Girl Dog Names That Start With M

An unusual nickname for unusual names — Mazikeen, a name invented by Neil Gaiman for his Sandman comics, and Mazarine, a French color name.

Oh dear! We can see where you were going with connecting this name to the classic "Leah," but it just doesn't work. We recommend sticking with the classic Malia.

A nice meaning -- congruent with the recent vogue for names like Blessing -- helps offset this Hawaiian name's proximity to overused Makayla and McKenzie.

Common transcription of Maria throughout Europe.

Although Malak can be used for both sexes, it's much more widely-used for girls in the US and throughout Europe, where it ranks on several popularity lists.

Mako is a name used for both genders in Japan, most notably for the granddaughter of the emperor who chose to leave the Royal Family to marry a commoner. It's a simple name that translates easily to English-speaking cultures, though many will try to pronounce the first syllable with a long a. Mako also means "shark" in Maori, and is the name of two shark species.

A name that's appeared out of thin air, in the same vein as such mystical favorites as Destiny and Nevaeh.

Marge used to be as common as Maggie or Megan, ranking on its own in the girls' Top 1000 from 1900 until right after World War II, when so many Old School names fell off the list in favor of a new generation cuter, perkier choices.

Mittens is a common name for cats with mitten-like fur patterns on their paws. The word actually has feline origins — it shares a root with mite, an Old French pet name for a cat. It became linked with mittens because they were made of fur.

Cute and eminently wearable surname name for girls.

Merilee and Merrilee were early respelled or word names, ahead of their time in some ways. Merrilee hit the Top 1000 for a couple of years in the 1940s, but last year no baby girls were given either version of the name in the US, which makes it more appealing.

You can just hear some sassy dame in a 1930s movie using this name. We prefer the original -- or even its original, Amabel.

An unusual spin on Mila and Milena.

Irish Gaelic spelling of Molly, which derives from Mary.

The African tradition of day naming—giving a child a name inspired by the day, time, or season in which they were born—has become attractive to Western parents as word names increase in use. Midnight is a relatively new addition to the pool—it was used as a middle name by Nicole Richie and Joel Madden for their son in 2009.

This variation of Madelyn has the trendier -nn suffix and ranks lower than the single -n ending.

Not one but two Spice Girls are named Mel, which led to it briefly being more popular for girls than boys in the 90s and early 00s, but it has now fallen out of favor for both sexes.

Alternative to Princess or Queenie.

Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.