Dog Names That Start With S

Variant of Sylvana

Sabik, a star in Ophiuchus, makes for a rather harsh-sounding name. If you're looking skyward for a baby name, you'd do better with Orion or Jupiter. But if you are searching for names that mean new beginnings, this is one unusual choice.

Saffira is the softer, Latin variation of the English name Sapphire. In sound it is reminiscent of Zephyra.

This spelling seems to be taking off as a result of media appearances as characters in first "Gilmore Girls" and then as Sookie Stackhouse, the Anna Paquin character in "True Blood," based on "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" series of books by Charlaine Harris.

Salman is an Arabic name dating back to Salman the Persian, one of Muhammad's companions. In this country it is strongly associated with Anglo-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.

We call Savvy a Modern Virtue Name, a contemporary version of the Puritan's Hope and Charity, extolling the virtue of shrewdness. And who doesn't want their daughter to grow up to be Savvy in the ways of the world? So far, this name has been used only for girls, perhaps because some parents remember the women's magazine called Savvy.

More substantial than it sounds: Shango was the god of thunder and legendary ancestor of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.

The fact that this is pronounced sah-FEE-yah would cause Western ears to hear it as Sophia.

Serafin and Seraphim are much less known and used in the US than the feminine forms Serafina and Seraphina, but just as appealing. An out-of-the-box Spanish option with a deep history and an animated meaning.

Both rhythmic and serene, Serenella is one of the Italian names for girls virtually unknown in the US but definitely usable. An unusual route to Ella as a short form?

Santana is a saintly name...or Latin rock band. While traditionally masculine, character Santana Lopez on the show Glee showed the name's potential for a girl as well. Sound-wise, it feels like Savannah with a twist.

A multicultural nickname for Samuel. The Spanish and Finnish variation is pronounced SAH-moo, while the Hungarian version is SHAW-moo.

A word name with a fire-y personality. Sparky is an old-school nickname for a boy, but Spark sounds both more grownup and modern.

Nice sound, but double meaning -- shady glen or shady character.

Short for Samuel or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.

Sevyn broke into the Top 1000 for girls in 2019, the same year that Seven crossed the threshold for boys. Ys are typically employed to make names more feminine, which is why many more girls were given the Sevyn spelling than boys. However, Sevyn still made it on the birth certificates of over 100 boys last year.

Unfashionable surname, best left in the forest with Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the name of the horse in the kids' TV show Spirit.

When comedian David Atkins adopted this Arabian Nights-type name, it became almost feasible, but could lead to tough times in the schoolyard.