Animal Names for Girls

Up-and-coming actress Beanie Feldstein is attracting attention toward her unusual — but rather cute — nickname. She was born Elizabeth Greer Feldstein but nicknamed "Elizabeanie" by her childhood nanny. It was later simplified to Beanie by her older brothers.

Aramide is a rare name in the US but better-known in Nigeria, where it's a choice from the Yoruba language.

In Greek mythology, Briseis is a princess captured by Achilles during the Trojan War, who later becomes the object of the dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon which drives the plot of Homer’s Iliad. The name is a patronymic, meaning daughter of Briseus, which itself is a Greek name of unknown meaning.

The name of a small yellow bird that hasn't taken off in the way that some of its avian sisters – like Robin, Wren or Lark – have.

The people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. Most Ghanaians have a name using this system (think Kofi Annan, whose name means born on a Friday).

A pretty Turkish name popular in the 1980s and 90s, with the wonderfully evocative meaning of "moon flood".

Variant of Annemarie

Extremely simple and extremely distinctive -- a winning combination. Sound-alike Calla is a Greek (and botanical) name that means beautiful.

In its mid-20th century heyday, Deedee -- or Didi or Dede -- was not infrequently used as a name in its own right. It's a cute, or maybe cutesy, short form of names like Deanne.

Aravis was the name of a female character in C.S. Lewis's A Horse and His Boy, and is also the name of a mountain range in southern France. With the rise of Ava, Avery, and indeed seemingly all names that start with A, Aravis may finally reach a wider audience.

Phonetic spelling of Ariane worn by the Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, who goes by the nickname Arnie.

Cersei Lannister is one of the most villainous -- and, in a certain light, glamorous -- characters in HBO's Game of Thrones, played by beautiful actress Lena Headey.Though we can't say for sure how author George R.R. Martin came up with the character's name, it is a near-homophone with Circe, a seductive witch in Greek mythology.

Ayan is an African name heard for both sexes.

Its meaning refers to the rich wood that lined the walls of King Solomon's temple. Well used in modern Israel, it's pronouced ah-REE-zuh.

A beautiful name with a combative meaning (from the Latin bellare "to fight"), belonging to a Roman goddess of war. Bellona has never appeared on the SSA list, but it could be an intriguing option for fans of the popular Belle/Bella.

Eastern European girl name related to the Slavic word Bóg, meaning "God."

Arleth has made the US Top 1000 twice — in 2005 and 2021 — thanks to telenovela star Arleth Terán.