Fantasy Dog Names

Mikasa references Mount Mikasa, a mountain in Japan with three peaks, thought to look like bamboo hats. The Mikasa battleship was named after the mountain.

Kanan is multicultural name with a number of different origins, making it a versatile choice that travels well. A Top 50 choice in Azerbaijan, Kanan also made a brief appearance in the US Top 1000 in 2022. Given to around 200 boys each year, it feels familiar and rare at the same time.

Daenerys is yet another girls' name invented by "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin that is beginning to gain some traction in real life. Daenerys was used for 67 baby girls in 2013 while one of the character's titles, Khaleesi, was given to 241 baby girls. And the name Arya, also from the hyper-popular series, is one of the fastest growing girls' names in the country.

Katniss Everdeen is the heroine of the popular Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, whose name comes from the (very real) edible aquatic plant of the genus Sagittaria. Katniss's father tells her that if she "finds herself," she'll never go hungry. Other unusual botanical names in the series include Primrose, Posy, Rue, and Clove, all for girls. Several of the boys' names come from ancient Rome: Cato, Seneca, Flavius, Caesar. Katniss the name has less appeal than Katniss the heroine, though it's definitely more attractive than Renesmee.

An attractive enough name, but for die-hard Star Wars fans only.

The epithet of the legendary king's father Uther in Arthurian legend, later also applied to King Arthur himself. It literally means "head dragon" or "dragon's head", but the name appears in medieval Welsh mythology with the figurative meaning of "chief warrior". A truly daring name for a boy, in every sense!

Kitana is the name of a character in Mortal Kombat II -- she's a princess who looks young but is actually 10,000 years old. It may be related to the male Persian name Katana, which means honorable, or even more likely to the Japanese word katana which means sword.

Tyrion is one of the many new names entering the lexicon thanks to George R. R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones book. Tyrion's name shares its first two letters with those of his father Tywin and his grandfather Tytos. The Tyrion Lannister character, a dwarf, is played by award-winning actor Peter Dinklage. Martin has said he saw the Tyrion character as being both the ugliest and the most intelligent person in the world, a mixed legacy for any child.

Loras Tyrell is the most prominent gay character in HBO's Game of Thrones, who's one of the most renowned fighters in the world until he's imprisoned by the ultra-conservative religious leader known as the High Sparrow.There's something elvish-sounding about the name that may consign it in the fantasy realm for the time being.

Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column. Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys, but its usage is much higher in middle place.

This variation of Wesley moved into the Top 1000 among boys' names in the US in 2016, perhaps because it makes the name less like Lesley and more Western, with the cowboy nickname West.

A soft yet strong name coined by George Lucas for a princess character in the 1988 movie Willow, likely based on Irish names like Sorcha (SOR-ka, "radiant") or Saoirse (SEER-sha, "freedom").

Queen Jadis, also known as The White Witch, is the main villain in The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the force responsible for freezing Narnia and creating the Hundred Year Winter.

The name of the King of Rohan in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, supposedly a translation of Rohirric Tûrac ("king"). Tolkien based the Rohirric language on Old English.

A zippy, lively name that has never been popular, but has never completely disappeared. It is best known for writer and wit Gore Vidal, and hairdresser Vidal Sassoon and his many products.

Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.

Despite a possible pronunciation problem, a pleasant, unusual choice. Sandor Clegane (nicknamed The Hound) is a major character on Game of Thrones.