6000+ Dog Names

Can Ernie shed the rubber ducky association and make its way onto the vintage revivals list? Years ago we may have said no, but celebrity chef Stephanie Izard made a strong case for Ernie when she gave the name to her son in 2016.

To those who remember, Rhoda is still reminiscent of the brassy Bronx 1970s sitcom Rhoda Morgenstern. But Rhoda has a much longer history--it is a name that can be found in the New Testament as a servant girl in the house of Mary, mother of John. Later, Rhoda appeared in the novel Vanity Fair and the Shaw play Man and Superman.

Forever Lucy's.

Despite its rakish western charm, still remains a cowboy costume without a real persona inside.

The popularity of Maya clarifies the pronunciation of Raya, which makes that the better spelling of this name.

Shai is a name newly-used in the US for both boys and, slightly less often, girls. Though the correct pronunciation is "shy", many will say shay, which might be all right with you.

Crew x True = Crue. This on-trend name — short and punchy with popular sounds —is rising for a reason. Crue entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022, following in the footsteps of trendy Crew and Cruz. It continued to be a fast rising choice in 2023,when it was given to around 360 babies, making it roughly three times less popular than Crew, but also three times more popular than it was a decade ago.

A lot of attention was drawn to this name when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their baby daughter, making it instantly unisex.

Lucina, deriving from Latin lucus "grove" and also associated with lux "light", is an epithet given in Roman mythology to the goddess Juno (and sometimes also Diana) in her role as goddess of childbirth. A stately and unusual route to Lucy, more delicate than Lucinda.

Worthy sibling for Oak, Elm, Juniper, and Spruce.

This biblical name of the mother of King Jotham of Judah has an appealing soft Russian accent.

A phonetic variation of Shepherd, an occupational surname. Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright, is a notable figure to use this spelling for his last name.

Sometimes pronounced MAY-nerd, which is death to a name. However, the name Maynard was given to 25 boys in 2022.

Miguel de Cervantes invented this elaborate-sounding name -- which roughly translates as "sweetness" -- for the beautiful maiden Don Quixote is obsessed with in his great novel. Even in the fictional world of the book, though, Dulcinea is not the woman's real name; Aldonza is. And because she never appears in person in the text, it's unclear whether she is as beautiful and saintly as the protagonist believes her to be. Probably not, given Don Quixote's track record.

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

Abbreviated form of Harley that might also be spelled, for girls, Arleigh or Arlee.

Simpler and less tied to the singer in this form, Aliya is a feminine form of the Arabic name Ali, meaning "lofty, sublime, high" or "exalted." Boosted to fame by the ill-fated singer, Aaliyah, and used across the Middle East, the US and the UK, Aliya is a powerful and pretty choice with a concise spelling.

The extra n makes it feel less like an feminization of Alan and more like a name unto itself. Alanna is more common in Puerto Rico than the original Alana.

One of the best known early Nemos was the captain in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, while the more familiar modern one is the animated little orange fish in the Disney movie. Unusual name well worth considering. By the way, there is also a Shakespearean Nemo and one in Dickens's Bleak House. An enchanting early comic strip by Winsor McCay was called Little Nemo.

Often thought of as a one-peson name because of Jungle Book writer Kipling, this was actually his middle name. He was middle-named for Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, the beauty of which inspired his parents to reference it in their first child's name. Trivia tidbit: Actress Kim Raver gave her son Leo the middle name of Kipling.