269 Unique Dog Names for Your One-of-a-Kind Pup

Marvin has been neglected for so long that it's hard to believe that it has windswept Welsh roots. It also has some strong namesakes going for it -- singer Marvin Gaye, composer Marvin Hamlisch and boxer Marvin Hagler. It's the real name of both Neil Simon and Meatloaf. And let's not forget mention Marvin Gardens on Monopoly.

Dermot is an appealing, relatively undiscovered Irish mythological hero's name long popular in the Old Country, and imported into the American consciousness by actor Dermot Mulroney. We see it in the next Celtic wave following Connor and Liam.

Sometimes used as a short-form of Catholic Pope name Anacletus, Cletus is an ancient name that has not-yet found the popularity of Theodore, Leo, Atticus and Max. It perhaps suffers from its association to the yokel character in The Simpsons , but we think it's time for a reconsideration, given how well it fits into several current trends. Nickname Clete is cute as a button!

A name halfway between its old milquetoast image and a more jovial Irish-sounding contemporary one.

The heroic movie figure Indiana Jones was often called Indy, as in the equally testosterone-laden Indy 500 car race. It could also be short for Indigo or Indio, or just use it as is.

Flossie was an extremely popular Florence nickname that was used independently in the early twentieth century, given to over five hundred girls per year a century ago. Flossie was one of the younger twins in the iconic children's book series The Bobbsey Twins, first published in 1904. Appealing, if a little cutesy--sweet as candy floss. A similar name is Florrie.

Properly spelled Luã, this is a light and bright alternative to mega-popular Luna, with the same celestial meaning. Lua is also an attractive choice for tech-heads, with Lua being a popular programming language.

Lengthy, romantic Alessandro gives us the friendly and casual nickname Sandro, which works just as well as an independent name. It’s a popular international name, having ranked in Italy, France, Portugal, and Switzerland in recent years.

Unusual choice that was the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor, but is an interesting elaboration of Star, taking it into avian territory.

Out playing shuffleboard at his condo and not expected back for several generations -- unless it morphs into a girls' name, a la Sydney.

Milou and her near-identical twin Malou are adorable names popular throughout Europe; they're contractions of Marie or Mary and Lou or Louise. The Malou spelling will probably be easier for English speakers to pronounce; Milou may be conflated with Milo.

When Gary cracked the Top 10 in 1950, it was one of the first nonclassic boys’ names to do so, largely due to Gary (born Frank) Cooper, who was renamed after Gary, Indiana, his agent's hometown. Now, a 65 years later, Gary isn't particularly high in the charts, and has lost any glitter it had. May we suggest the fuller name Gareth?

Now that Zoe is getting wildly popular in the U.S. and the U.K. -- one poll puts it at number one in Wales -- parents may start hunting down fresh twists like this.

Keeley is well-used in modern Ireland, also found as Keely and Keela. The boys' form is Keelan. Largely unknown in the US, this could make an interesting update for Kelly or Kaylie or Kylie. A famous bearer is actress Keeley Hawes.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

The unusual-to-the-English-ear Moritz is a Top 25 name in Austria and a form of Maurice or Morris, which are modern variations of the ancient Roman Maurus. There were several early saints named Maurus and a famous 3rd century Saint Maurice, who was a Roman infantryman who was martyred when he refused to worship Roman gods. The Moritz form also references the posh Swiss ski resort St. Moritz and Justine Moritz is a character from Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein.

Elton is an unassuming, lesser-used place name belonging to several towns in the British Isles, the US and Canada, and even a lake in Russia. The singer Elton John gives it a bit of extra pizzazz.

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map; actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013. This name is even less used in England or Wales, where as recently as 2014 no births were registered using this name.

Like Marvin and Melvin, Sheldon has been perceived as about as far out as you can get, though there are very pretty towns in Devon and Derbyshire that inspired it. Sheldon Lee Cooper is the lead nerd character on the TV hit The Big Bang Theory, giving the name a brainy image. Nickname Shel (as in Shel Silverstein, author of Where the Sidewalk Ends) could, in the modern world of nature name love, be seen as beach evoking.