Animal Names for Girls

A medieval Italian name that could work in modern times.

Naming babies for personal heroes is the cool contemporary trend followed by Woody Allen when he honored New Orleans jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet in his daughter's name--adding the middle name Dumaine after a cornet player who was another of his musical heroes. Bechet has a nice, catchy Gallic feel.

One of a bunch of attractive Slavic names with the same meaning, which also includes Slovene Cvetka, Slovak Kveta, and Bulgarian Tsveta.

Caïssa was invented as a goddess of chess by Italian poet Marco Girolamo Vida in 1527. The name is known in the chess community, but not much outside of that.

This Thai name may get heard as Charlie.

A popular South Indian name that gained international attention when Aishwarya Rai became Miss World in 1994.

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 literary name, originally created as a male name by the poet Mihály Vörösmarty, that is now in the Hungarian Top 100 for girls.

Cana is well-known to readers of the Bible as the city where Jesus performed his first miracle. If other place names, both modern and ancient, real and mythical, can be baby names, why not Cana? Rhyming with Dana, it can work for either gender.

A Top 20 name in Slovenia that is homophonous with Ida.

The Chula is a traditional type of dance.