Animal Names for Girls

The famous home of Hamlet in Shakespeare's great play is based on Kronborg Castle in eastern Denmark, which guarded the narrow entryway to the Baltic Sea for centuries. (The Danish word for it is Helsingør.) Elsinore may claim a rightful place among the Danish names for girls, vaguely akin to Eleanor, with Elsie a natural nickname, though some may find it a little pretentious. But as a middle name for the lover of Shakespeare or Denmark? Golden.

May be the most modern, stylish Catherine nickname: more unusual than Kate or Cate, with an animal and word name edge. Cat Power is a trendy folksinger.

Sympathetic new twist on a Puritan virtue name.

If Abigail's too popular and Tabitha is too...."Bewitched."

What a lovely name for the much-longed for daughter - no wonder Aino is in the Top 5 in Finland, whence the name originates. Like other popular Finnish names, Aino is short and avoids the ubiquitous "a" ending we usually see in feminine names, which gives it a fresh feel and sound.

Aniyah is a cross-cultural choice with a modern sound and classic roots. Currently in the Top 1000 in both the US and the UK, it has two different origins.

Dania is a fun, offbeat name with international flair that would be a wonderful choice to honor a Danielle, Daniel, or a Dana. It is both an Italian diminutive of Daniela and a spelling variation of the Arabic Daniya.

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

Astarte is the ancient goddess of sexuality, fertility, and war, associated with Ishtar as well as Venus.

Lilting African name that translates perfectly into other cultures.

Ellia is one of the newer entries in the extremely popular El group of names for girls, which includes Ella, Ellie, Elle and so on, as well as L-starting names such as Lillia. Nearly 100 baby girls were named Ellia last year, but we're afraid that the name will not sound as distinctive as it should due to so many other girls with similar names.

This form of Irina supersedes the original in its native country.

Callen is a unisex Gaelic name growing in popularity here. Its newfound trendiness is possibly related to the Chris O'Donnell character on "NCIS: Los Angeles", known only as G. Callen.

Davis may seem an unlikely choice for a girl, but over 50 baby girls received the name in the US last year, perhaps in honor of an ancestral David. Viola Davis is a notable female namesake.

Eliya may be thought of as a female variation on the popular Biblical boys' name Elijah or a spelling variation of the popular girls' name Aliyah. It may not rank among the US Top 1000 and it may cause some spelling and pronunciation confusion, but it does have genuine roots as a name.

Adhara is the name of one of the brightest stars in the sky. Also known as Adara, this name is perfectly suitable for a child.

Has joined Chanel and Armani on the fashionista hit parade of names. The meaning of Dior is uncertain but it may be "gold".

This name has become increasingly popular, though usually with the Addie spelling. In fact, Addy/Addie has taken over for Maddie and Allie as one of the most frequently-heard short forms for a range of also-popular formal names, including Adeline, Adalynn, Adeliaide, and Addison. As Addy, it's the name of an American Girls doll.