Pet Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 25 pages
of 25
She may have been an appealing Chinese heroine in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but her name won't translate for a modern American girl. Better choices: Snow, or Flora.
Literary name
Snow definitely works as a name; White, not so much. And Snow White, please don't. Read more about Snow White and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.
English word name
Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column. Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys,…
Snowdrop is a delicate nature-inspired feminine name derived from the early-blooming white flower that often emerges while snow still covers the ground. This botanical name symbolizes hope, purity,…
"snowy"
Snowy has only ever appeared on the charts twice: in 2013, when it was given to 6 baby girls, and in 2016, when it was used for five. With recent celeb choices such as Stormi and Thunder, could Snowy…
English surname
"a village on the edge of a valley"
There were various villages called Edgecombe (and Edgcumbe and Eggcumbe) in Old England, particularly in present-day Cornwall and Devon. Local families adopted it as a surname — habitational surnames…
Diminutive of Robert
Bobo was the name of one of the most famous clowns in American circus history, who performed from the 1920s until the 1970s. But that's not the only reason this makes a less-than-optimal nickname.
Flower name from English
"blue bell"
Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous — some might say outlandish —…
Diminutive of Laura, Charlotte, Dolores, Ololade, or similar
Lolly is a sweet and playful nickname, usually used for Laura or Charlotte, though other full names could be Dolores, Ololade, Lauren, Lorelei, Lorena, Elodie, Ottilie, Louella, Elora, Elowen, Olive…
French and English botanical name
"sweetbriar"
This name for the sweetbriar shrub is a bit too reminiscent of eggplant, but it does have literary creds, having appeared in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales . The French form Églantine appeared in the…
Diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
The archetypal diminutive, in every sense of the word. Bitsy enjoyed some use as a nickname in the era when children were named after family members and then called by a cute pet name: Chip, Skip,…
Fruit name
Another entry in the fruit name category, this one borne by writer Strawberry Saroyan, granddaughter of William, so named by her hippie parents. While fruit names may become more familiar, they'll…
Word name
You can call your daughter Sugar, but it's probably best to keep it as a term of endearment. For sweet names, you try Dulcie, Honey, Mitsu, Amai, Sherine, Melita, Eulalia, or Melina, but Sugar does…
Hebrew
"eggs"
Biblical family with 323 children. That's a lot of eggs.
Elfie is a charming feminine name with Germanic and Scandinavian roots. It originated as a diminutive form of names containing the element 'alf' or 'elf', which in Germanic mythology referred not to…
Diminutive of Lillian and Lily, flower name
"lily"
Spunky old vaudeville era nickname name suddenly sounds new again.
Femeninization of Ernest, English from German
"serious, resolute"
One time joke name, à la Lily Tomlin's bossy telephone operator, Ernestine is ready for a possible reevaluation, like cousins Josephine and Clementine.
Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl.
Kiwi is an uncommon feminine name derived from the flightless bird native to New Zealand, which also lends its name to the kiwifruit. The term comes from the Māori language, where it is an…
Welsh
"beloved friend"
A diminutive of the (male) name Dafydd, the Welsh form of David. In the US, it's strongly associated with the candy.
