6000+ Dog Names

Famke was introduced to this country via Dutch-born actress Famke Janssen, but is not likely to appeal to many American parents.

For basketball fans, in honor of Magic Johnson. Or anyone who believes in magic.

A relatively popular Arabic and Sanskrit name, which has a great positive meaning no matter which origin you claim.

The futuristic consonant x sets this apart -- for better and worse -- from all the other Felices, Felicias, and Felicitys.

French given and surname.

Although a variant of the operatic Zerlina, Zerline has her own theatrical tale. She is the star character of the opera Fra Diavolo by Daniel Auber. Zerline, daughter of the innkeeper of Terracina, is in love with an impoverished soldier, Lorenzo, but her father wants her to marry the rich old Francesco. Various tragedies and events occur. In the end, Zerline is free to marry her beloved Lorenzo.

Blakeley is one of the many -ley ending surnames that is being adopted as a first name, updating the 80s darlings Blake and Ashley.

Airini is the Maori transliteration of the name Eirene, whcih comes from the Greek goddess of peace. A notable bearer of this name is nineteenth century Maori rights activist Airini Donnelly.

Selby, a rarely heard British surname, feels sleeker and more distinctive than Shelby. Todd Selby, known primarily by his last name, is a hip photographer of interiors.

The jazziest nickname for Charles.

Serafin and Seraphim are much less known and used in the US than the feminine forms Serafina and Seraphina, but just as appealing. An out-of-the-box Spanish option with a deep history and an animated meaning.

Ettie or Etty works as a nickname for any name with a prominent "et" sound, usually at the end: think Henrietta, Juliette or Colette. The -ette ending is a French diminutive suffix.

Oh dear! We can see where you were going with connecting this name to the classic "Leah," but it just doesn't work. We recommend sticking with the classic Malia.

The evocative name of one of our most beautiful national parks -- yes, but also the bombastic cartoon character, Yosemite Sam.

Ifor seems to make more sense in its Anglicized version, Ivor.

A tad spacy.

An alternative to the more familiar Aviva.

More user-friendly than the original.

Gentle giant Rubeus Hagrid is the groundskeeper at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels (probably after Hagrid Rubes, the equally kind ancient Greek mythological giant), but that's not the only reason this name could prove a playground liability.

River is rising as a new favorite name, and names of rivers are also increasingly used for our child.