Animal Names for Girls

Cleta was one of the Charities or Graces.

Auden is increasing in use for girls each year, and the feminized spelling Audyn is beginning to follow along. Parents are loving the gentle but unisex sound of this surname, associated with poet W.H., Auden.

This iteration of the name makes the link to the ultra-popular Emma even more obvious. It lags behind alternate spelling Emmeline on the US Top 1000 list.

Desi makes Desiree a lot cuter and more boyish.

Attractive, underused name made famous by the heroine of The Color Purple. Still, if you're going to go to Celie, why not go all the way to Celia or Cecelia? You can always use Celie for short.

Amica is a word meaning girlfriend that is not often used as a name in Italy, but it would sound pretty and name-like elsewhere.

Ciri may sound exactly like the ubiquitous digital Siri, but it's achieving fame in its own right as the familiar name of Princess Cirilla of The Witcher series. The name's meaning is a nod to her royal status.

French Canadian singer Dion made us notice this variation, but most parents would prefer the Selene spelling.

Lilting and lovely. Entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2016.

Atalia or Athalia is a biblical name with a gory history. But it's an attractive name in step with the current fashion for A-starting and -ending names that are both distinctive and deeply rooted.

A feminization of Adam with several sweet nickname options — Addie, Ada, Minnie, or Mina being a few.

Arzu was once a popular baby name in Turkey, ranking as high as Number 14 in 1980. Now, it's more of a Turkish mom name, although it remains a common choice for babies in Azerbaijan, where Arzu has been in the Top 100 since records began in 2015.

A male name occasionally borrowed by the girls, as in Dorian Cramer, a long-running female character on the soap One Life to Live and famous midcentury model Dorian Leigh.

Ece is another name for Umay, the Turkish goddess of the Earth and fertility. It is derived from the Old Turkic word eçe, meaning "mother."

Boo may have started out as a nickname for the male character Arthur "Boo" Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird and these days may be closely associated with another male Boo, the "world's cutest dog" or with the adorable little girl in Monsters, Inc.

This Indonesian name meaning little goddess is also common in the Netherlands due to the old colonial relationship between the two countries.

A sweet, simple mini-name that fits into many cultures. The only drawback is the potential for confusion with Ella, Ayla, and other similar names.

Alcina is an operatic name, best-known as the name of the beautiful sorceress of the eponymous Handel opera drawn from the Orlando poems. Alcina and her sister Morgana live on an island where Alcina seduces every passing sailor but once their novelty wears off, changes them into plants, rocks, or animals. Alcina comes with modern-sounding short forms Alcie or Alsie, which feel more baby-ready now that names such as Elsie, Elsa, and Isla are becoming popular again.

Fiery Native choice.