Writing about butterfly names, I got to thinking, what other names are closely linked to animals or can be represented for a child by an animal? I embarked on a list of animal baby names. What fun it is for little Leo to know that a his name means “lion”, or for Philippa to see a horse and associate it with herself! This list is far from complete, but these are some of the names that struck me as usable for a modern baby, appearing in many American family trees, or being in some other way noteworthy. Please let me know what your favorite animal names are. Expect a subsequent post devoted exclusively to bird names!
GIRLS
Agnes- Greek, “chaste”, also associated with agnus, or “lamb”
Anka- Aboriginal Australian, “barramundi”
Arjuni- Sanskrit, “ox”
Athena- Greek, goddess of wisdom whose symbol is the owl
Ayala- Hebrew, “deer”
Columba, Colombe- Scottish, “dove” (St. Columba was male but this name is more closely associated with girls now)
Deborah- Biblical, “bee”
Delphine- Greek, French possibly related to delphis, “dolphin”, also the city of Delphi
Dorcas- Biblical, “gazelle”
Eowyn- Old English, “horse lover”
Jael, Yael- Hebrew, “mountain goat”
Jemima- Biblical, “dove”
Leona, Leontine- Greek, French, “lion”, see Leo
Melissa- Greek, “honey bee”
Merle- English variant of Muriel; this spelling is influenced by the French word merle, meaning “blackbird.” Also used as a male name.
Oona- Irish, “lamb”
Orpah- Hebrew, “fawn”
Paloma- Spanish, “dove”
Penelope- Greek, possibly associated with “duck”
Philippa- Greek, “horse lover”
Rachel- Hebrew, “ewe”
Rosalind- English, ”soft horse”, derived from the Germanic elements hros ”horse” and linde ”soft, tender”
Rosamund- English, German for ”horse protection” from Germanic hros ”horse” and mund ”protection”
Tabitha- Biblical, Aramaic “gazelle”
Ursa, Ursula- Latin, “bear”
Zipporah, Tzipporah- Hebrew, “bird”
BOYS
Adler- Teutonic, “eagle”
Aquila- Latin, “eagle”
Ari, Ariel- Biblical, “lion”
Arnold- German, “eagle power”
Arthur- Irish, “strong as a bear”
Asad- Arabic, “lion”
Aslan- Turkish, “lion”
Averell, Everild- Teutonic, “boar slayer”
Barend- Dutch, “a firm bear”
Bernard- German, “bold as a bear”
Björn- Scandinavian, “bear”
Borden- Old English, “from the valley of the boar”
Callum- Scottish, “dove”, form of Columba
Conan- Irish, “little wolf”
Darby- English, “deer town”
Dov- Hebrew, “bear”
Drake- English, “duck” or Old English for “dragon”
Everett, Everard- Old English, “brave as a boar”
Ganesh- Sankrit, Hindu god normally represented with the face of an elephant
Gavin- Welsh, from Gwalchgwyn ”white hawk”
Giles- English by way of Greece, “young goat”
Gryphon- Mythological creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle
Leander- Greek, “lion of man”
Leo, Leon, Leonard, Leonidas- Greek, “lion”
Lev- Russian, “lion”
Llywelyn- Welsh, possibly related to llew “lion”
Mayur- Sanskrit, “peacock”
Nagendra- Sanskrit, “lord of snakes”
Oscar- Irish, “deer lover”, derived from Gaelic os ”deer” and cara ”lover”
Orson- English, Latin, ”bear”
Owen- Welsh, possibly related to oen ”lamb”
Philip- Greek, “horse lover”
Phineas- Hebrew, possibly means “serpent’s mouth”
Randolf- English, “wolf’s shield”
Renard- French, “fox”; originally from the Germanic Reginard, meaning “advice, brave, hardy.” A Medieval character Reynard the Fox was the source for the present meaning in France.
Roscoe- Old Norse, “from the deer forest”
Todd- English, from a surname meaning “fox”
Tzvi- Hebrew, “deer”
Usama- Arabic, “lion”
Vespasian- Latin, possibly realted to vespa “wasp”
Wolfgang- German, “wolf’s path”
ETA: Zipporah, Tzipporah, at Lola’s suggestion. Added Rachel, Merle, and Tzvi at Miriam’s suggestion. Also changed a few meanings to be accurate thanks to Miriam. :-)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t know whether there has ever been an Olympic runner named Dorcas, but how divine that would be. I also love Oona and her sweet association with the lamb.
You forgot Tzipporah/Zipporah – also meaning dove. Arthur might mean bear or stone, depending on where it actually orginated. (I’m partial to bear, myself) and I doubt even the meaning can save Dorcas. at least, not until Dork and A** leave the English language as bad language. Too bad, too, it’s pretty looking. And you know how much I love Llewellyn!
Lola, how oblivious am I (re: Dorcas)?! Breaking up the name in two syllables has definitely thrown me for a loop. I two am a fan of Llewellyn. And Tzipporah/Zipporah is also a fave. Arthur too, especially with a French pronunciation, for those who happen to be French!
Lot of problems with the name meanings in this post:
Aquila means eagle in Latin, not lion.
Ari in Hebrew means lion, not lamb, although one day we hope they will lie down together. (Ariel=lion of G-d)
Tzipporah means bird in Hebrew, not dove. Jemima is dove.
Lev in Hebrew means heart. In Russian it means lion.
Reynard in its various forms does not mean fox. It is the NAME of the fox, like Mickey is the name of the mouse and Donald is the name of the duck.
Omissions:
Rachel–ewe, lamb
Merle–black bird
Tzvi, Tzivia–hart
Miriam, THANK YOU!
I must have posted in a trance. I actually know the meanings of Aquila and Ari by heart, and I must have been typing so quickly that I got my meanings all mucked up. RE, Tzipporah, I should have looked into more resources than I did. Lev and Reynard were me skimming and not paying attention to what I was reading.
It’s a very good reminder for me to proofread and slow down. Sometimes I get anxious to post but I would hate to mislead people with incorrect information. I have added Rachel, Merle, and Tzvi to the list. Again, many thanks.
With my tail between my legs,
~E
Great list. I know a Gavin, I’ll ask him if he know what his name meaning.
Renard actually is the French word for Fox! It’s evidently after a Medieval character Reynard the Fox, but has “meant” Fox in French for a long time. Putting it back in now…