Rock

Rock means exactly what you think it means. The main reason for thinking of the word rock as a possible name for a person is the fame of actor Rock Hudson. In the actor's case the name was a stage name, given to the actor to evoke an image of strength (as in Rock of Gibraltar.) His real name was Roy. Rock never caught on as a popular name for boys, but it does make a wonderful name for a dog, either as a name in its own right, or as a shortened form of Rocket.

Elmer

Elmer comes from an Old English name which was comprised of the elements ædhel ("noble") and maer ("famous.") Although Elmer was not used much as a given name after the Norman Conquest, but it did survive as a surname. When Elmer is used as a given name today it represents an instance of a surname being used as given name. The practice of using surnames as given names, particularly for boys, and especially the use of the mother's maiden name as a son's given name, was particularly popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and Elmer's popularity coicides with this practice. Elmer seems to be a rare name today, but in the first two decades of the 20th century, Elmer was a top 50 name for boys in the U.S. From the 1920's onward, Elmer's popularity steadily declined until the 1980's, when it more or less stabilized without ever dropping out of the top 1000. Elmer is still given to newborn baby boys enough today that it remains in the top 1000, but it shows no signs of regaining popularity. Elmer's early popularity could have led to its decline in use, due to overuse, and the eventual perception of the name as old-fashioned, but Elmer has more working against it than that. The popularity of Warner Brothers cartoon character Elmer Fudd keeps the name in the public conciousness, while also discouraging its use for babies. Elmer Fudd is so famous and so beloved that Google even has a feature that sort of allows you to search the internet like Elmer Fudd would. Famous and beloved, yes, but still not a character most people would choose to name their sons for. In addition to reminding everyone who hears his name of Elmer Fudd, a child named Elmer might also have to contend with another famous close association with his name, Elmer's Glue. Although Elmer is unlikely to regain much popularity as a name for a child as long as Elmer Fudd is well-known (which we can hope is always,) its still a great name for a pet, particularly for a dog, (or maybe a snake or hamster.)

Keanu

According to Ask Oxford's Consise Dictionary of First Names, Keanu is a Hawaiian name, and means "cool breeze blowing down from the mountains," but others dispute the meaning. Whatever the meaning, Keanu has appeared in the U.S. top 1000 names for baby boys consistently since 1994, almost entirely owing to the fame of actor Keanu Reeves. Some names have been popularized by movie stars and gone on to become standard names--Gary for instance--but it's doubtful that this will happen with Keanu. I'd recommend it more for naming a dog or cat than for a child.

Pocahontas

Most people have at least a passing familiarity with the legend of Pocahontas, or some version of it. Her given name was actually Matoaka; Pocahontas was a nickname given to her as a child to describe her "playful, frolicsome" ways. You can read more about her here or here if you are so inclined. I can't imagine anyone, other than perhaps a rock star or movie star, naming their daughter Pocahontas today. The meaning of Pocahontas, however, makes it perhaps a perfect name for a playful, mischievous, kitten or puppy. Later, when the critter is older and a bit more sedate, the name can be shortened to Pokey.

Demetrius

Demetrius comes from Demeter. Demeter was the Greek goddess of agriculture, and her name translates to "earth mother." There were several early saints named Demetrius, Shakespeare wrote of a Demetrius in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and John Dryden's translation of Plutarch's Demetrius can be found here. Demetrius has been given to baby boys often enough in the U.S. since the 1950's to remain consistently in the top 1000 names, but has never been what could be called "popular." It will probably remain so; as a classical name and a saint's name, it will likely continue to be used, but it would probably require a super-celebrity with the name Demetrius to push it into a popularity spike. The lack of good nicknames for this name also works against it. Although I can't recommend it as a baby name for anyone but the most adventurous of parents, Demetrius is an excellent name for a dog or cat.

Cole

Cole is a surname that is now used as a given name for boys. The surname itself came from a given name from medieval times. The origin and meaning of the original name are not known for certain. According to Ask Oxford, "It may represent a survival into Middle English of the Old English byname Cola 'swarthy', 'coal-black', from col 'charcoal'." Cole is currently a popular name in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland. The children's nursery rhyme "Old King Cole," like many nursery rhymes, might have a factual basis. There were several rulers of ancient Britain named Coel, and one of them was probably at least the inspiration for "Old King Cole." Which one seems to be open to some debate. The most famous Cole whose existence is not in doubt, was Cole Porter. This makes a wonderful name for a black dog, such as a black lab.

Kia

Kia can be used as a nickname for almost any name that begins with K (or even a hard C) and ends in A, such as Kristina, or Kiara. It has been used in the U.S. as a name in its own right very occasionally, but has never been really popular. Kia is, nonetheless, a good name for a pet, or for a fictional fantasy or RPG character, and has the added advantage of being quick and easy to type. Kia's popularity for baby girls will most likely suffer because of the association with car manufacturer Kia Motors.

