Black Cat Names

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.

Heard in the Scottish highlands, and much more in tune with the present times than the dated Douglas — for which it could make a perfect tribute name.
Dougal was the Scottish nickname for invading dark-haired Danish Vikings, just as Fingal was given to the blonder Norwegians.

A sleek, smooth, understated name off the grid in the US but among the Top 100 girl names in Germany. In the US, it is a unisex name, while in Germany and the Netherlands, it is predominantly feminine.

Familiar via Harry, but much more worldly.

Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is a Sindarin name given to her by Beren, meaning "daughter of twilight" and therefore "nightingale".

Popular Spanish name that relates to the patron saint of Mexico. It could conceivably, like Soledad and Consuelo, cross the border into multicultural territory, but the name's decline since the nineties would seem to make that less likely.

One of three Cherokee names with the same meaning, along with Inali and Enoli, both male names.

Nimbus is a word from nature for a type of cloud that has occasionally -- very occasionally -- been used for a human. But it's evocative and upbeat and certainly makes an intriguing and stylish nature name.

A sweet, simple Sanskrit name which would work in many languages and has an sparkling, colorful meaning.

Now that the Irish Ciaran and Ciara -- aka Kieran and Kiera -- are becoming more popular beyond their native shores, the short and strong Ciar might find some favor. As of now, more than 160 baby girls were named Ciara in the US last year, with half that many boys named Ciaran, but so far no baby boys named Ciar, though 17 were called Keir.

Charming nature name made even more appealing by the connection to iconic nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale.

Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Diablo Cody, self-named (she's really Brook Busey) screenwriter of Juno, singlehandedly helped popularize not just her heroine's name and her own but all o-ending names for girls. You don't need us to tell you that it takes a brave parent, in every way, to name a baby Diablo. Diablo is one of the Spanish baby names that diverges furthest from the well-paved camino.

Kiernan Shipka, aka Sally Draper on Mad Men, brings this Irish surname into the girls' column. And, like Kieran and Tierney and Tiernan, it's one of the perfectly unisex baby names. Only 14 girls were named Kiernan in the US in a recent year...and three times as many boys. If you want to move beyond Riley and Kennedy to one of the more unusual surname-based Irish names for girls, this may be a good choice.

The tree, not the charred bit of soot in the fireplace, usually used for boys, but, as a short form of Ashley, works for girls too.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden added this rocking name to the lexicon of day names, which have their roots in the African tradition of naming a child after the day of the week, time of day, or season in which he or she was born. But they wisely used it as a middle name.

Kerry is the name of one of the most beautiful and lush counties of Ireland was a seventies favorite. Related, updated versions might include Cerys and Keira.

Eisele was originally a nickname for the Old German given name Isenhart, which derived from Isenlin — a nickname for a blacksmith.

Farrar has two separate origins: an occupational name meaning "smith", and a Scottish river name, from a Pictish word meaning "to wind". Barely ever recorded as a first name, Farrar is a blank slate that fits with the surname style that's popular today.

Dark horse Irish surname.