Animal Names for Babies

An Asian name that may be thought of as an English word name, for better or worse.

Voss is a German name, that is seen in Norway and Australia (in the former it is associated with a region, in the latter it is associated with the protagonist of Patrick White's novel by the same name). Voss is an interesting alternative to Fox.

Swam into style and quickly out again, on Chad's fish- er, coat-tails.

The addax is a white antelope that resides in the Sahara Desert. A cool and usable addition to the pool of animal baby names.

In the currently popular solid, serious, two-syllable mold.

Fox, okay. Buck, maybe. But Wolverine? You gotta be kidding us. On the plus side, your five-year-old will love you for giving him this superhero name. Your fifteen-year-old, not so much.

Strong Japanese unisex choice. Dragons are a symbol of power in Japan.

Mosley, former best known as the surname of author Walter, has been put in play as a first name for girls by football great Peyton Manning, who used the name for his twin daughter, sister of Marshall. Alternate spellings are Moseley and Mosely and the first syllable rhymes with Rose.

Taura is a possibility for a girl born between mid-April and mid-May, but, if a name is destiny, its meaning does suggest stubbornness. Consider Laura, Flora, or Honora instead.

Hippolyte is the name of an Amazonian princess AND her son, both unfortunate mythical figures. The name Hippolyte, later borne by several saints, is a not an uncommon boys' name in France, but has barely set foot on American soil and is unlikely to do so. It was the middle name of famed French playwright Jean Giraudoux.

This obscure name from Greek mythology (Merope was one of the Pleiades) is better known from J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series, as the name of Tom Riddle's ill-fated mother.

Eachna is the name of an Irish goddess renowned for her beauty, brains and stylishness; in early legend, a Connacht princess named Eachna was deemed to be one of the loveliest and cleverest women int he world.

Baran is barely known in the US -- unless it's mistaken for royal moniker and Trump son name Baron -- but it might make a perfect choice for a boy born under the sign of Aries.

Tarvo has two potential origin stories. The first is that it derives from the Old Finnish word tarvas, meaning "wild aurochs," a wild species of cattle that is now extinct. The second possible derivation is from the Estonian tarv, meaning "energy."

This name of famed philosopher, mathematician and Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell becomes slightly more plausible with the French pronunciation, bare-TRAHN. Another noted bearer is French director and screenwriter Bertrand Tavernier.

Traditional African name made cartoonish by the Disney character in The Lion King. In Shona it means "strength".

Stiff and formal surname. Try Roone instead.

A kestrel is a bird of prey. It has good potential as a strong girls' name, similar to Falcon for boys.

Arlen might be thought of as an update on the midcentury Arlene or as a unisex surname-name. Arlen was given to 22 girls in the US last year vs 57 boys and those numbers may grow with the fashion for n-ending two-syllable surname-names. Another similar possibility for girls: Arden.