Names for Animals

Names way too out there to use on children, but would be adorable and unique for pets.
  1. Archer
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "bowman"
    • Description:

      Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the cool nickname Archie.
  2. Bowie
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "blond, yellow"
    • Description:

      Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn put this name in play as a first name, but David Bowie (born with the considerably less marketable moniker of David Robert Jones) gave it charisma. He changed his surname in 1965 to avoid confusion with the then popular Davy Jones of The Monkees, borrowing it from the American hero of Alamo, Jim Bowie.
  3. Claude
    • Origin:

      French from Latin
    • Meaning:

      "lame; enclosure"
    • Description:

      Claude is a soft-spoken French name that conjures up the pastel colors of Monet and harmonies of Debussy. In France, it is used for girls as well, in fact in the Tracy Chevalier novel Lady and the Unicorn, the protagonist is a female Claude.
  4. Cletus
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "called forth"
    • Description:

      Sometimes used as a short-form of Catholic Pope name Anacletus, Cletus is an ancient name that has not-yet found the popularity of Theodore, Leo, Atticus and Max. It perhaps suffers from its association to the yokel character in The Simpsons , but we think it's time for a reconsideration, given how well it fits into several current trends. Nickname Clete is cute as a button!
  5. Dimitri
    • Origin:

      Russian from Greek Demetrius
    • Meaning:

      "follower of Demeter"
    • Description:

      Dimitri is a Slavic variation of the Russian Dmitriy, a name that comes from the Greek Demetrius. Demetrius was derived from Demeter, the name of the Greek goddess of fertility and farming. Among the possible spelling variations are Dmitri, Dmitrii, Dmitriy, and Dmitry.
  6. Dirk
    • Origin:

      Flemish and Dutch, contracted form of Derek
    • Description:

      A perennial classic in the Netherlands, short-and-sweet Dirk is starting to feel like a fresher alternative to cousin Derek.
  7. Evander
    • Origin:

      Scottish; Greek
    • Meaning:

      "bow warrior; strong man"
    • Description:

      Evander is a name that could build on the popularity of shorter form Evan, and could work and play well with schoolmates like Zander and Xander.
  8. Glinda
    • Origin:

      Literary name
    • Description:

      Glinda is famous as the name of the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, invented by author L. Frank Baum. but has there ever been a real life, non-fictional Glinda? Not in the US last year.
  9. Helga
    • Origin:

      Scandinavian
    • Meaning:

      "holy, blessed"
    • Description:

      A traditional Nordic name, Helga was extremely popular throughout Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Germany, it was a Top 10 pick from 1924 to 1943. And it still ranks in the Icelandic Top 50 today.
  10. Lester
    • Origin:

      English place-name; phonetic form of Leicester
    • Description:

      Lester is one of the British surname names that were popular in the US in the early decades of the twentieth century: it was in the Top 100 through 1931, reaching a high of Number 52 in 1906. But dropping of the list in the late 1990s, along with Hester and Sylvester, we don't see much hope for a return visit.
  11. Neil
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "cloud"
    • Description:

      Always the top spelling of the name; Neil peaked in the 1950s, but then enjoyed a second coming following the fame of such Neils as astronaut Armstrong and singers Sedaka, Diamond, and Young. Now semiretired.
  12. Peridot
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "a green gemstone"
    • Description:

      Peridot is the gem of the month of August, a vibrant green mineral, said to be good for helping people put the past behind them, and an interesting, undiscovered jewel name. It was regarded in ancient times as the symbol of the sun.
  13. Stella
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "star"
    • Description:

      Stella is a name with star quality and sparkle, that manages to sound both ethereal and earthy. Celestial but not otherworldly, it lands somewhere between the popular Ella and bold Seraphina.