6000+ Dog Names

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.

Clad in armor. But while this name may have been forbiddingly antiquated not that long ago, the connection to the trendy nickname Os or Oz makes it a real possibility.

Although we prefer Drew to the old Raggedy Andy, Andy has overtaken Drew as a name in its own right. About twice as many baby boys are named Andy, just Andy -- though about eight times as many parents go with the full Andrew.

Moby, the nickname of musician Richard Melville Hall, was thanks to his ancestor Herman Melville, creator of the infamous whale. You can imagine calling a child Moby as a cute nickname in honor of a grandfatherly Richard or Dick, but the ghost of a Dick would always follow the name around. In Melville's classic book, Moby was an invented word whose meaning has never been firmly established, though the best scholarship calls it a fictional place name that, in the custom of whaling ships of the time, helped identify the whale called Dick.

Hortense is actually the French feminine form of Hortensia, the name of a strong, politically active early Roman woman. Hortense began to be used in the English-speaking world in the nineteenth century. Napoleon had a stepdaughter named Hortense, it was the name of one of the main characters in the film Secrets and Lies and is also associated with novelist Hortense Calisher. As unappealing as it might be to most American parents, Hortense is now Number 155 in France (as of 2021).

Armando takes the flat-footed Herman and makes it romantic. This is another of the Latin names we expect to be seeing more of.

The increasing popularity of Camila may have pushed this underrated Spanish name into the Top 1000 — though it remains far less popular than its feminine counterpart. A perfect familiar-but-rare choice.

This name woould be hard to picture in a contemporary kindergarten, though it does have some cultural cred via Finnish architect and furniture designer Alvar Aalto. Aalto would actually make a more interesting choice.

The second most popular spelling of this name is also the most straightforward.

Kenny might be all South Park to some, but it has been in steady use in the US since the 1930s.

Popular with the Puritans, this name of the shrewd and beautiful wife of King David and mother of King Solomon could be a bit of a load for a modern girl to carry.

Sixties-style nickname which is also the name of a small biting insect, particularly prevalent in Scotland.

The name Rivers combines two major trends: nature names like the popular River itself, and S-ending surname-names such as Brooks, Rhodes, and yes, Rivers.

Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.

English speakers will think you invented this one, but it's a hidden nature name from the Basque country in present-day Spain. Some may find it too close to "zero" for comfort.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

Rhythmic Welsh nickname name, derived from the Welsh royal name Iorwerth, which has sometimes been anglicized as Edward.

Derived from Persian zarin "golden", Zarina is a strong and sparkling name used in multiple languages, including Kazakh, Urdu and Malay. It was the name of an ancient Scythian queen, and also sounds very close to the Russian tsarina or czarina – the pre-revolutionary term for an empress of Russia.

Keeley is well-used in modern Ireland, also found as Keely and Keela. The boys' form is Keelan. Largely unknown in the US, this could make an interesting update for Kelly or Kaylie or Kylie. A famous bearer is actress Keeley Hawes.

Also spelled Thiên in Vietnamese, this is the middle name of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's son Pax, adopted from Vietnam in 2007.