Dog Names That Start With C

The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong.

Caledon, the name of the arrogant Billy Zane character in "Titanic," is an Irish place-name related to Caledonia, the Latin word for Scotland thought to be derived from the ancient Celtic word for "hard." Cal is a wonderful nickname, and Caledon an inventive way to get there.

One of the surname names for boys on its way to becoming unisex, this name broke into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013 for girls. While it sounds masculine to us, because of its two-syllable er-ending sound so trendy with boys’ names, many parents apparently disagree.

This courtly old Southern name has several cool male bearers: NFL player Courtney Brown, British jazz musician Courtney Pine, and Barbados-born economist Courtney Blackman, to name but a few.

Actor Coby Bell gives this short but sweet name a hefty amount of street cred. Can also be spelled Koby or Kobe, as in Kobe Bryant.

Undiscovered name of picturesque northern French port.

Carmelo is a well-used Hispanic name associated with Mt. Carmel, home of the prophet Elijah and the location of the convent for the order of Carmelites. Carmelo is also a saint's name and — in modern times — tied to basketball player Carmelo Anthony.

Author Colson Whitehead introduced this surname-name to the lexicon, perfect for, well, a son or grandson of a Nicholas.

A beaming, friendly Irish last-name-first-name waiting to be discovered.

Crimson is a rare unisex color name used more frequently among baby girls.

Upper-crusty nickname occasionally used in Britain, particularly in 1930s novels featuring significant garden party scenes, but eclipsed here by Carrie et al.

Cassander is the masculine form of Cassandra, and the name of an ancient king of Macedon from the 3rd century BC. It could make a nice alternative to Alexander or a refreshing way to honour a female relative named Cassie/Cassandra/Sandra.

As flinty and steely as Mr. Eastwood.

Although it looks like an English placename, the surname Crowley is an anglicization of the Irish O Cruadhlaoich. A famous bearer was the occultist Aleister Crowley, and it also appears on characters in Supernatural and The Walking Dead. It has started to get a little use in recent years, as part of the new wave of names ending in -ley.

Cliff is a familiar, timeless short form -- never too popular, yet widely known -- that you might also think of as a geographical name ala Vale or Field.

Only if you're madly nostalgic for sixties TV.

Calista Flockhart may have made her variation of this beautiful Greek name familiar to modern Americans, but the even-edgier x version was the name of an earlier feminist heroine: a character in Kate Chopin's The Storm.

A sweet and rare spice name, which made its first and only appearance on the US baby name charts in 1969 – the year Neil Young's song "Cinnamon Girl" was released.

A brisk and beachy word name. For those of us saddened that Cove now has negative connotations, Coast could be an appealing alternative.