Animal Names for Girls

This ferocious and fuzzy animal name has started to see some use among baby girls, particularly as a middle name. Reporter Katy Tur has a daughter named Eloise Judy Bear.

The ie ending injects this late 20th century favorite with a bit of late 19th century charm. But not quite enough to make it a good 21st century choice.

Spanish for Swan, Cisne has an intriguing and distinct sound.

Both a biblical and an Israeli place-name, this can be used as an offbeat substitute for Deborah.

Delysia has twice been used as a stage name. The first time (in real life) by fin-de-siecle French actress Alice Delysia; the second time (in the movies) by the character played by Amy Adams in "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day". It is a soft, romantic name which is reminiscent of elyssium and Elissa.

A Roman forename, and later family name, used for both sexes in ancient times (but more commonly men).

One of the many international variations of the classic Helen.

Hawaiian teen prodigy Auli'i Cravalho burst onto the scene as the star of Disney's animated "Moana" in 2016, bringing this distinctive name to the forefront. The glottal stop, or "okina," between the two I's makes it a somewhat tough sell off the islands, though Cravalho's stunning performance of "How Far I'll Go" at the 2017 Oscars is almost winning enough to overcome that.

Nice sound, colorless image.

This Basque name, which derives the name of a small town, is less well known than its diminutive version Arantxa. The name comes from the Basque word aratza meaning thornbush.

A pure and wholesome image... unless it's poisoned!

Clia could be seen as a variation of Clea (probably another invented literary name), or the creation of L. Frank Baum for a mermaid Princess character in one of his Oz books. Offers a similar choice to Cleo vs Clio.