Black Dog Names

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.

Also spelled, Piran, this Cornish saint's name is also a village. Perran is thought to be analogous to the Irish name Ciaran.

Heard in the Scottish highlands, and much more in tune with the present times than the dated Douglas — for which it could make a perfect tribute name.
Dougal was the Scottish nickname for invading dark-haired Danish Vikings, just as Fingal was given to the blonder Norwegians.

Familiar via Harry, but much more worldly.

Hazen is a variation of the Dutch surname Hasin, which has two separate origins. The first is as a nickname for Haso, a Germanic given name derived from haswa, meaning "gray" or "black." Hasin was also a variation of Haas, a Dutch and German surname meaning "hare."

There's a football player called Pepper (born Thomas and given the childhood nickname for sprinkling pepper on his cereal) Johnson -- but this sounds more like the name of a cheerleader.

From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.

Nimbus is a word from nature for a type of cloud that has occasionally -- very occasionally -- been used for a human. But it's evocative and upbeat and certainly makes an intriguing and stylish nature name.

A dramatic nature-inspired possibility for either sex.

The final -e takes this from a daring word name to a literary honor name, for the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, infamous for his wit and flamboyance.

A sweet, simple Sanskrit name which would work in many languages and has an sparkling, colorful meaning.

Better for a dog.

Now that the Irish Ciaran and Ciara -- aka Kieran and Kiera -- are becoming more popular beyond their native shores, the short and strong Ciar might find some favor. As of now, more than 160 baby girls were named Ciara in the US last year, with half that many boys named Ciaran, but so far no baby boys named Ciar, though 17 were called Keir.

Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Despite the light, pretty sound of Bella for a girl, the boys' name Bela has dark and mysterious undertones, thanks to Dracula actor Bela Lugosi. Béla is also the first name of composer Bartók.

Kiernan Shipka, aka Sally Draper on Mad Men, brings this Irish surname into the girls' column. And, like Kieran and Tierney and Tiernan, it's one of the perfectly unisex baby names. Only 14 girls were named Kiernan in the US in a recent year...and three times as many boys. If you want to move beyond Riley and Kennedy to one of the more unusual surname-based Irish names for girls, this may be a good choice.

The tree, not the charred bit of soot in the fireplace, usually used for boys, but, as a short form of Ashley, works for girls too.

Kerry is the name of one of the most beautiful and lush counties of Ireland was a seventies favorite. Related, updated versions might include Cerys and Keira.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden added this rocking name to the lexicon of day names, which have their roots in the African tradition of naming a child after the day of the week, time of day, or season in which he or she was born. But they wisely used it as a middle name.

The Shirley of the 1950s. Shelley Winters was born a Shirley.