Animal Names for Girls

Alison by any spelling is now considered more of a mom name than a baby name. It's been trending downward for more than a decade, though it still makes the Top 1000.

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

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

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 newly hatched cousin of Bree and Brea, with a touch of Bailey and Brynn there too, Brae feels like a name that could catch on. However, a 'bray' is also the sound a donkey makes.

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.

Sweet Japanese name that would work well as an alternative to the now-dated Alyssa and Marissa.

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera that was transmogrified into the modern play Rent. Boheme means a literary or artistic person who lives outside conventional society.

A Slavic variation of Helen that might make an unusual update of that classic name.

At first glance, Alson appears to be a streamlined version of Alison, however, the names are unrelated. Alison is a variation of Alice, not derived from a surname, while Alson would have originally been bestowed upon sons of men named Allen, Alexander, or the like.

The Welsh word for "love" and a term of endearment turned modern word-name, Cariad is a sweet possibility that might work well as a name for a February or Valentines baby or a name for a Christmas baby. A famous bearer is British comedian Cariad Lloyd.

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.

Aleksandra is the preferred spelling in many Eastern European languages and cultures, but for English-speakers it's ironically more confusing if also perfectly phonetically clear.

This name dates back to Arthurian legend, in which Angharad was the lover of Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table, and was used more recently for the name of the favorite wife of the warlord in Mad Max: Fury Road. It was quite popular in the Middle Ages and is still heard in Wales, but we doubt that even the glamorous Rosie Huntington-Whiteley could propel it to wider popularity.

Feels like a hybrid. Better go for Edith or Evelyn.