Animal Names for Girls

A beautiful Greek name that kicks now-dated Corinne up a notch.

A character name in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, featured in the GOT prequel House of the Dragon. A modern spin on Bella, so you might consider the meaning to be beauty or beautiful.

Elaboration of Anne

One of the rare cases where spelling a name with a y makes it less rather than more feminine. Birdie might be the freshest choice in this aviary.

The saintly Italian form of the saintly Latin Benedicta.

Unknown but eminently usable choice, especially for Jewish parents, with lovely meaning.

A little bit Aliyah and a little bit Elijah equals an invented name that moves into the girls' column with its choice by Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Bassett for their daughter. While there is good reason for this name to feel feminine, if you're not aware of the spelling variation, you're likely to just hear Elijah, both traditional and popular for boys. Then again, Noa is doing well for girls, so it wouldn't feel entirely out of place.

A place name from Venezuela believed to come from an indigenous word for wind, this can make an innovative choice for a child of either sex.

Destined to remain a one-person name -- in this country anyway.

Popular in Israel for girls and boys born on Shavout, a harvest festival. In Babylonian mythology, Dagan was the god of the earth and grain.

Chani, which rhymes with Johnny, is famous as the name of the character played by Zendaya in the Dune books, video games, and movies. Another force driving the name's use is Canadian astrologer Chani Nicholas.

Also a masculine name in Ireland, this name denotes someone with good looks. Sounds like Kyla.

Elizabella is a much more obscure smoosh than sisters Isabella and Annabelle, but the megapopularity of Isabella may give this unusual combo name a boost.

Made most familiar in English-speaking countries by prize-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chimamanda has a wonderful meaning and can be shortened to Chima or the spunky Chi. In 2022, it entered the UK Top 100 for the first time, when 38 baby girls were given the name.

Pronunciation would not be obvious to Americans.

When pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable, Emari is considered a variation of Emery, a stylish unisex name common among baby girls. But in most cases, Emari is used as an alternate spelling of Amari, which emphasizes the second syllable. Both Amari and Emari are pretty evenly matched between the sexes, each with a slight edge for boys.

A fresh and pretty Japanese name which would be an unusual route to the popular Emmy/Emi nickname. In Japanese, this name can be formed from a variety of different kanji combinations with different meanings, but "laughing child" and "beautiful child" are two appealing possibilities.

Abbey might sound exactly like the popular Abigail nickname Abby or Abbie, but spelled this way it is also a churchy word name with a Gothic feel. But hearing it, no one will know the difference.