Animal Names for Girls

Celestia is a heavenly name that sounds more ethereal than Celeste, Celestia might make a distinctive, feminine choice if your taste runs toward names like Angelina and Seraphina.

This little-known Ancient Roman name might make a fresh spin on the popular Ella, Ayla, Isla contingent. The "ae" is pronounced "ee" (think Aesop's fables).The Annals of Aeliana is a children's fantasy series by Ryan Watters. The meaning is thought to derive from the Greek helios, or sun.

Ellis, a surname used sparingly as a first in the Wallace/Morris period, sounds new now for girls, as a gender-neutral alternative to Ella or Alice. It debuted in the US Top 1000 for girls in 2015.-- Ellis has always been in the Top 1000 for boys -- and seems to be headed straight up. One of the most popular gender-neutral names, currently there are two baby boys named Ellis for every girl.

Brianna's popularity in the US came later than father name Brian's, peaking in the 1990s, two decades after Brian's Top 10 reign of the 1970s.

The name of a beautiful water fairy in Turkish mythology, who has the power to grant wishes and mend broken hearts. Alara is also a popular name in Armenia.

Bethany is a lyrical name that still strikes many parents as a fresher, more substantial substitute for the overused Brittany/Brittney or the more antiquated Beth.

Blanche, which originated as a nickname for a pale blonde and then became associated with the notion of purity, was in style a century ago, ranking in the double digits until 1920. She then had to fight the stereotype of faded Southern belle, a la Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire and Blanche Devereaux in TV's Golden Girls. Now all three of the Golden Girls--Blanche, Rose and Dorothy--could be ready for revival, with Blanche sounding like a stronger, simpler alternative to Bianca.

Antonia is stronger than most feminized boys’ names, reflecting the pioneer spirit of Willa Cather's classic novel My Antonia. Antonia is hovering near the bottom of the US popularity list, which may be an excellent reason for you to use it.

The multicultural Eliana has been rising quickly in recent years and is now popular in Netherlands, the UK, Canada, France, and Brazil. With in-built nicknames Ellie, Elle and Ana, Eliana - and her spelling variants - are versatile and appealing.

Long more associated with the New York Waldorf- hotel and the neighborhood in Queens than as a baby name, Astoria is finally beginning to emerge from their shadow and find favor with parents looking to move beyond Brooklyn. The name Astoria is drawn from the surname of titan of industry John Jacob Astor, theorized to mean "hawk."

The gorgeous Angelina Jolie has promoted the star power of her name and changed Angelina's image from delicate to intense, from older Italian mama to stylish multi-cultural child. Kids might relate to the dancing mouse in the series of charming children's books, Angelina Ballerina, or to the Harry Potter character, Angelina Johnson Weasley, a member of Dumbledore's army.

Yes, it's hard to see Arthur as a girls' name, but our database pulls in every name that appears on every name popularity list from anywhere ever. (Note: Lots of countries don't keep name popularity data, but if they do, we have it). Therefore some parents at some point named their daughters Arthur. Or the registrar wrote the name in the wrong gender column.

Bryn is an up-and-coming gentle, yet substantial, Welsh name that would also be effective in the middle spot. In Wales it's a traditional boys' name, but it's far more popular for girls now in the US.

Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time, there might be some adventurous parents willing to overlook that.

Asher is of course a very popular Biblical boys' name, but Australian actress Asher Keddie puts this in the girls' column too. Nearly 70 baby girls were named Asher in one recent year, about 1 percent of the total babies given the name. But if you've always loved Ashley and fear that now it's outdated, you might look to Asher as a worthy substitute.

Aviva is vivacious and memorable, a fresh spin on the Vivian and Vivienne names that have been getting more popular since Angelina and Brad chose one for their twin daughter. Another A-beginning palindrome name: Aziza.

Alexis, a one-time exclusively-boys’ name, was more popular than its sister Alexandra for quite a while, but in recent years Alexandra has overtaken it once again. Alexis was a Top 20 girls’ name from 1994-2010 but has experienced a decline in popularity in recent years, though now it's one of the top unisex names.

Eilonwy is a rare and poetic Welsh name first recorded in the late 19th century and used by Lloyd Alexander for his novel series The Chronicles of Prydain. The character appeared in Disney's adaptation of the series. In both the books and on the screen, Eilonwy is a feisty yet kind character. Read more about Eilonwy and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Cara is a simple, sweet, Italian endearment that enjoyed its greatest popularity from the 1970s through the 1990s, reaching a high of Number 189 in 1977. Despite the rising celebrity of English model/actress Cara Delevingne, who played Enchantress in Suicide Squad, Cara dropped off the Top 1000 in the US in 2020, perhaps because it sounds too close to the dreaded Karen.

A light and pretty pan-cultural name which can be considered a variant of either the Greek name Selene or Selena, meaning "moon", or of the French Celine, meaning "heavenly". An attractive choice that is surprisingly rare in the US: out of the Top 1000 since 2006.