Dog Names That Start With A

  1. Amiri
    • Origin:

      Maori, Arabic, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "the East wind; king, ruler; treetop"
    • Description:

      A commonly used name in Māori culture, Amiri refers to the wind that blows from east to west. A 2011 New Zealand film titled Amiri & Aroha is a modern Māori interpretation of Romeo & Juliet.
  2. Asaki
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "morning moon or morning blossom"
    • Description:

      Depending on the kanji characters used, this attractive and energetic Japanese name can have a variety of meanings relating to nature.
  3. Aritz
    • Origin:

      Basque
    • Meaning:

      "oak"
    • Description:

      Basque soccer star Aritz Aduriz helped propel this distinctive name -- derived from "haritz," the Basque word for "oak" -- to the Top 100 Spanish baby names.
  4. Aquamarine
    • Origin:

      French from Latin
    • Meaning:

      "sea water; color between green and blue"
    • Description:

      A fresh and summery — if rather long — color that sounds namelike, but is extremely rarely used.
  5. Arrio
    • Origin:

      Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "warlike"
    • Description:

      Less substantial than many other Latin choices.
  6. Asaki
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "morning moon or morning blossom"
    • Description:

      Depending on the kanji characters used, this attractive and energetic Japanese name can have a variety of meanings relating to nature.
  7. Anchor
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Plausible word name, denoting strength and stability.
  8. Apricot
    • Origin:

      Fruit name
    • Description:

      A very unique fruit name heard more often on peachy-colored dogs than on baby girls.
  9. Amadi
    • Origin:

      African
    • Meaning:

      "free man"
    • Description:

      This name from the Igbo language of Africa, which feels like the more-familiar Arabic Ahmad, might be an original and attractive choice.
  10. Armie
    • Origin:

      Nickname for Armand
    • Description:

      Handsome young actor Armie Hammer put this name on the map in 2010, when he rose to national attention for playing the Winklevoss twins in David Fincher's "The Social Network." His full name is Armand, after his great grandfather, wealthy Los Angeles businessman Armand Hammer.
  11. Axie
    • Origin:

      English, invented name
    • Description:

      A zingy nickname-style name that was used occasionally in the early twentieth century, and returned to the charts in 2020. There are no obvious names it could be short for, which is all the more reason to use it on its own. In Kate Manning's historical novel My Notorious Life, the character Annie Muldoon gets the nickname Axie because she "axes" so many questions.
  12. Arrow
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Names that have not historically been names are not intrinsically gendered, so though we originally pinned Arrow as a boys' name, both starbaby Arrows that have been born recently have been girls. And with Arrow given to 60 girls in the US in 2015 and 94 boys, we call that a pretty decidedly gender neutral name. With its forward-moving, true-landing imagery, Arrow is one of the new inspirational names.
  13. Anabel
    • Origin:

      Spanish variation of Annabelle, combination of Anna and Belle or variation of Amabel
    • Meaning:

      "loving"
    • Description:

      Anabel is the sleekest version of this lovely name with so many variations, all of them correct. But Anabel and all her sisters -- Annabel, Annabelle, Anabella etc. -- took a downward turn after the 2014 horror film Annabelle.
  14. Arja
    • Origin:

      Variation of Irja, Finnish
    • Meaning:

      "peace"
    • Description:

      Not to be confused with the Aria/Arya name family, Arja is a variation of Irja, which ultimately is derived from Irene.
  15. Atari
    • Origin:

      Israeli surname; Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "son of the chemist; I'm about to win"
    • Description:

      Atari the baby name is directly correlated with Atari the company. It joined the baby name charts in 1979 when the popular video game Space Invaders was released. It was given to small numbers of boys and girls for the next few years and reemerged in 2006 following Atari Bigby's NFL draft.
  16. Ame
    • Aniceta
      • Origin:

        Latinized feminine form of Ancient Greek
      • Meaning:

        "unconquerable"
      • Description:

        A delicate name with strong roots, Aniceta is most often used in contemporary Spain. Saint Anicetus was an ancient pope and martyr.
    • Alf
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "elf counsel"
      • Description:

        Short form of Alfred that had fallen out of favor, but could come back alongside Alfie and other clunky old-style nicknames like Gus and Ike.
    • Annamaria
      • Origin:

        Italian combination of Anna and Maria
      • Meaning:

        "grace + drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"
      • Description:

        A pretty smoosh name predominantly used by Italian Catholics.
    • Ayan
      • Origin:

        Somali
      • Meaning:

        "fortune"
      • Description:

        Ayan is an African name heard for both sexes.