Pet Names
By Grace Royal · Updated October 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
English word name
Dora's monkey best friend, an old favorite for pet cats, and a UK drugstore, Boots has nevertheless appeared in the US stats a handful of times in the early 20th-century,, possibly given as a nod to…
Flower name, from English
"fox's glove"
A rare flower name that works as well for boys as it does for girls, so named because of its resemblance to a small glove.
Nature name
"blackberry shrub"
Related to blackberry plants and more colloquially to any thorny shrub, Bramble has history as an English surname. Cozy in sound but spiky in feel, it could even get you nickname Bram.
Thatch is a masculine name derived from the Middle English occupational surname for someone who thatched roofs with straw or reeds. It represents one of the oldest building crafts, giving the name a…
English
"fashionably old-fashioned"
A term associated with bygone fashions and styles, differing from vintage in that it's usually related to the more recent past — think 70s and 80s. As a word name, its got those cool, jaunty sounds…
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 --…
"flash of lightning"
Bolt is more popular for dogs (a la the 2008 Disney movie of the same name) but debuted on the American charts as a boy name in the 2020s. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt may well have inspired some…
"patch"
A nickname occasionally given as a name in its own right. It doesn't have to be short for anything — comic physician Patch Adams's real first name is Hunter — but it could be a fun short form of…
English, word name
As the former stage name of TLC founder Perri Reid and the name of the youngest member of the animated Flintstones clan, it's got some pop culture cache. But it'll be too cutesy by half for most…
Scottish
"seal folk"
A mystical name with a watery feel to it, selkies are mythical creatures that resemble seals in the water but assume human form on land. Appearing in Scottish folklore, their name comes from the word…
English word name, French
"vigour, spirit"
A cool and energetic word name, Verve is a rare, unisex option. Borrowed from French, it means "spirit, vigour, vivacity", placing it alongside other spirited-but-chivalrous-leaning options like…
"fort"
A powerful word and surname, conjuring up ideas of royalty, drawbridges, and knights, Castle is currently on the up for boys in the US, though it's yet to enter the charts for girls. With recent…
English word name, color name
"brownish or tawny color with streaks of other colors"
The term brindle is often used to describe animal fur coloring — the brindle variety is brown or tawny with contrasting streaks. Some American parents have also embraced it as a baby name, perhaps as…
"broom meadow, boom clearing; cooking apple"
A quaint route to nickname Bram, Bramley is an English surname and place name, originally referring to someone who lived in a meadow or clearing full of the plant, Scotch broom. Also associated with…
"cookie"
Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.
"mischievous, cheeky"
Sassy and energetic, Rascal is used affectionately as a nickname for a cheeky but loveable person, or, as a given name for a pet with the same mischievous quality. While etymologically it may relate…
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…
"grower or seller of barley"
A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.
Botanical name and French
"reddish brown"
Sorrel is a gentle, amber-hued herbal and autumnal name that's used most often to describe the color of a horse. Sorrell is a variant spelling. Both make excellent names for autumn babies and can be…
"an obscuring of light when one celestial body passes over another"
An evocative word name denoting a rare celestial phenomenon when the sun and moon are aligned so that the moon casts a shadow over the Earth (a solar eclipse), or when the moon is right in front of…
