Bird names carry something most nature names do not: a sound, a flight, and a story that changes with every species. This guide gathers 100 of them, from familiar picks like Wren and Robin to rarities such as Chelidon and Zitkaduta, each with its origin, meaning, pronunciation and current U.S. popularity.
Two of these sit inside the American top 100 right now. Evelyn ranked 8th and Ava 11th among U.S. girls in 2025, according to Social Security Administration records, while Suzume closed the same year at 14,738th, roughly one baby in 250,000. Birdie is the list’s fastest climber, up about 1,110 percent on the previous decade, per the same federal data.
Every popularity figure below comes from the SSA’s record of U.S. births, so it describes American usage only and says nothing about how common a name is anywhere else. Browse by meaning, by sound, or by the bird itself, and see which one your little one grows into.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Evelyn, Ava, Jonah, Piper and Phoebe.
100 Cool Bird Names for Babies
Spread your wings to discover unforgettable bird names for girls and boys here.
Aghavni
Aghavni is the Armenian word for a dove, and it wears that softness openly. A village in Armenia’s Syunik province carries the name too, which gives it a sense of place most bird names never get. Three syllables look daunting on a birth certificate, but they settle quickly once you say them aloud. The sound stays soft in any language, which matches a name that means dove.
- Origin: Armenian
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: Ah-GAAHAEV-Niy
- Popularity: Aghavni has never appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration birth records, so it carries no American ranking. It belongs squarely to the Armenian naming tradition.
Ákos
Ákos is a Hungarian falcon name with a medieval clan behind it, which is why it still reads as old and faintly formal. Turkish gives it a second reading, white eagle, so the bird stays in the picture either way. The accent on the first letter is part of the name and worth keeping. A footballer and a singer-songwriter have both carried it in Hungary, which keeps it in ordinary circulation rather than in the history books. For an English-speaking family it is short, strong, and almost certainly unshared.
- Origin: Hungarian
- Meaning: Falcon
- Pronunciation: AH-Kohsh
- Variations: Ákosh
- Namesakes: Ákos Elek, a Hungarian footballer in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Ákos Kovács, a Hungarian singer-songwriter and member of the group Bonanza Banzai.
- Popularity: Ákos has no record in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s birth data, so there is no American rank to quote for it. In the United States it stays a genuine rarity.
Alouette
Alouette is French for a lark, and it arrives already set to music thanks to the old children’s song built around the word. The root is the Latin alauda, which is where the skylark gets its name. Three syllables ask to be sung rather than called, but that is most of the charm. American parents have only just found it, so a girl named Alouette will very likely be the only one in her class.
- Origin: French, Gaelic
- Meaning: Lark
- Pronunciation: AHL-aw-Eht
- Variations: Allouette, Alouett, Alowette
- Popularity: Alouette is new to the U.S. data. It first appeared in 2018, peaked at nine girls in 2021 for a best rank of 10,336th, and last showed up in 2022 at 15,445th. Twenty-seven American girls have been recorded with it in total.
Altair
Altair is the bright star in the constellation Aquila, the eagle, so the bird meaning arrives through the night sky rather than through a dictionary. Arabic gives it the sense of a flying bird, and that reading has stayed attached. The sound is clean in English, two syllables that land firmly and need no nickname. It suits parents drawn to sky names who want something with more age on it than the current crop.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Falcon
- Pronunciation: Aal-TEHR
- Variations: Alltair, Alltare, Alltayr, Altayre
- Namesakes: Altaír Tejeda de Tamez, a Mexican journalist who wrote for the El Diario de Ciudad Victoria newspaper. Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, a Brazilian footballer, and 1962 World Cup Champion.
- Popularity: Altair ranked 5,618th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 16 born that year, and hit its best rank of 4,080th in 2024. It is up about 40 percent on the previous decade, and roughly 41 percent of American Altairs on record are girls, so it works either way.
Aquila
Aquila is Latin for eagle and the name of the constellation drawn in that shape. It may trace back to aquilus, meaning dark in color, which suits a bird that reads as a silhouette against a bright sky. American parents have used it for boys and girls alike and neither feels like a stretch. Three syllables give it weight without making it heavy.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Eagle
- Pronunciation: Ah-KWIHL-ah
- Variations: Acquila, Acquilla, Aquilla
- Namesakes: Aquila Emil, a Papua New Guinean rugby player who captained Papua New Guinea at the 1994 World Sevens.
