Animal Names for Babies

Mariposa is a rare, romantic choice with an intriguing meaning. 

Uncommon but not unknown, Mariposa is an elegant entrant in the nature names category. And it comes with the adorable nicknames Mari or Posie.

Mariposa

Nature girl played by Audrey Hepburn in "Green Mansions,"  it now has an old-style bohemian feel. 

Rima

Smart and sharp but with a touch of heart and charm, Hartley is a surname style name that could work as an alternative to Harley, Harvey, Artie, or Harry. Quietly used as a masculine name throughout the 20th century, the arrival of two celebrity-baby girl Hartleys in 2010 has meant the name has been used as a predominantly feminine one in recent years. However, since 2020, Hartley has doubled in use for boys too, and was give to a modest 30 in 2023.
. Ultimately deriving from a place name, it comes from the Old English words heorot meaning "stag, male deer" and leah meaning "meadow, clearing". They come together to make a name that evokes images of English parks, and joins Oscar and Roscoe as deer-inspired choices.
 Used by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge for his son in the 18th century, it has also been borne by politician and war crimes barrister Hartley Shawcross and philosopher Hartley Burr Alexander, lending it a scholarly, academic feel. In the UK, it is also the name of a jam and marmalade manufacturer, which might be off putting to some. 
 
If you like the idea of Hartley but aren't quite sure, there's also the simpler, one-syllable Hart, a name currently gaining attention.

Hartley

With related choices such as Lark and Phoenix gaining popularity, why not Sparrow? Though it's usually thought of as a female name, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden chose it for their son.

Sparrow

In the Noongar language of Western Australia, Bindi means butterfly. Bindi is usually seen as a girls' name, as seen in Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin.

Bindi

Konan is a spelling twist on the more familiar Irish Conan, given to a few dozen baby boys in the US last year. In the Irish language, there is no letter K but Irish names such as Ciaran and Caitlin are often "Anglicized" with K spellings as in Kieran and Katelyn, so Konan is not a stretch.

Konan

Rudy hasn't yet enjoyed the comeback of cousin name Ruby, despite having been chosen by hip couple Sadie Frost and Jude Law, but it still could happen.
 Rudy has a lot going for it as a usable-on-its-own nickname name, with the lively 'oo' sound found in Jude and Juno and all the popular Lu-starting names. And it was a heartthrob name back in the day when crooner Rudy (born Hubert) Vallee and Rudy/Rudolph (born Rodolpho) Valentino had ladies swooning, reaching as high as Number 299 in 1926.
 It has most often been seen as an all-male name--except for little Rudy on The Cosby Show.

Rudy

Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.
 'The Lark' was used as a nickname for Cosette in Les Miserables; Lark Voorhees was a star of Saved by the Bell, and Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany used Lark as the middle name of their daughter Agnes.
 
The expression "happy as a lark" gives this songbird name a cheery image, as well as a 'lark' being a synonym for a merry time..
 Larkin is a pretty extension, as is Skylark, which is rich in cultural associations: there's the Percy Bysshe Shelley ode To a Skylark and the jazz classic Skylark written by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael..

Lark

Lovella is most likely a feminine variation on Lovell, a surname. While it feels one of the invented-yet-antiquated <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' names</a>, has the obvious attraction of containing the word "love" within it, as well as the opportunity to use "Ella" as nickname.

Lovella

An international name that, while short and simple, sounds strong and distinctive, stylish and sweet all at once. It may appeal to those who want a name that works in multiple languages, while also feeling fresh and charming.
 
From its Sanskrit roots, Manu means "thinking, wise", while in Hindu tradition is a title of the progenitor of humans. In Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian and Māori, it means "bird". 
Alternatively, it is the Finnish form of Magnus (meaning "greatest"), while in Spanish, German, French and English, it is a diminutive for the Hebrew names Emmanuel and its variations, giving it the spiritual meaning "God is with us".
 
From its Akan and Ghanaian roots, it refers to a second born child and may also be spelled as Mǎnu.

Manu

This lovely name is a softened French version of Tziporah, the biblical wife of Moses. Unfortunately, in the US, it's become attached to the cosmetics franchise.
 
The brand Sephora claims to have gotten its name "by blending the Biblical name of Zipporah (Moses’ exceptionally beautiful wife) with the ancient Greek term for 'pretty,' sephos." Sephos, however, is not a word, nor is Sephora a blend with anything else — it is a very real variation of Tziporah.

Sephora

Another astral name, this one relating to one of the largest and brightest stars in the heavens, is popular in Scandinavia and Spain, where it ranks among the Top 50 <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' names</a>. Although still very rare in the US, we think it has serious potential to follow the likes of Luna and Lyra up the charts.

