Animal Names for Girls

Avaline emerged as a full-fledged name when Cameron Diaz used it as the name of her wine brand. Only a dozen or two baby girls are given the name each year in the US, a surprise given the dramatically increased popularity of Adeline and Evelyn, which have spawned an abundant number of variations.

Darina comes from the Slavic element "dar" which means gift; the name is found in Czech, Bulgarian, and Slovak cultures and translates easily for English speakers. Darina may also be an Anglicization of the Irish Dairine, which means "fruitful."

Has a bit of a trade name feel, as in failed cable service.

Cordis is an unusual and substantial unisex choice.

A queen in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, featured in the GOT prequel House of the Dragon, where she is played by Sian Brooke.

Arlen might be thought of as an update on the midcentury Arlene or as a unisex surname-name. Arlen was given to 22 girls in the US last year vs 57 boys and those numbers may grow with the fashion for n-ending two-syllable surname-names. Another similar possibility for girls: Arden.

Constantina is a pretty, feminissima, if lengthy, variation on the Constance theme. The fourth century Constantina, also known as Constantia and Constantiana, was the eldest daughter of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and his second wife Fausta, daughter of Emperor Maximian. Constantina received the title of Augusta by her father, and is venerated as a saint; in English she is also known as Saint Constance.

Claribel improves on its mother name Clarabelle by distancing itself from the clown and the cow.

Variant of Alafair

Has the energetic-Irish-slightly-boyish image that many modern parents love.

Unusual surname with rowdy quality.

A more feminine version of Devin.

Unlike most combination names, this elegant blend -- related to the German Anneliese -- is more than the sum of its parts.

Lovely and rare (even in Ireland) mythological widow whose tears rained on Ireland.

Its meaning refers to the rich wood that lined the walls of King Solomon's temple. Well used in modern Israel, it's pronouced ah-REE-zuh.

Yet another spin on the megapopular Adeline names. About 1000 baby girls were named Adeline in the US last year, and fewer than five named Addilyn, which is a good thing.

This Central American place-name would make a unique alternative to Bella or Belle. The name Belize comes from the Mayan word Balix, meaning "muddy waters" — a reference to the Belize River.

Coppélia is the name of the life-sized doll created by Doctor Coppélius in the eponymous 1870 ballet, based on short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Coppélius' name may be derived from the Yiddish Koppel, a diminutive of Jacob.

Names that have not historically been names are not intrinsically gendered, so though we originally pinned Arrow as a boys' name, both starbaby Arrows that have been born recently have been girls. And with Arrow given to 60 girls in the US in 2015 and 94 boys, we call that a pretty decidedly gender neutral name. With its forward-moving, true-landing imagery, Arrow is one of the new inspirational names.

Bente, pronounced ben-tah, is a popular girls' name in both The Netherlands and Denmark though largely unknown in the English-speaking world. It suffers by being a near-homonym of the English word bent, not the best dictionary equivalent for a first name. Still, if you're looking for a girls' name that equates to Ben or Benjamin or Benedict, this may be one of your best bets.