50 Animal Names for Baby Girls

Looking for a girl's name with a nature connection? How about a name inspired by an animal such as a bird, butterfly, feline or fish? From popular animal-inspired monikers (Leona, Raven) to more unusual but pretty options (Nyala, Dove), here are 50 zoological baby names for girls. Which one gets your vote?

1. Wren. A perky bird name that made its debut in the US Top 1,000 in 2013.
2. Vanessa. This 1980s' favorite has a fluttery meaning: aside from being girls' name, Vanessa is a genus of butterflies.
3. Raven. One of the more popular bird names for girls, Raven is drenched in mythological, spiritual and cultural symbolism (good or bad, depending on who you ask).
4. Leona. Feminine version of Leon. British pop star Leona Lewis is one of the most famous bearers of this lion-inspired name.
5. Aviana. This modern girls' name with an avian twist may be short on tradition, but it already has quite some fans, including Amy Adams who picked it for her daughter in 2010.
6. Mavis. A bird name oozing vintage charm.
7. Cynthia. The second butterfly-inspired baby name on this list, Cynthia refers to a group of colorful butterfly species.
8. Paloma. Famously borne by the British singer-songwriter Paloma Faith, this name means "dove" in Spanish.
9. Birdie. Birdie transitions from the tree tops to the crib with ease. Bird without the ie-suffic has also occasionally been used as a baby name.
10. Robin. A unisex mid-century moniker with an avian twist, perfect for any bird-loving retro couple's new arrival, boy or girl.
11. Erica. Erica can be many things: a spider, a plant..and a baby name!
12. Dove. Borrowed from the bird that's widely used as a symbol of peace.
13. Sparrow. The list ow-ending baby names got a cool new entrant back in 2009 when Nicole Richie and Joel Madden used named their son Sparrow.
14. Zenaida. A genus of doves—and a singular girls' name.
15. Rosella. Not all nature names with the Rose- prefix relate to the plant: Rosella, for example, belongs to a colorful parrot native to the Australian continent.
16. Lark. Moves from the sky to the playground with style.
17. Leonie. A pretty leonine girl's name with Catholic bona fides via two French saints, St. Leonie Aviat and St. Leonie Martin.
18. Delphine. This one comes from the Greek word for "dolphin". Broadcast journalist Kate Bolduan has a daughter named Delphine Esther.
19. Minnow. A sister for Marlow, an alternative to Willow. As for the animal connection, minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish.
20. Sable. A species of marten, a French word meaning "sand", and apparently also a baby name.
21. Fawn. A young deer, a light brown color, and a perfectly legit girls' name!
22. Teal. This bird-inspired baby name is complete at just one syllable. Perfect for the minimalist parent!
23. Mariposa. Parents hoping to raise a lepidopterist could try to steer their offspring in the right direction by choosing an approriate appellation, such as Mariposa, which means "butterfly" in Spanish.
24. Kala. Meaning "fish" in Finnish, Kala makes for a surprising animal name!
25. Nyala. In the animal kingdom, this name belongs to a spiral-horned antelope native to the southern parts of Africa. Who knew?!
26. Avis. The Latin word for "bird" passes the baby name test, too.
27. Starling. A bird name with a surprisingly long history as baby name (it's been in use since the dawn of U.S. baby name history, though in the beginning it was given to boys).
28. Dovie. Trying to come up with a cute bird-inspired name with a retro feel to it? Dovie, which reached its zenith in the 1910s, might be perfect.
29. Alouette. A bird name in disguise—unless you speak French and know that it means "lark".
30. Cricket. Cricket joined the ranks of baby names when Busy Philipps and Marc Silverstein named their daughter Cricket Pearl Silverstein in 2013.
31. Fauna. If Flora can be a baby name, why not Fauna?
32. Aquila. Of Latin origin, Aquila means "eagle". Christian parents may additionally prize the connection to the early Christian missionary duo "Priscilla and Aquila".
33. Tayra. Tayra may be a carnivorous mammal related to weasels, otters and minks, but it also makes an unusual but appealing baby name.
34. Obelia. Swap the ph in the popular girl name Ophelia for the letter B, and you arrive at Obelia, a distinctive girl's name that takes its inspiration from a small marine creature commonly known as the sea fur.
35. Canary. Brings to mind the bright-colored bird.
36. Feather. A bird-inspired alternative to Heather.
37. Iolana. Iolana may be a type of butterfly, but it makes for a good baby name, too.
38. Adar. A name with many layers of meaning. If you're an animal lover, you may like its Welsh meaning ("birds").
39. Adelpha. Entomologists might recognize Adelpha as a genus of butterflies, but it makes a pretty good baby name, too.
40. Aderyn. A Welsh word name meaning "bird", Aderyn might be perfect for a nature-loving family with Welsh heritage.
41. Chrysanthia. You might think it's a flower, but Chrysanthia is actually a genus of beetles.
42. Cleora. The name of a genus of moths doubles as a girl's name with a lovely vintage sound. Bonus points for the lovely vintage nickname Cleo.
43. Deryn. A cognate of the Welsh word aderyn, meaning "bird".
44. Elodina. The beautiful name of a genus of beautiful butterflies.
45. Rhea. There's a genus of large South American birds called Rhea, named after a mythological character worshipped in ancient Greece.
46. Lind. A unisex baby name with a secret animal meaning: turns out, Lind means "bird" in Estonian.
47. Linnet. The common linnet is a small song bird in the finch family. As a baby name, Linnet has yet to take off.
48. Oriole. The outer space inspired Orion has already come of age as a baby name. The bird-inspired Oriole could be next...or not.
49. Palila. The name of a Hawaiian passerine bird, Palila could easily alight on an American baby girl's birth certificate.
50. Swan. An evocative bird-inspired appellation for the more adventurous baby namer.