6000+ Dog Names

Cachet is one of those word names -- Cliché is the most egregious example -- that sounds lovely but seems slightly ridiculous when taken literally.

Often spelled Gauthier, this could make a distinctive way to honor Grandpa Walter, but first syllable pronounced 'goat' might be a problem.

Opera star Domingo was responsible for giving this popular Latin name its green card. It was commonly used by early Christians to convey their serenity in the faith, and it was borne by several minor saints.

Irish Gaelic spelling of Molly, which derives from Mary.

Once you get past thinking of it as a red-painted building where they keep cows and hay, has a nice plainspoken country-like feel and may make a cooler diminutive than the still-purple Barney.

The spelling Woolf inevitably conjures writer Virginia. If you're a fan of Mrs. Dalloway and the Bloomsbury group, Woolf might be a creative way to combine a trendy animal name with an original honor name. Woolf was the surname of Virginia's husband, Leonard.

This inventive spelling is part cowboy and part Kardashian.

Feodora is an interesting choice for the intrepid name-giver, especially with the dynamic nickname Feo.

Doctor is an honorific used as a name, somewhat like names such as Bishop, King, and Princess. Banned in New Zealand, Doctor can lead to the kind of confusion you may feel would be only positive for your child -- a bona fide Doctor before he even gets to kindergarten. At its zenith in 1884, Doctor was used for 12 boys, but last year it didn't even clear the five-baby minimum to make it onto the Social Security extended list.

Sounds like a displaced Dr. Seuss character.

The name of a monk who is the patron saint of blacksmiths -- not a twentieth-century occupation or baby name.

If you want to move beyond Maya.

Ingeborg (and all Germanic and Scandinavian names beginning with Ing-) references the ancient fertility god Ing. Ing, later known as Freyr, is one of the primary gods in Old Norse mythology.

Cutesy pet form of Clementine.

A new aspirational name with two shining meanings.

Rather formal word name that has been used occasionally over the years, most notably for the autism activist and animal expert Temple Grandin.

Pretty and unusual, worth consideration.