 In Spanish, the name means "meadow" and is taken from a title for the Virgin Mary (La Virgen de la Vega, The Virgin of the Meadow).

Vega

The name of an adorably small, big-eared fox native to Africa would make an inspired choice for a little boy -- though confusion with Hunger Games name Finnick is all but certain. Given the rise of animal names and the fashionability of names that start with F among the leading baby name trends, Fennec may find more favor.

Fennec

This lovely Muslim name had a boost in 2022. Miraal is also an aquatic elf character in the Dungeons and Dragons franchise. 

Miraal

Oisin is one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/168/irish-names">Irish baby names</a> in its native land, though largely unknown in the US. The original Oisin was the mythological son of Finn McCool and Sadb, the goddess who was changed into a deer. A legendary war hero and poet, Oisin had a name that is also reminiscent in sound of the ocean. Pronounced correctly, this name has an attractive sheen.
 Ossian is another version, reflected in the eighteenth century Ossianic poems of James Macpherson, which transformed him into a Scottish hero and also popularized the names Oscar, Fingal, Selma and Malvina.

Oisin

If you can name a boy Max instead of Maxwell, or Jax instead of Jackson, then why not Brax instead of Braxton?  Over 3300 boys were named the trendy Braxton in the US in one recent year, but snappy short form Brax is a newcomer used for only a handful of babies.  Brax may feel more popular than that, though, as many Braxtons are called Brax.

Brax

If you can put aside the oil connection, Castor is a mythological option, borne by one of the (half) twins that make up the constellation Gemini, the other being Pollux. A son of Leda and a king of Sparta, and a sibling of Helen of Troy, Castor and Pollux are seen as patrons of travellers and sailors, and of athletes. 
 
The exact meaning of the name is unknown, though speculation suggests it means "shining" (from kekasmai), "wood" (from Doric Greek káston), or, in a more contemporary context, "beaver" from the Greek word for the animal. The latter is unlikely to be the original source, however, given beavers would not have been native to Greece. There's also the Greek katharos meaning "clean, pure" which might be another possible source. 
 
Used by Metallica's James Hetfield for his son in 2000, it may inevitably linked to the aforementioned castor oil, a substance of many purposes, used in soaps, lubricants, brake fluids, dyes, and waxes. Nevertheless, it first appeared in the US stats back in the late 1990s and was given to 21 boys in a recent year.

Castor

A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing, by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence and Neil Gaiman. In real life, her two most well known representatives are writer Ursula Le Guin and actress Ursula Andress. In literature, there is also Ursula Iguaran, a key, long-lived character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's major work, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
 Caveat: Today's kids might associate this name with the campy, corpulent octopus in Disney's The Little Mermaid.
 Ursula ranked in the Top 1000 through 1983. Time for a comeback?

Ursula

Rare but rising, Gryphon is an intriguing name that combines several stylish associations. The Gryphon spelling relates directly to the fierce legendary creature that's eagle in front, lion behind. But there's also the authentic boys' name Griffin, a name that's maintained consistent popularity for a quarter century without getting too popular.


Gryphon

In Greek myth, Circe, daughter of Helios, the sun, was a sorceress living on the island of Aeaea (or Aiaia) who could turn men into animals with her magic wand, which is just what she did to Odysseus's crew in Homer's Odyssey, transforming them into swine. All was forgiven, however, as Circe and Odysseus later had a child together;Telegonus.

The name and legend have appeared in countless forms, from a section of James Joyce's Ulysses to short stories by Julio Cortazar to Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon to films to DC comics to a dance by Martha Graham. Contemporary readers may well be familiar with Madeline Miller's popular 2018 novel, Circe which retells the goddess's story 

Meaning "hawk, bird", Circe is a witchy choice which has seen quiet uptake since the release of the aforementioned novel. Prior to 2018, it had never been given to more than 10 girls in a single year, while in more recent years, nearly 30 babies have been called Circe in the US.

Circe

Animal names for babies include the obvious, such as Robin or Fox, and names with secret animal meanings, such as Paloma (which means dove) or Arthur (bear).

Animal names have become wildly fashionable for babies

, especially in their blatant form. Bear, Fox, Hawk, and Wolf are all bounding up the charts for boys, while 

 Wren, Birdie, and Lark are reaching new heights for girls.

Animal names are a subset of the ever-widening world of 

. While many traditional names carry animal meanings -- the Old Testament Rachel means ewe, for instance, while the royal Philip means horse lover -- the newest and arguably 

 are unique choices such as Wolf, Birdie, and Bear.

 contains both those that announce themselves clearly and those whose animal meanings are more hidden. This range of animal baby names would be perfect for your wild child.

Animal Names for Babies - boy names and girl names with animal meanings, including Wolf, Bear, and Wren (Page 9)