Animal Names for Girls

Well used in northern Europe, almost unknown here.

A medieval French name which belonged to the mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine (incidentally, Aenor is thought to be an older form of the name Eleanor). Its etymology is uncertain, but it may derive from the Germanic name Audamar, meaning "famous wealth'.

Names that have not historically been names are not intrinsically gendered, so though we originally pinned Arrow as a boys' name, both starbaby Arrows that have been born recently have been girls. And with Arrow given to 60 girls in the US in 2015 and 94 boys, we call that a pretty decidedly gender neutral name. With its forward-moving, true-landing imagery, Arrow is one of the new inspirational names.

Blu is a new (nu?) spin on an increasingly popular color name, also spelled Blue and Bleu by celebrity parents. Blu is the spelling used for one of the (male) Waldrop quintuplets, but the name is gender neutral.

Gorgeous name in any form, though the c may muddy the pronunciation.

A bright and breezy Scottish name which is little known outside its native land.

This modern Finnish word name is a fashionable choice in its home country, having entered into wide usage only since the turn of the 21st century.

Anabel is the sleekest version of this lovely name with so many variations, all of them correct. But Anabel and all her sisters -- Annabel, Annabelle, Anabella etc. -- took a downward turn after the 2014 horror film Annabelle.

This glamorous name of a hot young French singer is catching on. Tessa and Barron Hilton used it as a middle name for their daughter Milou.

Vocal name seldom heard, with most elle-ending names these days dropped in favor of the more straightforward Elle and Ella.

Not to be confused with the Aria/Arya name family, Arja is a variation of Irja, which ultimately is derived from Irene.

Aileas is one of those Scottish names that is at once familiar and unusual, a spin on the internationally-popular Alice that is all but unknown outside of its native Scotland. It might overcomplicate things in the US, though, given that most Americans would pronounce it like the word alias and would find it difficult to get from those vowel combinations to ah-lus or eh-lus.

Also seen as a surname.

Avaline emerged as a full-fledged name when Cameron Diaz used it as the name of her wine brand. Only a dozen or two baby girls are given the name each year in the US, a surprise given the dramatically increased popularity of Adeline and Evelyn, which have spawned an abundant number of variations.

Just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into style in a big way. Actress Busy Phillips named her little girl Birdie.

An epithet of the goddess Durga, associated with the beginning of the earth.

Name given in honor of the Virgin Mary that might prove difficult for a modern Spanish-American child to pull off.

Has a decidedly middle-aged image.