Animal- and bird- related boy names

Lionel is one leonine name that hasn't taken off as cousins Leo and Leonardo have, though it did reenter the Top 1000 in 2010 after several years away; it was at its highest point in the 1920s and 1930s.

One of the fierce new animal names new to name lists, helped by its strong x-ending.

Effortlessly cool with a hint of the mystical, Phoenix rolls a lot of trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the stylish letter x, it's got in-built nicknames, and it's unisex too. Familiar but not over-popular, Phoenix ranks in the US and UK Top 1000s.

Make that bird name, and while it does work for both genders, it's far more popular for girls, via Raven Symone.

Other wild animals like Fox, Wolf and Bear are catching on as baby names, and Tiger is a rarer option with several famous namesakes, including golf champ Tiger Woods, who was born Eldrick. Other famous Tigers include Indian actor Tiger Shroff, born Jai, and British actor Tyger Drew-Honey, who spells his name with a Y.

A 1970s beach boy surfing buddy of Scott, Brad, and Chad, Todd is given to relatively few babies these days.

Wolf is a name with a split personality. It can be seen as one of the fierce animal names, like Fox and Bear and Puma, with a touch of the werewolf, or it can be viewed as a quieter, Wolf Blitzer kind of name, fairly common in German (where is pronounced Vulf) and Jewish families, sometimes as a short form of Wolfgang, or even Wolfram or Wolfhart.

Wren may not be as time-honored a bird name choice as Robin or even Lark, but it's more fashionable and fresh, with a gentle and earthy vibe.