Dog Names That Start With B

An English surname and occasional first name deriving from the same root as Baldwin, "bold or brave friend".

Naming babies for personal heroes is the cool contemporary trend followed by Woody Allen when he honored New Orleans jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet in his daughter's name--adding the middle name Dumaine after a cornet player who was another of his musical heroes. Bechet has a nice, catchy Gallic feel.

Rudyard Kipling created the name Bagheera for the black panther character in his classic collection The Jungle Book. It was derived from the Hindi word bagh, meaning "tiger."

For stalwart Republicans only.

Name of pastoral Vermont town and college sounds too stiff and starchy.

Modern virtue names aren't always subtle, and Bravery definitely cuts to the chase. It's a bold choice—one your teenager might begrudge. Talisa Soto and Benjamin Bratt used it as a middle name, where it's a less risky than in the first name position.

Dalton with a B. The original is better.

Bethenny is the spelling introduced to the world by and closely associated with Real Housewife of New York Bethenny Frankel. While the name has a bit of charm, we recommend sticking with the original Bethany spelling.

Burnell had some life as a first name in the early decades of the 20th century. Today, a handful of baby boys are still given the name, perhaps in honor of one of its famous bearers.

Branch is a novel unisex name with ties to nature and trees and also to branching out with new experiences and ideas. Branch can also be considered a surname name, as in country singer Michelle Branch. If you're looking for a tree name with more subtlety than Willow or Aspen, Branch is a great option.

Too close in sound to the so-far-out-it-will-always-be-out Bernard.

Bracha is literally the Hebrew word for blessing. It's rarely put on the birth certificate in the US, although many Jewish girls carry it as their Hebrew name.

Properly spelt Bình in Vietnamese, this is a very popular name for both sexes. The pronunciation is usually Anglicized as "BIN", but the middle vowel is more like the U in "burn".

Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees or plants in a container. Bonsai is derived from the similar Chinese botanical art called penjing.