Golden Retriever Names

A name with an obvious meaning, for a long time associated with Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Nickname Goldie seems to be catching on in the celebrity community.

Spelt Xanthos in Greek, this alternate name for Apollo has a noble sound (pronounced ZHAN-thus) and can always be shortened to Xan.

Like Silver, a shimmering metallic color name, almost too dazzling for an ordinary boy.

This is the kind of strong one-syllable boy's name many parents are seeking these days. The more musical Chord was introduced by hot young actor Chord Overstreet.

Names that end in I are hot right now, but Yari has yet to be discovered. It's a unisex name more common among girls, perhaps due to its similarity to Yara.

More often heard in the West as a surname, Zarin could work as a first for boys or girls.

Bardot joined the first and last names of other glamour girl icons such as (Jean) Harlow when David Boreanaz chose the surname of '50s French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot for his daughter. Bardot debuted in the US charts in 2022.

Both Kody and Cody — shining stars of the 90s — are in decline, although more people are choosing Cody than Kody.

The name of the second-biggest (and third-most populous) island in Hawaii was one of the fastest-rising boys' names of 2017. A major factor was surely Dwayne Johnson's character in Moana, the Polynesian demigod named Maui, a mythological trickster who slowed the sun to create the days. (It fell back to normal levels in the following years.)

This is a name you get stuck with, not (we hope) one your parents choose for you.

An established place name, associated with a sunny island in the English Channel, the Garden State in the US, knitted pullovers, reality TV, and a Broadway musical. It peaked in the late 2000s and though it is now in decline, 130 girls and nearly 50 boys received the name in 2023.

-ey meaning "island". Alternative theories suggest it comes from jarl ,meaning "earl" or hjǫr meaning "sword".

Derived from Slavic zlato "gold", this strong and dynamic name has a fitting namesake in Swedish professional footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović. It is used in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Slovenia.

Popular for pets, not baby boys.

One celebrity baby Pilot put this occupational choice into the pool -- together with the middle name Inspektor, something we wouldn't advise following.

This upbeat, friendly surname name has appeared on television's Battlestar Galactica a handful of cartoons, and on a literary note, a character in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Sports fans might think of Boomer Esiason, the NFL quarterback turned color commentator. He's not the only athlete to answer to the upbeat nickname.

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the nineteenth century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay coloured with iron oxide) and sounds similar to fashionable Oakley. A strong earthy nature name that is both unusual and evocative.

Though unrelated, this would probably be taken as a fanciful spelling of Patsy.

Alternative form of Zarin and Zari.