Leda and a king of…
Teutonic, French, early form of Ludwig or Louis
An aromatic, unconventional name.
Diminutive of Cordell
"maker or seller of rope or cord"
This is the kind of strong one-syllable boy's name many parents are seeking these days. The more musical Chord was introduced by hot young actor Chord Overstreet.
French diminutive of Susannah, Hebrew
"lily"
Suzette has a kind of clunky retro charm – so kitsch it's almost cool again.
English, Literary, meaning unknown
Though modern parents seeking to honor an ancestor named Thelma might opt for the airier Thea instead, Thelma is starting to make its way back onto adventurous vintage name lovers' radars. It is…
Native American
"where the mountain meets the sea"
Used for a free-spirited character on a 1990s sitcom, this name of a beautiful Southern California canyon does have an unconventional aura.
"little female bear"
A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing , by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence…
Arabic
"fortunate, prosperous"
Popular girls' name in Syria. In Yiddish, pronounced ZAE-dah, this is a term for grandfather.
"west wind"
Zephyrus was the Greek god of the west wind, and all names associated with him have a pleasantly gentle, breezy feel. With its cool Z initial and similarity in sound to Stephie and Serafina, Zephyr…
Feminization of Zlatan
"gold"
English surname
"person living near town gates"
Reality TV star Raven Gates gave her on-trend s-ending surname to her son, named Gates Zev. Gates joins an impressive lineup of celebrity babies with similar names, including Hillary Duff's Banks and…
