73 Fierce Names That Mean Lion - Page 2

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

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

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.

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.

Leontine is the French form of a name that's more familiar by its spelling variation Leontyne, the name made famous by opera diva Price. An obscure choice, Leontine nevertheless feels right for our lion-name-crazed moment.

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.

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.

Traditional African name made cartoonish by the Disney character in The Lion King. In Shona it means "strength".

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

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

A fairly common name in many Slavic countries, especially Russia – perhaps in part because it sounds close to the name of the country, although the two words are unrelated etymologically. The name Ruslan was used by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin for the hero of his epic poem Ruslan and Ludmila, based on Russian and Tatar folktales about the hero Yeruslan Lazarevich. Yeruslan or Uruslan is a Tatar name likely deriving from Turkic arslan "lion".

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".

Overly ambitious choice, recently borne by the hapless hero of cult movie hit Napoleon Dynamite.

Arisbeth is a name that feels poetic and fantastical like Arwen or Amoret, but equally familiar and sunny, like Marisol. It is in fact a name used primarily in Mexico and by Hispanic parents in the US, who've made it one of the hottest unique names.

Lionel is yet another traditional boy's name entering the girls' column--at least once-- via prizewinning novelist Lionel (born Margaret Ann) Shriver.

Lovely, international, tea-scented possibility undiscovered by baby names.

With the rise of many once-dated leonine names, from Leona to Lionel to Leonora, Leandra is an unusual choice that might be looking at a comeback..

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.

This cute-as-a-button name conjures playful lion and bear cubs rolling around in long grass. If cute baby names are what you're after, Cub should be on your list.