Gray Dog Names

This kind of plainspoken nature name (think River and Sunshine) may still carry a whiff of the hippie, but this one has a nice, airy feel.

Creative variation on Peter.

Affable and creative and perfectly able to stand alone; there's nothing Scroogish about it, even though it is usually spelled Eben.

A fierce nature name which could give cool short form Nash.

A common Scandinavian name, but hard to imagine being used elsewhere.

A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin.

Tempest is one of those names that could go either way. Cool, evocative modern word name? Or asking for trouble? Your call, but if you decide the former image is dominant, be warned that some people will see it as the latter.

One familiar name never used for real people, for obvious reasons. Read more about Cinderella and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Kennelly could be an upbeat modern namesake for a Grandpa Kenneth; it can also be spelled Kenneally.

Rochester was Jack Benny's famous valet and sidekick, played by early African-American comic Eddie Anderson.

Cooler and rarer than Pedro, but also has a slightly industrial sound.

An interesting possibility if you're looking for a highly unusual animal name.

An unusual Hawaiian nature name with an appealing vowel-rich sound.

Shakespeare's classic drunken fool. In fact, this name, carried to Britain by the Normans, was quite popular until it was brought into disrepute by the low-life character who haunts taverns with Falstaff in Shakespeare's history plays.

One of the top Icelandic girl names. It's very pretty — if you know how to pronounce it.

More distinctive than Ella, if you're inspired by Cinderella.

A fiery-sounding Breton name with a fierce animal meaning. Bleiz has also been used in honor of the Catholic Saint Blaise, due to its similar sound.

Like Papa name Rudolf, Rolf never quite emigrated from the Bavarian Alps. You might want to move on to Rollo or Wolf.

Diminutive form of Tholf

An Irish classic for boys that has a streamlined, surnamey, unisex appeal in this spelling.