If you like Dylan, Quinn, or Leo but find them too popular, Quillan could be a distinctive and interesting alternative. It is sometimes connected to the zodiac sign of Leo, making it a cool way to honor a someone born under the lion sign, or to mark your baby's birthdate if they're born between July and August.

A Disney name—Nala was the friend who became the wife of Simba, hero of The Lion King. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Leocadia marries a mix of sounds: the strength of a lion, with a rhythmic Latin ending.

This form got noticed as the first name of long-reigning Russian president Brezhnev; other bearers include playwright and short-story writer Andreyev, Leonid the Magnificent,a Russian performance artist on America's Got Talent, and Leonid McGill, the protagonist of a Walter Mosley private eye series. All in all, though, Leonid is not the most likely to join the pride of lion-related names here.

Attractive but uncommon name which has been used as a character name in several movies, including The Lion King II and Planet of the Apes. Ziri and Tiziri are variants.

There are a lot of lion-themed names in fashion these days, and Lenna is one of the more unusual. It's a genuine European short form, ala Leni, given to about 100 baby girls in the US last year.

Hamza was the legendary uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, hero of The Hamzanama, the Story of Hamza.

Better than Lenny, not as good as Leo, and tightly tied to Tonight Show host Jay Leno.

Tau, rhyming with cow, is a simple straightforward name with roots in two languages and cultures, the Kaurna language spoken by indigenous Australian people or the African Tswana language, a Bantu language spoken by five million people.

Levon, an unusual alternative to Levi. has two musical associations: it's the title of an Elton John song, inspired by late, great drummer for The Band, Levon Helm--whose birth name was Mark. Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke chose Levon for their son.

Leya is a simple, attractive multicultural choice, but with some teasing peril. The "Star Wars" princess spelled her name Leia.

Kids would be more likely to associate this name with the hyperactive meercat in "The Lion King" than with the ancient Greek philosopher or Shakespearean character, which could cause playground problems.

While it may look like a variation of popular Leo, Llio is in fact a Welsh name, derived from Gwenllian, the medieval name of a legendary princess who is a national heroine in Wales. Given to a small handful of girls most years in Wales — three in a recent count — the double L sound is hard to translate into English because it is specifically Welsh.

Othniel is mentioned in the Bible and Tanakh (in the Book of Judges) where he is the first of the biblical judges mentioned. Othniel was related to Caleb, which might make these two names a nice biblically themed sib-set.

A rare form of Llywellyn/Llewellyn, influenced by Latin Leo "lion".

This ancient name, belonging to a 4th century BCE Greek statesman and general, would be one of those unique baby names with lots of more down-to-earth nickname potential, including Tim and Leon. Another notable bearer is Timoleon Jimanez, former leader of the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

A variation of Lionel that has made slow but substantial gains in recent years, perhaps helped by the resurgence of Leo. It is also the Spanish and Portuguese variant.

Leodore is a modern English combination of Leo, meaning "lion", and Theodore, meaning "gift of god".

The y makes it seem more like a name and less like an animal, but it's still not as appealing as several Leo choices.

An alternative form of the bright, leonine name Sundiata, Sundjata is associated with Sundiata Keita, the 13th century founder and prince of the Mali Empire in Western Africa. He is remembered and celebrated in the Epic of Sundiata, which is still taught today.