Black Dog Names

Whether you think of the chocolates or the naked long-haired lady on the horse, Godiva is a name with baggage no child should have to carry.

Prissy, no matter how you spell it.

Popular name in Israel, worth considering for a dark-haired daughter with a bit of a bohemian cast.

This booming word name has been used every year since 1988, yet at most was given to 30 baby boys in a single year. But with names like Thunder, all it takes is one celebrity to bring it to the mainstream, and Usain Bolt could be the guy. He welcomed a son named Thunder (yes, Thunder Bolt) in 2021, twin to Saint Leo and brother to Olympia Lightning.

Dark.

Nice sound, but double meaning -- shady glen or shady character.

Although this is a legitimate name, most people would associate it with a line of Volkswagens -- you'd be better off choosing a Mercedes.

Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe.

An ubercool and mysterious name, brought to you by director M. Night Shyamalan.

Pretty sound, provocative meaning, but a little over-the-top.

This may be a bit quirky to make it as a name, especially in first place. If you love it, you might try it in the middle.

This familiar Irish surname, best known as the name of the mononamed Welsh female singer, is extremely rare as a first name in the US but could make an original Irish choice.

This intriguing Scandinavian name is associated with Roald Dahl, author of the juvenile classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can honor an ancestral Ronald just by dropping that middle 'n'.

This Irish surname packs a lot of attitude, projecting an image of spunk and sass. The Welsh singer Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy, is best known for her songs Mercy and Warwick Avenue.

Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.

A new addition to the menagerie of animal baby names — Rooster was given to five baby boys in 2019, but did not return to the charts in the following year. The word has American origins — the Puritans used it as an alternative to "cock," which developed its euphemistic meaning around the 1770s. Rooster comes from the verb "to roost," as the birds are known to do.

Bamboo is a plant name that you might want to save for the zoo's name-the-panda contest. It was used for a starbaby in 2000, though, the rapper Big Boi.

Famous violinist-conductor Pinchas Zuckerman is the most famous modern bearer; the biblical Pinchas was the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron -- both preferable name choices.