Pet Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 25 pages
of 25
English word name
"an edible seed, typically kidney-shaped"
Bean is a unisex word name with a cute and quirky feel. Early reader series Ivy and Bean features a young girl named Bean, short for Bernice Blue. It has appeal as a casual nickname or middle name,…
Word name
"string instrument"
When Australian actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention, but noted Australian poet and writer of Waltzing Matilda , Banjo…
German
"war"
An ancient German saint's name – and most famously the name of Harry Potter's snowy owl – but the combination of "head" plus "wig" feels a little too literal in English.
Word name, English from Spanish and Portuguese
"banana"
Banana is one fruity name we wouldn't recommend. Pick Plum instead. There is a Japanese novelist whose pen name is Banana Yoshimoto--birth name Mahoko.
Henrika is a feminine name of Germanic origin, essentially serving as the feminine form of Henrik or Henry. These names derive from 'Heimrich,' composed of the elements 'heim' meaning 'home' and…
Italian
"little girl"
Better saved for a doll.
Scandinavian
"holy, blessed"
A traditional Nordic name, Helga was extremely popular throughout Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Germany, it was a Top 10 pick from 1924 to 1943. And it still ranks in the…
French, feminine form of Henri
Henriette is to Henri (or Henry) what Charlotte is to Charles. Yet this elegant French name is surprisingly rare in the States.
Japanese
"good girl; ocean child"
There are many in Japan, but for most Americans there's only one Yoko. Yoko Ono writes her name with characters meaning "ocean" and "child".
Word name or diminutive of Barbara
You can call your baby "babe," but don't name her that.
French from German
"estate ruler"
Despite its long history as a male name, Henry is a name that could be adopted for a baby girl — the French spelling makes it a bit more feminine.
Dutch and Norwegian feminine form of Hendrik
"home ruler"
Sweet and cosy but perfectly substantial too, Hennie derives from the sturdy Hendrik and acts as both a stand-alone feminine form, and as a diminutive of Hendrika or Henriette. Occasionally spelled…
Hen is a feminine name with multiple cultural origins. In Hebrew, it means "grace" or "charm," conveying beauty and elegance. It's also found as a diminutive form of Henrietta or similar names in…
Variation of Chiquita, Spanish
"little one"
This is an obscure spelling of the banana brand name.
Henka is a feminine name with multiple cultural origins. In Polish contexts, it can function as a diminutive form of Henryka, the feminine version of Henry, meaning 'ruler of the household.' In…
Old High German
"dawn"
In Germanic mythology, Ostara is the goddess of springtime, fertility, and dawn. Her existence as a mythological figure was pieced together by scholar Jacob Grimm, who used evidence such as the…
"little honey"
This operatic Italian name -- it appears in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" -- is a more unusual route to the nickname Pam/Pammy.
Invented name
Nabisco has never revealed the origins of their sandwich cookie brand name, but the prevailing theory is that it was derived from Oreodaphne , a genus in the laurel family.
Variation of Orpah, Hebrew
"fawn or gazelle"
The misspelling that created an indelibly one-person name. And we mean that literally: Despite Oprah Winfrey's fame and appeal, there were no baby girls named Oprah last year, OR Orpah. The Biblical…
English fruit name
Unlike the other fruit names that are just coming onto the baby name menu, Peaches is an old-timey nickname previously reserved for spangled showgirls, and now would be considered an outrageous --…
