Dog Names That Start With R

Well used in Russia, this is a distinctive and undiscovered choice here. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky.

Confident Middle Eastern choice. Children will relate to the Rafiki form via the wise guru in Disney's "The Lion King."

The kind of serious old-school name that sounds appealing again; perfect for the intrepid baby namer. More commonly spelled Rosamund but highly unusual these days in either version, with fewer than 20 baby girls named Rosamund in the US last year while Rosamond didn't even register with five.

Most contemporary parents would probably opt for the more streamlined Elle.

In the Shona language of souther Africa, this simple and wearable boys' name means love.

Superhero names are fit for humans today, and there's no reason Rambo can't take his place among a generation of babies named Loki, Odin, and Atlas.

More popular among German Shepherds than baby boys.

A simple, importable Japanese name that is used for both males and females and carries a multitude of meanings depending on which character is used to denote it. While most westerners pronounced it rye-oh, its real pronunciation is closer to ree-uh. A similar male name, Ryu, means "dragon."

Audacious offshoot of Roxanne, the wayward heroine of the musical Chicago.

Rira is a truly multicultural name with roots in four different languages. It's most common as a Japanese name, where it can be made up of various kanji combinations with meanings such as "good plum" and "easy pear." In French, it means "laugh."

The name of the sweet human baby in the film Ice Age, Roshan is a handsome Persian name that is the origin of the female name Roxanne, via its feminine form Roshanak.

Ralphie is one of those short forms that have been out of style for so long it just might have a chance of coming back in, if you can get past seeing it as a desperate attempt to cute-ify a stodgy old man's name.

Ruhi is a charming, rapidly rising girl name used in Hindu culture. Its meaning refers to spiritual ascension and is mentioned in sacred Vedic texts including the Mahabharata and Rigveda.

The feminine version of the newly-stylish Roman -- and the longer form of the also-newly-stylish Romy -- would make a girls' choice that achieves that near-impossible balance of being both original and fashionable. This variation is far superior to Romaine, which is too lettuce-y.

Strong Japanese unisex choice. Dragons are a symbol of power in Japan.

Sleek, unisex surname rarely heard for girls -- which could be seen as an asset.

As its parent name Roland comes back into style (yep, it’s happening), could there be an uptick in baby Rollies? Certainly as a pet form.

Ancient martyr name that sounds totally modern, but perhaps too close to rumor.

Rayden is yet another example of the dozens of new boys' names with the 'aden' sound.