Animal Names for Babies

Unisex name in Israel, ideal for a Hanukkah baby.

If Abigail's too popular and Tabitha is too...."Bewitched."

The name of a maiden of King Arthur's court in some accounts. It is a contraction of Welsh "ty" (thy) + Eleri.

Connolly, an alternate spelling of Connelly, could make a livelier and less common substitute for Connor.

Name from legend that might be an interesting Jason alternative.

Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

An eider is a sea duck whose feathers make ultra-soft eiderdown.

This British surname has a somewhat aristocratic air, which ties in to its association with the early American boxing champ "Gentleman Jim" Corbett. Also borne by actor and country singer John Corbett, it blends the sounds of the more popular Corbin, Cory, Barrett, Bennett, and Beckett.

The field of nature names is constantly expanding to include all species of flowers and trees and animals and birds and even fish. In addition to its appeal for anglers, Pike recalls Zebulon Pike, the explorer who discovered and gave his name to Pike's Peak.

More common as a surname, Galvin is a possible alternative to Gavin and Calvin.

Leviathan was a name given to 76 boys in the USA in 2021. It makes a rather unusual Biblical choice, being the name not of a man or angel, but of a sea monster. In literature and popular culture, the term Leviathan has since come to be used as a synonym for any gargantuan, monstrous creature or object (think of the bag in VEEP).

From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.

Ovidia is the unusual feminine form of the ancient Roman Ovidius, most famous as the name of the exiled 1st century Roman poet Ovid. Modern male form Ovidio is known in Spain and Portugal. Ovida is another variation.

Similar to the floral name Aster, this spelling derives separately from Old Provençal astur "hawk") and from the Icelandic name elements as ("god") and þor ("thunder").

Some sources say Artis is a form of Arthur, and it certainly has the same root and meaning of bear. But Artis is a name in its own right with a 60-year history on the US Top 1000, from about 1900 until the early 1960s.

You've got the red-nosed reindeer to transcend, but there are other distinguished personages named Rudolph, Rudolf, and Rudy.

This simple name has an animal meaning, like many Native American names, and can be used for either sex.

Waya pays homage to the wolf — one of the most respected creatures in Native American culture.

An interesting and attractive bicultural choice--the Hebrew version is used for babies born in spring, when turtledoves arrive--especially as a middle.

Bruin is the Old English term for bear, taken from the Dutch word meaning brown. Bruin might be a sports fan's choice or an animal name in hiding. As a kind of hybrid of Roone and Bruno, it's definitely got some cool.