Animal Names for Girls

This 1950s Welsh bird name sounds less dated than our fifties Robin.

One of the most girlish offshoots of Braeden.

This unique baby name is stronger, more distinctive than April or Avril.

A name halfway between its old milquetoast image and a more jovial Irish-sounding contemporary one. Sounds more feminine than masculine these days.

Gemstone names have a long history of use, from Ruby to Pearl. Emeraude is the French word for emerald. If the Spanish Esmeralda is stylish, why not Emeraude?

More colorful than Blanche, but blanker than Bianca.

Unisex name from the Old Testament, which is very in-keeping with current naming trends for girls.

The Mayan goddess of the moon and the night, associated with swallows, eagles, and jaguars.

A combination name that might be dismissed as a clown and cow name. The sounds are nevertheless pretty and the meaning is good - though spellings Claribel or Clarabel might help distance it from the cow association.

Ashley alternative climbing up the baby names charts, probably due to the trendy ley/leigh ending and its similar-but-different status to the more popular Ainsley.

Asherah is probably one of the most ancient of mother goddess symbols, recorded in the pantheons of several civilisations from the tenth century BCE. As the mother to innumerable gods and goddesses, she is often depicted as having the capacity to walk on water, which makes Asherah an excellent choice for a baby born under one of the water signs of the zodiac, including names for Scorpio babies, as well as those born under Pisces and Cancer.

This Danielle/Monique hybrid offers a new twist on an old favorite.

A compound name made up of Aubrey and Brielle, this modern invention blends fresh, stylish sounds, with a nod to more traditional elegance. It entered the US Top 1000 in 2012 and remained there for a decade, and though 2023 saw it drop from the ranks, it is still given to around 240 girls each year.

Alair is a lighter, more unusual form of Hilary.

A rare and warmer version of Clotilde, in combination with the Greek name Cleo. The first recorded use of Cleotilde was in 1894. It peaked in 1924 when 16 baby girls were named Cleotilde.

Ed Sheeran put this continental place name on the map when he used it as the middle name for his daughter Lyra, born in 2020.

Rarely heard as a name; Chiara might be preferable.

Astarte is the ancient goddess of sexuality, fertility, and war, associated with Ishtar as well as Venus.

Aderyn, like cousin Elowen, may have found her moment: Aderyn makes an original full name that gets you to the cute and trendy nickname Addie. Just remember to put the emphasis on the second syllable.