Names that mean an animal
Animal names were common in Germanic languages, where wolf, bear and raven were names of strength. Leo is Latin for "lion", Paloma Spanish for "dove", and Bear is a modern word name.
Girl names (25)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everly | wild-boar clearing (place name) | English | #91 |
| Everleigh | wild-boar clearing (place name) | English | #194 |
| Ariel | lion of God | Hebrew | #356 |
| Ariella | lion of God (feminine of Ariel) | Hebrew | #174 |
| Wren | wren (the songbird) | English | #231 |
| Rachel | ewe | Hebrew | #250 |
| Raven | raven (the bird) | English | #404 |
| Melissa | bee, honeybee | Greek | #420 |
| Leona | lion | Latin | #429 |
| Alondra | lark (Spanish) | Spanish | #680 |
| Mavis | song thrush (poetic English) | English | #561 |
| Birdie | little bird | English | #670 |
| Rosalina | variant of Rosalind / Rosaline | Germanic | #681 |
| Deborah | bee | Hebrew | #864 |
| Paloma | dove (Spanish) | Spanish | #793 |
| Rosalyn | variant of Rosaline | Germanic | #1,051 |
| Raquel | Spanish form of Rachel; "ewe" | Hebrew | #1,123 |
| Ainara | swallow (the bird) | Basque | #898 |
| Beverly | beaver stream (place name) | English | #1,018 |
| Bernadette | feminine of Bernard; "brave as a bear" | Germanic | #1,034 |
| Tabitha | "gazelle" | Aramaic | #1,308 |
| Rosalind | "horse" + "soft, tender" | Germanic | #1,521 |
| Rachelle | variant of Rachel; "ewe" | Hebrew | #3,375 |
| Debra | variant of Deborah, 'bee' | Hebrew | #4,478 |
| Debbie | pet form of Deborah, 'bee' | Hebrew | #5,284 |
Boy names (43)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leo | lion | Latin | #19 |
| Everett | boar-strong (from Everard) | Germanic | #77 |
| Leonardo | lion-strong | Germanic | #91 |
| Connor | lover of hounds | Irish | #166 |
| Jonah | dove | Hebrew | #128 |
| Leon | lion | Greek | #138 |
| Brayden | salmon (via Braden) | Irish | #229 |
| Phoenix | phoenix (mythical bird) | Greek | #329 |
| Callum | dove (Gaelic form of Columba) | Latin | #118 |
| Ari | lion (Hebrew); also a short form | Hebrew | #393 |
| Ronan | little seal | Irish | #247 |
| Leonel | little lion (Spanish form of Lionel) | Latin | #350 |
| Corbin | crow, raven (Norman nickname) | French | #512 |
| Leonidas | son of the lion; lion-like | Greek | #510 |
| Philip | fond of horses | Greek | #528 |
| Leandro | lion man (Spanish form of Leander) | Greek | #406 |
| Jonas | dove (Greek form of Jonah) | Hebrew | #599 |
| Hamza | lion; strong (Arabic) | Arabic | #541 |
| Lionel | little lion | Latin | #659 |
| Raul | counsel wolf (Spanish form of Ralph) | Germanic | #634 |
| Aries | ram (zodiac sign) | Latin | #661 |
| Yael | ibex, mountain goat | Hebrew | #818 |
| Drake | dragon; or male duck (English surname) | English | #827 |
| Leonard | lion-strong (Germanic) | Germanic | #637 |
| Rudy | short form of Rudolph | Germanic | #739 |
| Bjorn | bear | Scandinavian | #829 |
| Bear | bear (word name) | English | #853 |
| Adler | eagle | Germanic | #871 |
| Felipe | form of Philip; "lover of horses" | Greek | #955 |
| Zev | wolf | Hebrew | #866 |
| Randy | pet form of Randall or Randolph | Germanic | #1,089 |
| Laith | lion | Arabic | #896 |
| Ralph | wolf counsel | Germanic | #1,048 |
| Aslan | lion | Turkish | #860 |
| Bernard | strong as a bear | Germanic | #1,362 |
| Randall | from Randolph: shield wolf | Germanic | #1,506 |
| Rodolfo | "famous wolf" | Germanic | #1,474 |
| Todd | fox | English | #1,618 |
| Arnold | eagle power | Germanic | #1,477 |
| Lowell | "little wolf" | French | #3,281 |
How names get on this list
Our editors read each name's documented etymology and tag a theme only when the roots of the name carry that meaning. Popular explanations without support (folk etymologies) don't count, and names whose origin is uncertain are left out unless every explanation agrees. The list covers the roughly 2,000 most used names we have researched so far, ordered by the number of US babies in the last five years. How we research meanings.