Animal Names for Girls

Dariela may have a not-quite-authentic provenance, but it's a pretty name and an unusual choice in the girly Isabella-Gabriella group.

Canada is an undiscovered but attractive place-name possibility, up till now a masculine territory.

Paul Cézanne was a French post-Impressionist painter whose intriguing surname is of uncertain origin, although it may be related to Suzanne (from the Hebrew Shoshana, "lily"). It has been used as a girls' name in South Africa, due to its familiar -anne ending.

A beautiful African name which can also lead to the always-wearable "Addy" nickname.

Better known as Tapioca, Cassava makes an innovative way to get to the nicknames Cass or Cassie.

This variation of Latin Benedicta has a little more European pizzazz. Pronounced like Benedict but with a slightly longer final vowel sound, Benedicte or Bénédicte is used as a female name in France. In Norway and Denmark, Benedicte is pronounced with an extra syllable: beh-neh-DIK-teh.

With Clementine on the rise and Clemence and Clemency considered chic in Europe, this unusual Latinate option could be a fresh alternative. Clementia is another, more common, spelling.

Only slightly fewer girls are named Brandi each year than Brandy, 45 versus 57 in the US. Both spellings have their advantages and disadvantages.

A popular Israeli baby name inspired by Mount Arbel in the north, which overlooks the Sea of Galilee.

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

Alzira found its highest degree of popularity in the mid-nineteenth century after Giuseppe Verdi created an opera of the name Alzira, after its romantic heroine. Despite Verdi using the name for a Peruvian princess, Alzira is an arabic name Verdi's opera, despite the name's arabic roots, the name was given to a Peruvian princess. Alzira is also the name of a Spanish city in Valencia.

Analiese is the rarest form of this increasingly popular German smoosh name, at least in the US. Only 26 baby girls were named Analiese in one recent years, versus about 75 called Annaliese, 100 named Analiese, and 750 given the popular Annalise spelling.

A newly hatched cousin of Bree and Brea.

The name recently given to their daughter by Susan and Robert Downey, Jr. is pronounced like Avery and may be seen as a kree8tiv spelling variation of that popular unisex name or a girlish short form of Avraham, the Biblical Hebrew form of Abraham.