Laban

Laban means "white," and comes from Hebrew. It is a Biblical name; Laban was the father of Rachel and Leah in the Old Testament. Laban is a very rarely used name, but the meaning can make it useful for naming a white pet.

Ra

Ra was the Egyptian sun god. This is not a name that is normally used by parents for their children, but it is still a useful name for a new pet, or possibly for an rpg character.

Missy (Missie)

Missy (occasionally spelled Missie) has two sources. First, it is a simple transfer of the word missy, which comes from miss, the traditional form of address for an unmarried girl or woman in English. Second, Missy is sometimes used as a nickname or pet form of Melissa. Missy is very rare as a name in its own right. It has been used since the 1950's at least, and nearly made the top 500 in the U.S. during several years in the 1960's, but that was the peak of its popularity. Although Missy has never been a very popular name for people, it has been used quite a bit for cats and small white dogs.

Cade

Cade is a surname that is now being used as a given name for boys. The origin of the surname is less than romantic though; it was originally a nickname that came from a word that meant "round" or "lump-like." (Rather in the same way that "Shorty" is a modern nickname that comes from a word that means "not tall.") According to Ask Oxford the use of Cade as a given name is due to "Cade Calvert," a character from the Margaret Mitchell book Gone With The Wind. That may be so, but personally I think that Cade would have probably found its way into use as a given name anyway--it just has that "sound" and that "look" that many parents in recent years have seemed to gravitate toward when naming their babies. The name is far from overused at this point, not quite even in the top 200 in the U.S., and it is a good-looking and good-sounding name, so I'd definitely put it in the recommended list. The only real downside is that original meaning of the name, but with any luck, by the time other kids are old enough to look up a name meaning they will also be too old to tease based on the information. Cade is also a wonderful name for a big dog.

Dodie

Dodie is a nickname for Dorothy. How in the world did we get Dodie from Dorothy? According to Ask Oxford, Dodie is the result of a small child trying to pronounce "Dorothy" and failing miserably. That's good, because that's about what I had guessed--although how in the world Oxford knows this to be true is beyond me. The author of 101 Dalmatians (the original novel,) was Dodie Smith. Television experts--and people even older than I am--might remember that there was a Dodie on My Three Sons for a while. She was played by Dawn Lyn. Dodie is a good name for a cat, or perhaps a small dog.

Victor

Victor means exactly what it seems to mean. That's "winner" or "victorious" for the less perceptive amongst you. The word is Latin, the name is Roman. When we hear the name Victor we might think of one of the saints who were named Victor, we might think of record company RCA Victor or we might think of author Victor Hugo. Fans of banjo genius Bela Fleck might even think of Victor Wooten. Classic movie fans will more likely think of actor Victor Mature. Early Christians liked this name quite a bit, and we evidently still like it a lot today. For more than 100 years now, this name has hovered just at the top 100 mark. This makes it a good name, simply because it's common enough not to be thought "odd," but not so common as to be overused. The usual nickname for Victor is Vic--a name that really grows on you once you know someone called Vic. Victor is an especially good name for a German Shepherd. Seriously.

Payton

Payton is a surname that's now being used as a given name. Sometimes it's spelled Peyton, but this is a simple variation. Peyton is a place in Sussex, and according to Ask Oxford, the original name was probably " 'Paega's settlement'. This makes it related to surnames such as Paignton and Packington. This name, in both spellings, has been creeping up the rankings of top names for babies in the U.S. since the early 1990's. The thing here is that it's being used for both boys and girls, so even though it's hanging out between the top 250 and the top 175, it's doing it for both genders simultaneously. If this continues there are going to be a lot of Paytons, and probably at least a few Paytons who marry other Paytons, and folks, this would just get confusing. So stop it. Now. At least agree on something reasonable; for instance, let's give Payton to boys and Peyton to girls. Or something. Payton is a great name for a dog, and a so-so name for a cat. I don't know why, but it's true. Test it for yourself. Let me know how it goes.

Asa

Asa means "doctor" or "healer" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Asa was a king of Judah. Asa was a Puritan name (17th century) and has been popular with Jewish families. In the United States in the last century Asa has usually appeared in the top 1000 names for boys, but in the bottom 500 of that list. Personally I really like this name. Its only real drawback is that it is already such a short name that there are no real nicknames or short forms of it, so a child named Asa wouldn't have a lot of choice about what to be called later. Paired with a versatile name like William or Robert though, Asa could work out wonderfully. Asa is also a wonderful name for a dog. I don't know why it is, but it is. Trust me. An interesting (or sort of interesting) but totally irrelevant aside here: a search on Google for "Asa" shows that it's also apparently a very popular acronym. The entire first page of results is nothing but associations and societies with ASA as their initials. (See? Irrelevant. I told you.)

