40 Animal Baby Names For Your Little Cub

Before Grylls and before Alicia Silverstone’s baby, most people probably wouldn’t have considered this a baby name at all. But since 2018, Bear has appeared in the Social Security Administrations top 1,000 most popular baby names so it’s officially a thing now. And, honestly? It’s kinda cute.

This figure from Greek mythology — a sorceress/goddess — has come into the spotlight in recent years thanks to the popular book by Madeline Miller. Circe, whose name, it must be said, is pronounced the same as Cersei, one of the chief villains from Game of Thrones, means “bird” or maybe “hawk” in Ancient Greek.

This Irish boy’s name has a great nickname in “Cal” and means “dove.” A variation of the name Callum on the Emerald Isle is “Colm.”

This unique baby name of Fawn was only briefly in the Top 1,000 baby names back in the 1980s, but if you’re looking for an animal baby name, it might be time for a comeback.

This boy name of Ari comes from Hebrew and means “lion.” The feminine version of this name is Ariella. You could also go with the gender neutral variant, Ariel.

Actress Busy Philipps gave her eldest child this name a while back and I’m obsessed. Philipps, whose birth name is Elizabeth, knew the name Birdie was unusual, but as she said at the time, “After having grown up with a nickname, there is no way I’m naming my kid one thing and calling her something else.”

The name Colt refers to a young male horse and is perfect for a little cowboy.

Coming from Welsh, this unique girl’s name of Bronwyn means “white raven,” or “blessed raven.”

No one is certain what the epic name of Arthur means, but scholars’ best guess seems to be that it comes from Irish and means “bear.” And, of course, it’s the name of the legendary King of the Britons.

The name Kiara appears in a number of languages around the world and mostly doesn’t have anything to do with animals, but light. In Italian it means “light.” In Irish it’s “little dark one.” In Korean, Kiara means “first ray of sun.” But in Aboriginal Australian it means “cockatoo.” In short, it’s a beautiful name with lots of meaning.

Whether you pronounce it with the “L” or the more English way — Rafe — the baby name Ralph has the same meaning “wolf counsel.” I’m not sure why you would seek counsel from a wolf, but it’s a cool idea and a great name.

The gorgeous Spanish name Paloma means “dove,” and is probably most famous for being the name of Pablo Picasso’s daughter, who is a jewelry designer for Tiffany’s and a perfumer.

With nicknames like “Wolf” or “Wolfie,” this German name of Wolfgang means “traveling wolf” or “the path of the wolf,” which is, I must admit, simultaneously classic, mysterious, and absolutely metal.

Like Kiara, the name Yara appears in a number of languages. In Tupi, an indigenous language of the Amazon, it means “river lady.” In Persian it means “strength” or “courage.” But in Arabic it means “small butterfly,” which is so sweet.

The name of both the lanky red-headed comedian and the beefy Austrian barbarian, this Irish name of Conan means “hound.”

This unique animal baby name of Tabitha comes from Armaic (a language of the Ancient Middle East) and means both “gazelle” and “gracious.”

A combination of French and German (they are right next to each other, so it makes sense), this name of Bernard means “strong bear,” which feels especially adorable for a baby.

It might be most famous via our favorite sea witch, but the name Ursula actually has a distinctly earth-bound meaning: “little she-bear.” The masculine version of this name is Ursino and was made famous in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

If you were a fan of The X-Files in the ’90s then you know the credulous protagonist was named “Fox Mulder” and, honestly, I’m very here for it. After all, foxes are beautiful and friendly but wily.

This strong, Italian name of Ezio means “eagle,” and is a great animal baby name alternative to similar and more popular names like Ezra and Enzo.

Short for the Hebrew name Rachel, this name of Rae means “ewe.” In the Bible, Rachel is the second, beautiful, and beloved wife of Jacob, who gives birth to Joseph, a patriarch in Judaism.

Wrens are a very common but sometimes elusive bird, flying around quickly (despite their relatively stubby wings) and preferring the shelter of undergrowth. I love this unisex animal baby name.

This Greco-Latin name of Draco means “dragon.” No one said an animal name had to be based on a real animal: dragons are animals, too, and you could do way worse than a dragon as a namesake.

Is the Phoenix, the fire bird that consumes itself only to be reborn out of its own ashes, an actual animal? No. But since we’ve established that fictional creatures are fair game, I highly recommend this meaningful baby name.

This animnal baby name of Selkie comes from shapeshifters from Irish lore — beautiful sea women who could transform into seals and back again. If a human were to steal her seal skin while she was a human, however, she would be bound to them forever. But if she ever found the coat again, she would not be able to resist the call of the sea once again.

Another avian unisex name, I think people sleep on the baby name Robin! It’s especially perfect or a springtime baby, since robins are a harbinger of the season.

This Greek name of Leander means “lion man,” and I’m obsessed. (Also I love Lee as a nickname.)

This Hebrew boy’s name of Zvi can also be spelled Tzvi and was very popular among Yiddish speaking communities in Europe. It means “deer.”

While we’ve probably seen “Coco,” Koko is somewhat less common. This name come from Japanese and means “stork.”

This unisex name of Raven is simple, but mysterious and a little bit sassy. Ravens are roundly considered to be among the most intelligent birds on the planet.

This Irish name of Ronan has a sweet meaning: “little seal.”

A Greek origin name with a perhaps unrivaled nickname (Pippa), this animal baby name of Philippa means “lover of horses.”

I love this unisex name of Falcon as an ode to some of the smallest but mightiest raptors on the planet.

This Old English name Everett has traditionally been masculine but has become gender neutral all the time. It means “strong boar.”

Larks are known for their beautiful songs, so this would be a great animal name and musical name. We love this name for either a boy or a girl

This name of Vanessa was invented by Jonathan Swift as an ode to his girlfriend, taking the first part of her last name (Vanhomrigh) and her nickname (Essa). After being adopted by a lepidopterist to name a particular species of butterfly, it has come to mean “butterfly.”

This English name, Peregrine, in and of itself means “wanderer,” but is associated with the Peregrine falcon, the fastest creature on earth who can reach speeds of almost 250 miles per hour when diving for prey from the air.

Another Hebrew girls name (what can we say: Hebrew gave us a lot of great names), Ayelet has the emphasis on the second syllable (aye-EL-et) and means “deer” or “gazelle.”

These birds in the Corvid family (which also includes crows and ravens) can be found on every continent except Antactica. The best known is probably the blue jay. I love this simple but strong name of Jay.

For a while there, it felt like every plucky heroine in YA and fantasy books had the name Cat, but I think there’s a good reason: cats are awesome and this name is the perfect combination of sweet and sassy.