Pet Names · Dog Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 24 pages
of 24
Place-name
The vowel ending tilts this sharply toward the feminine, and at this point Havana still has some political implications as well.
Diminutive of Alexis and Alexandra
"man's defender"
Lex is still used mostly for boys, but like Alex, may cross over with the rising popularity of all long forms of the name. Lexi is another, more feminine option.
English word name
"month name"
March has never been popular as a month name, possibly because of its slightly abrupt sound. But with all kinds of month (and season, day, and holiday) names, from January to December, Sunday to…
Word name
Branch is a novel unisex name with ties to nature and trees and also to branching out with new experiences and ideas. Branch can also be considered a surname name, as in country singer Michelle…
Music name
Feels as if it's missing a syllable.
Latin
"midday / pinnacle"
In geography, a meridian is a line drawn around the curve of the Earth between the North and South Poles. The term comes from Latin meridianus, meaning "pertaining to midday", and the association…
English fruit name
Sour or sweet? Enough like Lennon, Leonard, and Clement to work, or best left in the fruit basket? That's up to you to decide, but Lemon has been appearing in the US charts for boys since the 1880s.…
"an edible seed, typically kidney-shaped"
Bean is a unisex word name with a cute and quirky feel. Early reader series Ivy and Bean features a young girl named Bean, short for Bernice Blue. It has appeal as a casual nickname or middle name,…
"signal light"
This word name shines bright and comes with the nickname Bea.
English diminutive of Maurice and Morris
"dark-skinned"
An exceedingly friendly every-guy nickname that could rise alongside the likes of Ike, Sid, and Ned.
Literary and nickname name
Moby, the nickname of musician Richard Melville Hall, was thanks to his ancestor Herman Melville, creator of the infamous whale. You can imagine calling a child Moby as a cute nickname in honor of a…
Greek
"kingfisher bird"
Heaven, Peace, Serenity: parents seem especially attracted to word names that signal paradise, but Halcyon sounds quite feminine, and might conjure up the sleeping pill Halcion.
English word, Old English
"an inlet of the sea where the land curves inward; berry"
Like River and Lake, a cool, refreshing modern water-related choice. This name is also associated with bay leaves, the bay laurel, the contemporary term of endearment, "bae", and the Old English word…
African place name
The capital of Kenya makes a melodic and worldly name.
Italian variation of Natalia, Russian
"Birthday of the Lord"
Natale is the handsome gender-neutral Italian spin on Natalia or Natalie or Noel, traditionally given to babies born on Christmas Day. English speakers might stumble over the pronunciation --…
Nature name
"grove of trees"
If you find Grover too fusty and furry, this is a much cooler-sounding alternative.
Animal name
"fox"
Fox is a fast-rising name for boys, initially popularized by the character Fox Mulder on The X Files , and recently resurged by the TV show's revival. It was reported that the TV character's first…
Because that's what your child is—a gift.
Dark and enigmatic. A baby named Night would follow in the African tradition of day naming—naming a child based on the day of the week, time of day, or season in which he or she was born.
"victory"
Cool goddess name, but you might need to brace yourself for lots of sneaker jokes, depending on where you live.
