Dog Names That Start With P

This uppity name has been a fast climber in recent years, but we still think it's a bit much. Even abroad, where the connection to the prestigious university will be weaker, any name beginning with "Prince" will sound pretentious.

Parry is quite common in Wales, often as a surname, but would inevitably be misunderstood as Perry or even Harry.

Some names referring to expensive things -- Tiffany, Armani, Porsche -- are in fact declasse, but Price transcends that label with its simplicity and strength.

Strictly for the girls.

With Bear and Fox becoming hot baby names, why not Panda? Why not indeed. Both the name and its animal namesake are adorable. And Pan is a nickname right in line with the mythological name trend. The word panda comes from the Nepali word ponya, meaning "bamboo eater" for the panda's favorite food.

Sixties-style short form that sounds cool again -- though the unscrupulous Pete on "Mad Men" is not a character to emulate.

This operatic Italian name -- it appears in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" -- is a more unusual route to the nickname Pam/Pammy.

While patriot Thomas Paine is a worthy honoree, the mere association with the word 'pain' knocks this name out of bounds.

Though Patrice is still common for boys in France, it has long been feminine here.

A pet name, literally and figuratively. The word pumpkin is derived from the Greek pepōn, meaning large melon."

Pacific is an adventurous kind of place-name, with the added bonus of the association with peace.

Panda, welcome to the baby name menagerie! Panda is an adorable animal name (after an adorable animal) that is sure to be both very rare and very cute. In Skins there was a character called Panda, which was short for Pandora. The name Panda comes from the Nepali word ponya meaning "bamboo eater".

The Shakespearean Portia may be a real name, but Porsche is now and forever a car, not a little girl.

Peanut is a name you might call a baby in the womb, but at least one set of parents put it on the birth certificate too. General Hospital star Ingo Rademacher and his fiance Ehiku named their son Peanut Kai.

In mythology, another name for Aphrodite -- but the rare feminine name that sounds better for a boy.

A lyrical choice.

Potential alternative to Piper. Streamlined Fifer would probably be the preferred spelling if it wasn't for high-profile actress Michelle Pfeiffer.

Pancho is a bit more problematic than such similar names as Pablo and Paco because of the Pancho Villa association.

Petronilla is an ancient saint's name that relates to the Roman family name Petronius, thought to mean yokel, though some connect it with Petra or Peter, meaning stone. With the resurgence of so many ancient Roman names, the elaborate and pretty Petronilla or its French form Petronille seem more usable these days than they have in centuries.

Spaniards use Pax and Paz, Hebrew speakers Shalom, for Greeks it's Irene, so why can't we make the English word Peace a name? Peace Adzo Medie is the author of the novel His Only Wife.