Dog Names That Mean Miracle

Derived from the Tigrinya elements hiyab, meaning "gift," and el, "God."

Diminutive of Matthijs, the Dutch form of Matthew.

Despite sounding feminine to English speakers, Shaya is a unisex name more common among baby boys — the male version also has roots in Arabic.

Dynamic and creative; common in Africa, challenging here. Pronunciation isn't as difficult as you'd guess, but everyone will have to ask. Many favor n-GO-zee, but a native speaker tells us that it is closer to n-GAW-zee, and we've found at least one n-GAH-zee, too.

Diarra has a nice meaning, but we could see it leading to possible teasing re association with a certain digestive problem.

Portuguese variation of Matthew.

This rare name crosses cultures. With the popularity of Ella and Bella, perhaps we'll hear more of Pella one day soon?

Pretty and unusual.

If you're looking for a Euro-chic alternative to Max, Mats is a strong possibility. It's a fading classic in Norway, but is popular in the Netherlands and Belgium, where short names are the height of style.

Popular in Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Russia, and familiar in the UK too, Bogdan is a rugged and strong sounding choice with a similar meaning to US favorite Theodore. Made up of the Slavic elements bogŭ and danŭ, it means "gift from God".

We like Matti in theory, but in practice it’s likely to get confused for the girlish Maddie.

The Finnish cognate of Thea, from Dorothea.

Mattis was most popular in Scandinavia in the 2000s and 2010s, and is now seeing success in Germany. In the US, it's most familiar as a surname.

Addai is derived from Thaddai, the original Aramaic form of Thaddeus. We prefer this derivative to Thad, which is twice as common.

Upbeat name with an auspicious meaning.

A particularly charming spin on the original, as is theSpanish name Tadeo. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Although it's a traditional male name in the Middle East, Ata has a more feminine read in the US.

Friendly and charming international variation of Matthew, common in Estonia.

One of the most unusual of the "iah" names, it comes with the appealing and usable nickname Zev.

A joyous, celebratory-sounding name.