Pet Names · Dog Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 370 pages
of 370
Latin
"light"
Lito is an onomatopoeia of a name: a name that sounds like what it means. A modern bearer is Lito Sheppard, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback. Lito might also be a short form of such names as Carlito…
English and Scottish surname
"dear friend's place"
When Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves chose the old English surname and place name Livingston for their third child, they elevated it from half of a Stanley & Livingston joke to a modern…
Short form of Alonso or Alonzo, Spanish or Italian
"noble and ready"
The Spanish Alonso and the Italian Alonzo are both widely used in the US, so you may meet more guys named Lonny than you expect.
Place-name
While this African place-name is much more popular for boys, nearly 40 girls were named Zaire last year. Among African baby names , this is one of the best-known in the US.
Hebrew
"light, brilliance"
A Top 100 name in Israel, where it is overwhelmingly feminine. Zohar is currently used equally between girls and boys in the US but is rising far more quickly for boys.
Literary name or variation of Zoe, Greek
"life"
Readers who remember J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey have probably forgotten that the character was male (nee Zachary). Nowadays the somewhat loopy spin on Zoe is associated with actress Zooey…
English word name
"chaos, disorder"
You're really asking for it with this one.
Scottish surname
"son of Artan"
This highly recognizable surname means "son of Artan," an Irish derivative of the name Art. It's most closely tied to Beatle Paul McCartney — we'd be willing to bet that some of the parents who give…
Japanese
"beautiful love"
Despite being etymologically unrelated, Aimi has a similar meaning to the name Amy, "beloved."
English word name or Japanese
"air; love"
Aire is a poetic spelling of the word "air", once widely used in Middle English. Today, it's a brand new baby name, introduced to wider audiences when Kylie Jenner revealed it as the new name of her…
Short form of Domingo
Mingo is a cute nickname of the Spanish version of Dominic. It's not to be confused with Mungo, the name of the patron saint of Glasgow.
Greek, first letter of the alphabet
The first letter of the Greek alphabet ande the brightest star in every constellation, this would make an interesting choice for a first daughter, though it does give off some spectral sci-fi…
African
"free man"
Though this is traditionally a male name, it can work for a girl in our culture. Might also be considered a short form of the Italian Amadea.
Combination name, Ama + issa
"little lover"
Amarissa is kind of cobbled together from two traditional elements: Ama, which means "love" or "lover" and is found in such more established names as Amabel and Amariah, and -issa, which is a common…
Amé is a delicate feminine name with French origins, featuring an accent that indicates the specific pronunciation (ah-MAY). Without the accent, Ame derives from Latin 'amare' meaning 'to love,'…
"born in the summer"
Used for summer-born babies in Japan.
Maori
"angel"
This feminine name — simply "angel" imported into Māori phonology — is fresher than Angela and less Hollywood than Angelina.
"my candle"
Gender-neutral choice ideal for a child born during Hanukkah.
Spanish from Greek
"victory"
Closer to Nike than to Nicholas, this is an attractive, viable import. It's also one of several Italian and Spanish baby names that get you to the stylish and attractive nickname Nico.
Word name
An ubercool and mysterious name, brought to you by director M. Night Shyamalan.
