Animal Names for Girls

A variation of Allison that was in the Top 1000 from 2008 to 2010, but has since fallen far out of favor.

An old-fashioned Dorothy short form — today we prefer Dolly, Dot, or Dottie.

Cobie Smulders used Cado as the middle name of her daughter Shaelyn.

Ayao is a goddess worshipped in Yoruba mythology in Nigeria, known as a deity of the air and wind. She is said to reside both in the forest and in the eye of a tornado.

Elf is an adorable nickname for the otherwise-clunky Elfrida or Elfrieda. Elf was used for the tragic sister in Miriam Toews' novel All My Puny Sorrows.

A Charlotte nickname heard much more often in Britain than here--American parents might prefer Charlie or Lottie.