Animal Names for Girls

Caprice is a word name with an appealing sound and a light-hearted meaning. Caprice is a rare name, used for only ten baby girls in the US in 2023.

A name with a bit of glamor but also cowgirl vibes, Dallas entered the US Top 1000 for girls in 1992. It fell out of style during noughties, but reappeared in 2012 when other gender neutral names like River, Sawyer, Rowan, and Blake were also climbing fast.

Midcentury Irish-American favorite, never used in Ireland itself, being the generic word for "girl"; rarely given today.

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

Very popular surname choice — it's in the Boys' Top 100 — beginning to catch on for girls. First female association: novelist Carson McCullers.

The entire congregation of Alissa-related names—from the classic Alice and Elise to newer forms like Alicia, Alyssa, and Elissa—have faded somewhat from their heyday in the late 20th century but maintain some appeal as a member of the popular class of girl names starting with A. Their major disadvantage is their similarity to each other and the resulting confusion.

Irish Gaelic form of Evelyn or Aveline, more authentically spelled Eibhlín.

Ayelet is an unusual -- and somewhat challenging -- Israeli name familiar thanks to sometimes controversial Jerusalem-born novelist-essayist Ayelet Waldman.

Defne is one of the most popular names for baby girls in Turkey, ranking at the top of the list along with Zeynep and Elif. This is one girls' name that makes an easy transition to English-speaking countries or that could work for a family with roots in both cultures.

The name of a Guaraní princess killed by Spanish conquistadors in Tupi-Guarani legend. A Ceibo tree – the national flower of Argentina – is said to have bloomed in the spot where she died.

This Old Norse girl name has a lovely meaning and a familiar yet distinctive sound.

Charlie and its many forms are on the rise -- including Charley, which relates more directly to the male formal name Charles. Surprisingly, though, while the number of girls and boys named Charlie are nearly even, there are six times as many girls named Charley than boys.

Dina is a 20th century version of either Dinah or Adinah, two Old Testament names not related to each other. Dinah was the beautiful daughter of Jacob and Leah, while Adinah or Adina was a male soldier, though the name is also used for girls in modern Israel.

Carmela has been most famous recently as the name of Tony Soprano's TV wife, played by Edie Falco. The spellings Carmela and Carmella are both used in Latin cultures including Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, and are used nearly equally in the US, given to a total of about 300 baby girls last year.

Eirene, modernized to Irene, was the Greek goddess of peace. Eirene or Irene was also the name of an early empress and several saints.

Bobby is a nickname-name that's long been used on its own for both girls and boys, though the Bobby spelling is more usually masculine while the girls' version is usually Bobbie. There were just over 50 baby girls named Bobbie in one recent year and only five named Bobby, compared with nearly 300 baby boys named Bobby. Robert F. Kennedy III and Amaryllis Fox named their daughter Bobby, continuing the family tradition across genders. And Millie Bobby Brown is a hot young actress.

Amadea is a strong and musical feminine form of Amadeus, as in Mozart.

The alcohol-laced member of the Randy-Candy-Mandy sorority of 1970s to 80s nickname names; now pretty much on the wagon.

The first letter of the Greek alphabet ande the brightest star in every constellation, this would make an interesting choice for a first daughter, though it does give off some spectral sci-fi reverberations--and references to the term "alpha male.".

A popular Turkish name with a delightful meaning. It peaked at #11 in Turkey in 2002, but has since dropped back out of the Top 100 there.