Reagan

I think everyone, or surely almost everyone, knows that Ronald Reagan was President of the United States for most of the 1980's. Is this why Reagan appeared in the top 1000 names for baby girls in 1993, and for boys in 1996? In some cases yes, in others, probably not. The girl's version of the name has been climbing steadily since it debuted on the SSA's name charts, and is now in the top 200. There are actually probably several reasons for the rising popularity of this name. One is simply that quite a few names that were originally surnames and are of Irish origin are lately being used as first names for girls--Morgan is another example. In the book and movie "The Exorcist," the little girl who is possessed is named Regan, and the choice of Reagan for little girls may be partly influenced by that--though why anyone would want that association for their daughter that early is beyond me. She'll seem possessed soon enough (around the age of 13) without any encouragement from her name. There are fewer boys being named Reagan than girls, suggesting that the main influence might not be Ronald Reagan, but it could be that people are just tending to think of it as a girl's name. Those boys that are named Reagan are more likely to be named that in honor of the former president though, just because they're boys. Make sense? I think so, sort of. All I know for sure is that Reagan comes from an Irish surname that itself came from a word that meant "little king." (Yet another reason to wonder why on earth someone would name their daughter Reagan, but you know how parents are.) I also know that Reagan is a wonderful name for a dog, or at least, I know a wonderful dog named Reagan. (And he is named for Ronald Reagan--he came from California. Reason enough.)

Luna

Luna means "moon," or can mean "moon goddess." In Roman mythology, Luna was the goddess of the moon. Her Greek counterpart was Selene. Luna as a given name for girls has a certain current trendiness. It's not exactly popular, but has been used enough in the past 2 or 3 years to earn itself a place in the U.S. top 1000. Interestingly, the name is also currently very popular, as in top 10, in Belgium--or so says Behind the Name. I was mildly surprised to find that Luna was in use as a given name in the early 1900's, but I haven't yet found information about its history as a name before that--still looking. What was more surprising to me is that it didn't fade back into the top 1000 during the 1960's through the 1980's. I'd have thought that Luna would be a prime candidate for trendy popularity during those years. Go figure. I have mixed feelings about this name. On the one hand, I love the sound of it, and the meaning is good. On the other hand, as cruel as kids are, any little girl named Luna is going to be at serious risk of being called "Looney Luna." The fact that it rhymes with "tuna" probably doesn't help. So I think that even as much as I like the name, I'd have to recommend against it for a new baby. Luna is a great name for a fictional character, and I might use my newfound knowledge that the name was in use in the early 20th century myself one of these days-I love things that seem "wrong" until you find out that they aren't. I also think that Luna is a great name for a dog, but this is probably because I play The Sims and when the Unleashed expansion pack was released, it included as a character a cute little dog named Luna. That dog is now the first thing I think of when I hear or see the name. The second thing I think of is a character from the soap opera One Life To Live who was named Luna. She was cool, but she was definitely quite looney.

Ginger

Ginger as a name has several possible sources. In the case of Ginger Rogers, it was a nickname for Virginia. Ginger is also a spice, and because the spice has a reddish-brown color, Ginger has also been used as a nickname for someone with red hair. Ginger as a given name in its own right is a fairly new entry to the name game. It was used some during the middle decades of the 1900's, but has never been really popular. What Ginger has been used for alot is as an animal name. Anyone who read the book Black Beauty by Anna Sewell will remember the horse named Ginger, and plenty of horses have had the name because of the color of their coats. I've also personally known a cat who was named Ginger because she had a "spicy" personality, and a dog named Ginger for no apparent reason. Then again, I also know a woman named Ginger. She doesn't have red hair, but she does have a pretty spicy personality. Other than Ginger Rogers, the most famous human bearer of the name Ginger might well be Ginger "the movie star" from television's Gilligan's Island.

Walter

Walter comes from the Germanic name Waldhari, which meant, essentially, "ruling warriors." The form Walter was brought to England by the Normans. The English already had their own form of this name, Wealdhere, but since the two names apparently meant the same thing, came from the same original source, and sounded much the same, Walter eventually became the version that was used. Walter was quite popular with the Normans, and then with the English in Medieval days. It has been in constant use ever since and was a top 20 name in the U.S. in the first few decades of the 20th century. Its popularity has dropped since then, but since this name has been around for so long, it will probably continue to be used, and will probably see other peaks in popularity as time goes on. Walter is a relatively common surname, but in this case, the first name came first and the surname came last. Famous Walters include Walter Cronkite, Walter Brennan, and Walter Pidgeon. Incidentally, Walter is wonderful name for a dog.

Kandi

Kandi is one of several variant spellings of Candy that appeared around the 1950's. This particular was used a little--unsurprisingly--in the 1960's and 1970's. Most parents today hopefully have more sense. Fiction writers might have uses for this name, and it probably wouldn't damage a cat or dog to be named Kandi, but your daughter probably wouldn't thank you for it.