Girl Dog Names That Start With P

Personification of pep.

In the Zulu and Xhosa languages of Southern Africa, Phila is a unisex name pronounced "PEE-la" and means "to live of life" It's also the feminine version of the ancient Greek name Philo, pronounced "FEE-la", meaning friend or lover and present in several contemporary names and words used throughout the Western World. The name Philip, for instance, means lover of horses, while the city name Philadelphia means "brotherly love" and philosophy means "love of wisdom".

Palma is an appealing Latin name that's both geographical -- it's the romantic city on the Spanish island of Majorca -- and botanical, relating to the palm frond. Sometimes given to girls born on Palm Sunday.

Prune is a fruit name loved by the French, for whom it's a Plum equivalent. In the U.S., Plum works, but Prune is not a name we'd want to inflict on a child. Prunella is slightly more plausible.

Turning Paul or Paol -- whether it's as Paolo, Paolina, or even Paola -- instantly makes it more romantic and appealing.

The name Persia derives from Avestan Parsa, the name of the Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into southern Iran in about 1000 BCE. Persis or Persea, the feminine form of Perseus, feel more namelike.

A common name for orange-colored cats. Fun fact: the word pumpkin is derived from the Greek pepōn, translating to "large melon."

Lithe and leonine name chosen for her daughter by singer Erykah Badu -- whose other child has the number name Seven.

Philophrosyne was the spirit of welcome, friendliness, and kindness in Greek Mythology. She was one of the four younger Charites.

As the former stage name of TLC founder Perri Reid and the name of the youngest member of the animated Flintstones clan, it's got some pop culture cache. But it'll be too cutesy by half for most parents.

An early and still quintessentially androgynous name, now supplanted by thousands of fresher options.

Primula is related to Primrose, the name and the flower, and would make a quirky yet charming (or is it charming yet quirky?) botanical name for a first daughter.

Infrequently used relic of the Maureen-Colleen-Kathleen era, though it does seem to have a bit more energy than the others.

Payton and Peyton are both very popular names for girls as well as boys, but Paityn is a spelling variations used almost exclusively for girls.

Pedra has never caught on with anything like the popularity of its male counterpart, Pedro. The Greek Petra sounds a lot cleaner and more refined.

Many parents these days are responding to names meaning peace, and this is one of the more unusual ones (more often heard as a surname). Pronounced PACH-ee-a, it relates to such other peaceful names as PAZ, PAX, and PAXICO

Friendly Slavic rarity.

Pistol is one of the new names that entered the lexicon in the US in 2013, when it was given to nine babies of each gender. Call it an equal-opportunity badass baby name with an unfortunately violent image.