Pet Names
Updated October 2026
Across 8 pages
of 8
Fictional invented name
"mortician"
Charles Addams invented the name Morticia for the mother in his cartoon series "The Addams Family." The name comes from the word mortician—very appropriate for this macabre mom.
Word name or diminutive of Woodrow, English
"row of houses by a wood"
While Woodrow is too forbidding, its nickname Woody is a bit cartoonish, as in Woody Woodpecker and the animated cowboy character in Toy Story. Woody also has a slang meaning that no teenage boy will…
English
"one who avoids"
A common pet name, usually inspired by the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, Dodger was used as a given name for 6 boys in a recent year. Fiction writer Terry Pratchett used Dodger as a character…
Anglicized form of Danish, Amleth
The "To Be or Not to Be" jokes, via Shakespeare's tortured prince, will get old by Month Two.
Diminutive of Beatrix, Latin
"she who brings happiness"
A sassy, spunky name for the bold parent who doesn't remember Mrs. Ed Norton on The Honeymooners or who's into the nicknames-as-given-names trend sweeping the UK and returning to the US. Trixie is a…
English, diminutive of Robert
"bright fame"
Kids love Bob the Builder, but do they want to be Bob the Builder? Bob and Bobby have been out of style since the 1960s, but as vintage nickname-names -- Fred, Archie -- come back into vogue, Bob may…
Modern nickname
Brother for Biff and Bud. McFly rocker Tom Fletcher transformed this from midcentury short form to modern cool name when he used it for his newborn son.
"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…
Variation of Tirion or Tyrian, Welsh, Latin, Literature
"kind, gentle, happy; of Tyre; royal purple"
Used by C.S Lewis in his Narnia novels, Tirian is a variation of the Welsh mythology name, Tirion, or the Latin name, Tyrian. From soft-but-strong Tirion, it means "kind, gentle", while from Tyrian…
"lighthearted, happy"
She'd better be. Merry is one of the classic names for Christmas babies .
Irish, variant of Diarmaid/Dermot
"without injunction, without envy"
Kermit was a Top 500 name until the 1960s, not coincidentally the decade in which Kermit the Frog made it a one-person (well, one-frog) name. Derived from the Irish surname Mac Diamada, itself from…
Literary and botanical name
Katniss Everdeen is the heroine of the popular Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, whose name comes from the (very real) edible aquatic plant of the genus Sagittaria. Katniss's father tells her…
Norse
"ancestor's relic"
Olaf, though sainted and regal in Norway, is slightly oafish here. It is one of those names that has become completely familiar in the U.S. without ever becoming assimilated. Now that he's a comical…
Variation of Pepin
"awe-inspiring"
Super-sweet name that was the title of a Broadway play -- but best known as a type of apple. The Dutch variation is Pepijn is finding some popularity in that country, where short nickname names are…
Literature
Appearing in the popular fantasy series, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, this name is borne by a dragon rider called Ridoc Gamlyn. Part Ryan and Ryder, part Caradoc and Roderick, it feels contemporary…
Word name
"ashes, partly burnt coals"
More distinctive than Ella, if you're inspired by Cinderella, a rarer alternative to popular Ember, perhaps, or even a modern spin on Cindy. Cinder is the name given to partially burnt wood or coals…
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.
Popular culture
"sand skin"
The name of the glamorous mean girl in "High School Musical", Sharpay is a spin on the dog breed Shar Pei, which means "sand skin" in Chinese. As such, it's a brilliant name joke skewering the…
"fair-haired"
If ever there was a one-person name, it's probably Sherlock. But Sherlock Holmes the character has arguably never been hotter: he's been played by Robert Downey Jr., Ian McKellen, Jonny Lee Miller…
Jekyll is a rare masculine name of English origin, derived from a surname that was historically a place name. The name gained notoriety through Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella 'Strange Case of…