6000+ Dog Names

A lesser-known Welsh name with a beautiful sunny meaning.

Boys' names beginning with "El" were all the rage in the 1910s, but today Elmore - along with Elwin, Ellsworth and others - has barely been used for decades. It has literary connections through writer Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. More recently, several children's book characters have given the name a cuddly feel: Holly Hobbie's Elmore the Porcupine, and Elmore Green in Lauren Child's "The New Small Person".

Best-selling Prep author Curtis Sittenfeld made this one of the many boy names for girls" gaining in popularity and acceptability.

The color red plays a prominent role in Hindu mythology, referring to the rising sun or the reddish horses of the "son of fire." Pronounced ahr-OO-shah, it has a stylish Russian flair. Hindi version is ARUSHI.

An offbeat word name referring to the speed of a piece of music.

A sweet and punchy Japanese name with a celestial meaning.

The kind of potential baby name dads use to tease moms.

Alternative to Prince, Duke, King, or Earl, but not an improvement on them.

Old-man name, soft as a fraying gray cashmere cardigan, that would be even cuter for a girl.

Spirited unisex Hebrew name.

Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and the first to reach the summits of the tallest peaks on all seven continents.

A shimmery name with a wonderful meaning; another intriguing variation is Siroun.

The African tradition of day naming—giving a child a name inspired by the day, time, or season in which they were born—has become attractive to Western parents as word names increase in use. Midnight is a relatively new addition to the pool—it was used as a middle name by Nicole Richie and Joel Madden for their son in 2009.

Trevor with a New York accent.

Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work. A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a short-brimmed fedora of the kind recently revived by hipsters. Du Maurier's character Trilby fell under the hypnotic power of Svengali: not the best choice for an independent and self-determining daughter. Still, if you want a unisex name that moves far beyond the usual Taylor and Morgan and has energy and feminine verve, Trilby might well be your girl.

Katy, or more popularly Katie, stood fashionably on their own two feet for several years there, during the Katelyn boom. But now both Katy and Katie are fading in favor of grownup Kate or buttoned-up Katherine.

If Brave isn't enough for you, you might try Braver, which has an even stronger meaning. Braver's -er ending gives it surname style.

A light and lovely Russian diminutive of Yelena (Helena), now used in its own right in Russia. Also spelt Alyona.