Bird Names - Comprehensive List

Quetzal

Bird name, Nahuatl

"large beautiful tail feather"

A quetzal is a beautiful, brightly-colored bird found in Mexico and Central America. It is the national bird of Guatemala, as well as the name of their currency. Quetzal is given as a baby name to a…

Ravenna

Italian place-name

Ravenna is a lovely, untouristed Italian place-name just waiting to be discovered. Renowned for its fantastic Byzantine mosaics, it's a city that has a rich historic and artistic heritage. Part of…

Rissa

Rissa is a feminine name with multiple possible origins. It may function as a diminutive of Clarissa or Marissa, both derived from Latin roots meaning "bright" or "clear." Alternatively, it could…

Rosella

Rosella can be seen as a nature name (a rosella is the name of a variety of beautiful Australian cockatoos and an Australian flower) or a diminutive version of Rose.

Sacagawea

Native American

"bird woman"

Sacagawea (or, sometimes, Sakakawea or Sacajawea) was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who was instrumental to the Lewis and Clark Expedition across what is now the western part of the USA. She traveled…

Sarika

Hungarian variation of Sarah, Hebrew, Hindi, Sanskrit, Khmer

Zippy and multicultural, Sarika can be considered a pretty nature name, referring to a myna bird in Hindi and Sanskrit and to a blackbird in Khmer (or Cambodian). In these contexts, it would be…

Sasa

Hungarian or Slavic short form of Alexandra or Sarah; Cherokee

"goose"

Sasa is a simple name with complex origins. In the Cherokee language, it means goose. It might also be a Hungarian or other Easterm European short form of Sarah or Alexandra, ala Sasha. Some sources…

Sephora

French variation of Tziporah, Hebrew

"bird"

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…

Sequoia

Native American, Cherokee

"sparrow"

This name of a giant tree, itself named for a nineteenth-century Cherokee who invented a way to write his tribe's language, makes a strong, stately statement.

Skylark

English

"small bird"

Skylar may be mainstream now, but Skylark is fresh and offbeat. With Lark gaining more attention as a name — following in Wren's footsteps — Skylark feels fashionable yet distinct. Skylark debuted on…

Sona

Hindi

"gold"

Derived from suvarna , a Sanskrit word meaning "good color".

Sora

Japanese or Korean

"sky; conch shell"

A simple and pretty multicultural name: as a Japanese name, it's unisex and means "sky"; as a Korean name, it's feminine and means "conch shell".

Sparrow

Nature name

"sparrow, a bird"

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.

Svala

Nordic

"swallow (bird)"

A striking Nordic name with ancient roots, Svala (and its less common variant form Svale) derive from the Old Norse name for the swallow. This could be a great choice for nature lovers and fans of…

Swan

English

"swan"

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan…