Pet Names · Dog Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 24 pages
of 24
Fruit name
Fig was the unlikely name of a beautiful character in Curtis Sittenfeld's Man of My Dreams . It could make a playful middle name or a sparky nickname for the likes of Philippa, Fiona, Felicity, and…
Scottish occupational name
"piper"
Fifer is a musical name that fits in seamlessly with the likes of Harper and Piper, but is much more unusual. It's also a Scottish demonym, referring to an inhabitant of the historic Scottish county…
English
"boar battle"
Averill is an ancient name, most properly spelled Averil, that has a Boston Brahmin air – probably due to the image of statesman Averill Harriman. It's of the rare English surname names that…
English, Dutch, Frisian
"marshland; peace"
In English, a fen is a wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater. In Dutch and Frisian, it's a traditional diminutive of names containing the element frid , meaning "peace". Either way, Fen makes a…
Irish
"courageous"
If you're looking for a pleasing namesake that's more modern than Darrell/Darryl, this would make an excellent choice. Farrell is an Anglicized form of the Irish Fergal, and was well used as a first…
Scottish surname
"wood man"
This unusual Scottish surname was made immortal by Michael Faraday, a British scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His name is now a unit of scientific…
English word name
Christmas is a day name long and quietly used as a name for babies born at Christmas . Prettier and more modern than Noel or Noelle.
Word name
Wildly optimistic -- and unrealistic -- choice.
American place-name
One of the Great Lakes and a city next to it, named after a Native American people. This name swings between being more popular for boys and girls, but is currently rare for both. It could also be…
Cornish place and saint's name
"fire soul"
Endellion is the name of an early saint who was a daughter of King Brychan and goddaughter of King Arthur whose life is commemorated by the Cornish village of St. Endellion. This intriguing ancient…
"challenge, endeavor"
Extravagant virtue name which is notably the first name of the British TV detective Inspector Morse.
English surname
"flat-topped hill"
Embry became viable as a first name when it was used for the (male) werewolf character Embry Call in the Twilight series. But its Em- beginning and -y ending give it a feminine sound, so we call it…
Diminutive of Earl, English, or word name
"nobleman, warrior; early"
A word that's been used, very infrequently, as a name for hundreds of years. Interesting sound and meaning.
Nature name
We once dismissed Bird as "too flighty", but with the rise of avian names from Lark to Robin to, well, Birdie, we don't see why Bird can't be a fine choice, especially as a middle name.
"dark"
This Irish surname packs a lot of attitude, projecting an image of spunk and sass. The Welsh singer Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy, is best known for her songs Mercy and Warwick Avenue.
English occupational name
"carter"
Jagger, made famous as the surname of Rolling Stone Mick, gets an entry in the girls' column thanks to Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross, who chose it for their daughter. For either gender, this name…
Occupational word name
Drummer entered the baby name lexicon thanks to blogger No Big Dill, who chose it for her newborn son, who joins five older sisters. Drummer is right in step with other occupational names in vogue…
Hebrew
"the burning one"
A seraph is a heavenly, angelic being from Ancient Jewish scripture. The Hebrew word literally translates to "the burning one." It can also be considered a diminutive of the name Seraphim.
Cool, musical modern choice, especially as a middle name.
Word name, English from Latin
"diversity, variety"
As a name, a bit too p. c.
