Dog Names That Start With S

A sunny choice that's popular for girls in Lithuania. Also the name of the ancient Lithuanian sun goddess.

The double 'e' gives this Celtic surname a genial sound. It derives from an old Irish name — Suibhne (SHEEV-ne) that was borne by several early saints and kings, including, unfortunately, one known as Mad Sweeney who spent his life living in trees and composing nature poetry. Another possible drawback is the association with Sweeney Todd, the bloodthirsty butcher of Sondheim stage-musical fame.

Selig comes from the Yiddish vocabulary word meaning 'happy, fortunate, blessed.' Most of us are more familiar with its Woody Allen variation, Zelig.

Bright and pretty, resembling Aaliyah, Delilah, Amaya and Sarah, Sariyah is a celestial and stylish choice,

A striking Nordic name with ancient roots, Svala (and its less common variant form Svale) derive from the Old Norse name for the swallow. This could be a great choice for nature lovers and fans of Edith Piaf (piaf being a term for a swallow).

A shimmery name with a wonderful meaning; another intriguing variation is Siroun.

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

Derived from suvarna, a Sanskrit word meaning "good color".

Sabbath is a faith-inspired word name, like Sunday or Faith, that is attracting some notice since heavy metal musician Zakk Wylde chose it for his son. But then there's the band Black Sabbath, which gives the name a more devilish twist. While there's nothing intrinsically male or female about Sabbath as a first name, it squeaked onto the Social Security roster for five boys in 2012, but was not recorded for girls. Sabbath comes from the word for "day of rest" in many ancient cultures.

Young Japanese stars Shione Sawada and Shione Kaminaga have brought some attention to this uncommon Japanese name.

Stokes is ultimately an English surname, although it's been used in Ireland and Scotland for generations as well. It's a variation of Stoke, a habitational surname, as there were many towns named Stoke in England. The origin of the word stoke, however, is contested. Some say it simply means "place," while others contest it designated a small hamlet. There's also evidence that connects it to the Old English word stocc, meaning "tree trunk."

In Greek mythology, Sao was one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the sea god Nereus. A moon of Neptune is named in her honor.

Derived from the Hebrew words shai, meaning "gift," and li, "mine." The Shaily variation is more common in Israel and the US.

The forerunner of Cynthia is all but unknown these days, but deserving of import and revival.

Sydney may be by far the more popular spelling of this name for girls, but it's also predominantly female. Over 1200 baby girls were named Sydney in 2021 vs. 37 baby boys. Contrast that with Sidney, a spelling used for about 150 babies of each gender. That makes Syd the more common spelling for girls of this cute short form.

Scandinavian form of Scilla