Animal Names for Babies

A unisex name of Sanskrit origin, this name — along with its other forms, Ashwin and Ashwina — are used in many languages across the Indian subcontinent. It is associated with the Ashvins, the twin Hindu gods of sunrise and sunset, and Ashvini, the first star that appears in the sky and makes up part of the Aries constellation.

Used for a character in the animated fantasy series, The Owl House, Eberwolf combines two animal related names together.

Gopal is an alternative form of Gopala, meaning "cow protector", making it a significant name within Hinduism in which cows are considered sacred. It was also the name of the 8th century founder and ruler of the Pala Empire in Bengal and of a medieval Indian mathematician.

Another name for the Hindu god Krishna, Gopala means "cow protector", making it a significant name within Hinduism in which cows are considered sacred. It was also the name of the 8th century founder and ruler of the Pala Empire in Bengal and of a medieval Indian mathematician.

Konan is a spelling twist on the more familiar Irish Conan, given to a few dozen baby boys in the US last year. In the Irish language, there is no letter K but Irish names such as Ciaran and Caitlin are often "Anglicized" with K spellings as in Kieran and Katelyn, so Konan is not a stretch.

An animal related name, associated with strength, Fahadah is the feminine form of Fahad, derived from the Arabic fahd which can refer to a variety of big cats. It may indicate someone who owns or trains panthers, leopards, or cheetahs, or the animals themselves. Fahada is an alternative spelling, while Fahda is a related form.

A surname-style choice, Tench is derived from the Old French word tenche, which is the name for a type of freshwater carp. It likely originated as nickname, perhaps for someone who was a keen angler or who made their living catching tench. Rarely used as a given name, perhaps because of the possible rhymes, it could make an unusual middle name option to honor someone who enjoys fishing or who's into naval and military history, as a reference to Tench-class submarines.

An (understandably) rare word name, Kite nevertheless has the sounds of two favorites — Kai and Kit. The word kite possibly derives from Proto-Indo-European roots and means "screech", however, it is better known as the name of a bird of prey and a toy designed to be flown in the wind. It might also be used to describe a fraudulent bill, cheque, or receipt.

Associated with a 16th century Gunpowder Plotter and a phoenix in the Harry Potter series, Fawkes, also spelled Vaulx, Vaux, and Faulks, comes from the Norman name Faulques, which in turn came from a Germanic nickname meaning "falcon". Theoretically, it could fit into the "last names as first names" trend, and with the rise of boy names ending in -s, such as Brooks and Banks, however, many might link it too closely with Guy Fawkes and in English-speaking countries it might sound too much like a piece of cutlery (or a swearword, perhaps).