Pet Names
By Grace Royal · Updated October 2026
Across 4 pages
of 4
English word name
"clove"
Clove is a spice name that is a tad more piquant than Saffron or Cinnamon. It might get more attention now as a member of The Hunger Games family of names.
English
"peacock"
An evocative unisex one-syllable name, Poe is most distinguished by its literary reference. Edgar Allan Poe was an influential American author and poet, credited with inventing the genres of…
Catalan form of Bruno, Germanic
"brown"
Short and simple, Bru was a Top 100 choice in Catalonia in a recent year, where it is used as a variation of the international Bruno. Also used as a short form of the color name, it may appeal to…
English diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
Although she declared her independence as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I — Good Queen Bess, Bess now sounds less passé than Beth or Betsy.
Raff is a masculine name that functions both as a standalone name and a shortened form of Rafael, Rafferty, or Raffaello. Its origins can be traced to Hebrew (through Rafael, meaning 'God has…
English word and musical name
"a short repeated phrase in popular music"
Riff is the name of the leader of the Jets in West Side Story , drawn from the musical word for a repeated phrase in a song. A tragic character in the musical, but a jaunty sounding name with the…
Irish, English
"intoxicating"
An Anglicized form of Medb borrowed by both Shakespeare and Percy Bysshe Shelley for the of queen of the fairies. Perfect if you want something both adventurous and simple - though you could use it…
Short form of Rupert, Rudy, or Ruben, variation of Rue, variation of Ruadh, or Chinese
"bright flame; famous wolf; regret, herb; red; scholar"
Succinct but playful, the unisex and multicultural Ru fits in with the likes of Tru, Cru, Blu, and Bo. Typically used as a short form of Ruben, Rudy or Ruben, it might also be a form of the word name…
"lover of horses"
Cute-as-a-button nickname traditionally derived from Philip or Philippa – but could work for Piper, Juniper or Penelope as well.
English, Dutch, Frisian
"marshland; peace"
In English, a fen is a wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater. In Dutch and Frisian, it's a traditional diminutive of names containing the element frid , meaning "peace". Either way, Fen makes a…
Diminutive of Florence, Latin
"flourishing, prosperous"
Flo is an antiquated nickname not often used these days, possibly because "Aunt Flo" is a euphemism for a period.
English, diminutive of Philip
The original Pip was the main character in Great Expectations (full name Philip Pirrip). Cute for a tike, maybe too cute for an adult.
Diminutive of Margaret, Greek
"pearl"
Meg, perennially one of the Little Women, is a Margaret short form that manages to be neither quite in nor quite out of style. Meg is sleeker and more sophisticated than Maggie, more contemporary…
Egyptian
"God of the earth"
This name, more recognized as a short form of Sebastian, is perfectly usable a cool full name, and, in fact, ranks on the UK popularity list. Seb is getting lot of attention as the nickname name of…
Invented name
As a nickname for one of the longer Z-starting choices, maybe, but not as a name unto itself.
Short form of Casper, Persian
"Imperial"
This short-but-strong name is popular for boys in The Netherlands. While Cass is usually a female name in the U.S., it feels just as right for boys.
Diminutive of James or Jeremiah
This name of the ten-year-old boy in the much loved and acclaimed modern classic To Kill a Mockingbird could find favor along with that of the character's sister, Scout.
Short form of Spencer
Spence is occasionally used as a name all on its own and it has more of a sense of completeness than many nickname-names.
Diminutive of Patrick
"noble, patrician"
As seen on SNL, Pat is the ultimate androgynous name . Stick with long form Patrick, and make sure everyone calls him Patrick.
