Dog Names That Start With D

Dagger is one of the new badass baby names, a sharp and scary choice that some parents may feel arm their child for battle in a cruel modern world.

If you don't want your daughter to be a Diva, try this Hindu moon goddess name that was chosen by actress Monica Bellucci for hers.

Italian heritage name. It's sweet and simple, but has fallen almost out of use since its heyday in the 1960s.

If Destiny is your daughter's destiny, she probably won't be the only one in her school: until 2009, Destiny was in the Top 50, with three of its alternate spellings in hot pursuit. It has since dipped a bit in popularity but is still widely used. Destiny Hope was the birth name of Miley Cyrus and Destiny Jones is the daughter or rapper Nas.

Daenerys is yet another girls' name invented by "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin that is beginning to gain some traction in real life. Daenerys was used for 67 baby girls in 2013 while one of the character's titles, Khaleesi, was given to 241 baby girls. And the name Arya, also from the hyper-popular series, is one of the fastest growing girls' names in the country.

If you're looking for a name with Scandinavian roots, this would make a stronger and more appealing import than Dagmar. With its meaning of "new day," it could make an ideal choice for a girl born around New Year's.

Diesel, which you can think of as a word name for the fuel or as a German surname that derives from a pet form of Matthew or Mathias, is a new entry to the American name lexicon thanks to celebrities Jennie Finch and Casey Daigle, who chose it for their son, baby brother of Ace. Diesel might also be thought of as one of the neo-macho names, joining such bros as Harley, Ranger, and Breaker.

One of those ultimate cool-girl names, played by Keira Knightley in a movie about a supermodel-turned-bounty hunter, but kids might associate it with the game. High profile British designer India Hicks used it for her daughter. As a girls' nameit's still very rare, used in 2015 in the US for only seven baby girls.

Dee is a slight midcentury nickname that might be short for Deanna or Denise, but might be too slight for today's strong, independent female.

Dermot is an appealing, relatively undiscovered Irish mythological hero's name long popular in the Old Country, and imported into the American consciousness by actor Dermot Mulroney. We see it in the next Celtic wave following Connor and Liam.

Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930 novel Destry Rides Again by Max Brand, subsequently adapted for the big screen.

More and more parents are turning to this name as a route to the cool nickname Dax.

A super popular nature name in its native Turkey, currently Top 50 for both boys and girls there.

Spunky Irish surname that still has a pugnacious feel from its lingering association with one of boxing's greatest champs, Jack Dempsey. Many people may associate it more with Patrick Dempsey these days—McDreamy from TV's Grey's Anatomy.

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.

Singular and serene noun name that's been used by a couple of celebs.

Dimpled Our Gang comedy name.

Spiritual author Deepak Chopra made this familiar, if not particularly accessible, outside the Indian community.

Baby girl Danas outnumber baby boys with the name nearly ten to one. But Dana is an attractive, sleek name that can certain work for babies of either gender.