Animal Names for Girls

Dymphna, also spelled Dympna, is the name of an Irish virgin martyr. The story goes that she was a Celtic princess who fled to Belgium to escape the abusive attentions of her father, and his mad actions led to her becoming the patron saint of the insane.

Phonetic spelling of the Muslim Aanisah, chosen by singer Macy Gray for one of her daughters.

Capitola owes its position on the US Top 1000 to the 1859 novel The Hidden Hand, also known as Capitola the Madcap. It was written by E. D. E. N. Southworth — the initials stand for Eliza Dorothy Emma Nevitte — and serialized first in the 1860s, then in 1883, and was published as a book in 1888.

The obscure yet not unappealing name of a legendary heroine of Rome. The ancient Clelia escaped an Etruscan invader by swimming across the Tiber River.

In the US, Anessa reads as Vanessa with the V lobbed off. But it's actually missing a G — that from Agnessa, the Russian variation of Agnes.

Divine seems more proper a name with the rise of Heaven and its turned-around twin Nevaeh. Though superlative names like Divine -- Unique, say, or Precious -- sometimes seems as if they're trying to hard and protesting too much.

Anabel is the sleekest version of this lovely name with so many variations, all of them correct. But Anabel and all her sisters -- Annabel, Annabelle, Anabella etc. -- took a downward turn after the 2014 horror film Annabelle.

This glamorous name of a hot young French singer is catching on. Tessa and Barron Hilton used it as a middle name for their daughter Milou.

Vocal name seldom heard, with most elle-ending names these days dropped in favor of the more straightforward Elle and Ella.

There's still only one.

A rising surname name for girls — it's overwhelmingly feminine, despite the association with Kenny Chesney.

Clayton is a surprisingly traditional name on the boys' side, ranking among the US Top 1000 for boys for its entire history. Girls named Clayton have been fewer and further between, but there's no reason this this place name can't work for baby girls too, ala Payton.

A very popular name for boys in Ireland that's well-used throughout the British Isles, Darragh is also occasionally used for girls and certainly sounds feminine or at least unisex to the American ear. Simplified form Dara pushes it further toward the girls' side.

Destry rides again, this time as a Western flavored baby name. Derived from the French surname Destrier, from an Anglo-Norman word meaning "warhorse", this rugged name was popularized by the 1930 novel Destry Rides Again by Max Brand, subsequently adapted for the big screen.

One familiar name never used for real people, for obvious reasons. Read more about Cinderella and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Calloway is one of those irresistibly jaunty, animated three-syllable surnames, like Sullivan and Finnegan — but this one has the added attraction of jazzy ties to the immortal "Dean of American Jive," Cab Calloway. For a girl, this could be an unconventional route to the cool nickname Callie.

Gorgeous name in any form, though the c may muddy the pronunciation.