6000+ Dog Names

When you see it written out and know the meaning, it seems more distinctive than Neil. Pity everyone will understand it as simply, Neil or Neal.

With word names increasingly acceptable or even desirable, this Spanish word for heart, brought to the fore by Philippine president Corazon Aquino, may find more takers.

Cute, or maybe qute, nickname for the upstanding Enrique.

A solid, brief but not brusque single-syllable surname with a presidential pedigree.

Coined in the 1940s: an acronym of "radio detection and ranging".

A handful of baby girls are still named Carlene every year, but today other feminizations of Charles or Carl, from Carly to Charlotte, are much more popular.

Ezekiel and Ezequiel have both featured in the US Top 1000 since the 1980s , though it has been since the 2010s that they've become favorites. Joining Biblical or international style choices such as Gabriel and Raphael, Ezekiel is in the Top 100, while this Spanish and Portuguese variation sits comfortably in the Top 400.

The name of one of the branches of the Great Sioux Nation has a very namelike sound, but is not used as a name by the Lakota people themselves, and could be seen as appropriative.

Winner is an uplifting word name that can work for girls or boys. It was recently chosen by rapper Nya Lee for her daughter.

A warm and musical name with a lovely meaning. There is a popular song called Dembe by famous Ugandan artist named Bobbi Wine, who also ran for President.

Unfashionable name, with the rather poignant lone sound.

This surname ultimately derives from a Galician place name meaning "fig tree", but has spread all over the Spanish-speaking world. It's not certain if it's ever been used as a first name, but it could work - especially as it's reminiscent of the operatic character Figaro.

May cut it in Budapest, but not in Boise. Just Fritz would be preferable.

Cindy for the 21st century.

An occupation name that sounds odd to the modern ear but enjoyed some use a century ago. May make a comeback as a more genteel brother to the new union of boys (and girls) with worker names such as Mason, Carter, and Bailey.

Heard in Spain more as a last name, but would work here as an alluring first.

In Welsh, Ceri is traditionally a male name but can also be used for girls. It's a short form of Ceridwen too, the name of the Welsh goddess of poetry.

While this might look like a modern spelling of the classic Isabella, it is also the Hungarian and Polish form, pronounced with an EE sound at the beginning. A Top 50 name in Hungary and a Top 200 name in Poland, this form is also popular in Latvia.

This is a solid surname choice for people looking for a change from Cooper, Parker and Carson. Australian parents will probably instantly associate this name with famous rock legend Jimmy Barnes, but this has an even older pedigree as a namesake - Barnes Wallis was a UK aviator and inventor, most remembered for designing the Dambuster bomb (a bomb that bounces across water to reach its target) and working on supersonic flight in the 1940s and 50s.