Funny Dog Names

When Kate Hudson named her second son Bingham and announced that she would be calling him Bing, it put this zingy nickname name out on the table. Before that, there was only one, further nicknamed Der Bingle -- and he was really Harry Lillis Crosby.

Less appealing than some other Irish surnames, such as Malone and Sullivan, unless used as a tribute to jazz musician Gerry. There could be some Mulligan stew teasing.

Lemon is one of the more unique names related to fruit, compared with sisters Clementine and Apple. That may be because lemon is also a word that's slang for a clunker, something that doesn't work very well. No baby wants to feel like a Lemon, so this is one of those unusual names that is best avoided.

Extreme cool possibilities in either of these modern categories, like a postmodern Linc.

Mango might be cute as a short form of a related name like Manuel, or for a pet name. But we're not feeling it as a full baby name for a child of any gender.

You can call your baby "babe," but don't name her that.

Gambit means ploy or trick, which makes it an appropriate name for a little player. Eight boys were named Gambit in the US in one recent year.

Gertie has a certain homespun charm, summoning to mind butter-yellow braids and denim overalls, summoning mind the adorable character played by little Drew Barrymore in E.T. Is the world ready for the return of Gertie and Gertrude? Maybe?

Many will associate Rihanna with the Barbados-born singer, known mononymously by her middle name. During her early years of fame, when "Umbrella" was on the radio and "Take a Bow" was playing through the iPod Shuffle, the name shot up the charts in the US, UK, France, and Puerto Rico. Though the name did fall out of the charts as rapidly as it entered and while some parents might feel it is way too tied to the mid-2000s, Rihanna was given to 165 babies in 2023.

A diminutive of the (male) name Dafydd, the Welsh form of David. In the US, it's strongly associated with the candy.

Short form of Alfred that had fallen out of favor, but could come back alongside Alfie and other clunky old-style nicknames like Gus and Ike.

The original southern Good Ol' Boy.

An informal nickname for names such as Julia, Juliette, and June.

Todrick, an invented name that combines Todd with -rick ending names such as Frederick, is heavily associated with performer Todrick Hall. Hall initially became recognized for his success on American Idol, and since then has become a YouTube star and judge on RuPaul's Drag Race.

Yes, nature lovers are starting to name their children after all forms of life, including fish, but consider carefully before you cast your line into these tease-infested waters.

Model Lucky Blue Smith welcomed daughter Rumble Honey in 2020, introducing a new name to the pool and putting it among the craziest celebrity baby names of the year. We don't see Rumble inspiring many copycats.

Up-and-coming actress Beanie Feldstein is attracting attention toward her unusual — but rather cute — nickname. She was born Elizabeth Greer Feldstein but nicknamed "Elizabeanie" by her childhood nanny. It was later simplified to Beanie by her older brothers.

There's only one. Okay, two.

Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in boys' names starting with R, you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and Racer) to your list.

Otter first came onto the baby name radar when Zooey Deschanel used it as a middle name for her daughter in 2015. It entered the US charts the same year, but as a boy name. Cute, sleek and wild, it's an interesting alternative to more popular animal names like Fox and Bear.