- Popularity: Aquila ranked 13,354th among U.S. girls in 2025 and 7,713rd among boys, so it genuinely runs both ways. Its best showing was 2,780th back in 1977, and about 760 American girls have carried it since 1955.
Arden
Arden reads as a place before it reads as a bird, which is exactly what it was. Several spots in the UK carry it, the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire among them. Underneath sit the Old English earn, meaning eagle, and denu, meaning valley, so there is a raptor hidden in the middle of a map reference. It has the soft, worn-in sound American parents keep reaching for, and it needs no adjustment for a boy or a girl.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Valley of the eagle
- Pronunciation: AAR-Dehn
- Variations: Ardan, Ardin, Ardyn, Arrden
- Namesakes: Arden Cho, an American actress known for the 2011 Teen Wolf series. Arden Key Jr., an American football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League.
- Popularity: Arden ranked 975th for U.S. girls and 1,005th for boys in 2025, nearly the same rank on both sides. It is up about 31 percent on the previous decade, and roughly one American girl in 6,173 is named Arden.
Arvid
Arvid comes from the Old Norse Arnviðr, eagle of the woods, so the bird arrives with a whole forest attached. In Scandinavian use it also means brave warrior, which gives it a harder second edge. It has been on American records since 1880 without ever becoming common, which is the sweet spot a lot of parents are hunting for. Two blunt syllables, no fuss, no shortening required.
- Origin: Scandinavian
- Meaning: Eagle of the woods
- Pronunciation: AAR-Vahd
- Variations: Arved, Arvad, Arvyd
- Namesakes: Arvid Järnefelt, a Finnish writer who founded the newspaper Päivälehti in 1889. Arvid Carlsson, a Swedish neuropharmacologist awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000.
- Popularity: Arvid ranked 8,323rd for U.S. boys in 2025 after peaking at 575th in 1916, the year 100 American boys were given it. It is climbing again, up about 91 percent on the previous decade, though it still reads most at home among Norwegian boy names.
Ava
Ava is a medieval Germanic pet form of names starting with Av, and the bird-like sense travels along with it. It also means water, plus life and island, so it has never been tied to a single image. Parents like that it stands as a full name and doubles as a short form for Aveline or Avis. Two vowels and a soft V make it one of the first names a toddler can say back to you.
- Origin: Germanic
- Meaning: Bird-like
- Pronunciation: EY-Vaa
- Variations: Avie, Avah
- Namesakes: Ava Gardner, an American actress known for the Golden Globe Award-winning film The Night of the Iguana (1964). Ava Ohlgren, an American swimmer and gold medalist at the 2009 World University Games.
- Popularity: Ava ranked 11th among U.S. girls in 2025, one of only two names on this list still inside the American top 100. It reached 3rd in 2016 and peaked in 2007 with 18,053 girls born; today about one American girl in 208 is named Ava.
Avis
Avis is simply the Latin word for bird, which makes it about as literal as this category gets. It may be a Latin version of the Germanic Aveza, from avi, meaning desired. The name had a real run in the early 1900s and then went quiet, so it now sounds vintage rather than dated. It shares a family tree with Ava, which suits a household that wants the same sound with more structure around it.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: AAE-Vihs
- Variations: Avice, Avais, Aveis
- Namesakes: Avis Gray, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1990 and 1992 to 1995. Avis Dry, a New Zealand author on the psychology of Carl Jung.
- Popularity: Avis ranked 13,417th among U.S. girls in 2025, a long way from its best rank of 268th in 1913, when 301 girls were named Avis. More than 17,000 American girls have carried it in all, and it has ticked up about 23 percent on the previous decade.
Aya
Aya means bird in Hebrew and carries the sense of flying swiftly, which is a lot of movement for three letters. It has international meanings too, from sword in German to goodness in Turkish, so families juggling more than one language often land on it. It has been on U.S. records since 1972 and is rising now. Short, open and spellable in most alphabets, it travels better than almost anything else here.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: AH-yah
- Variations: Aia, Aiah, Aiya, Ayah
- Namesakes: Aya Kawai, a Japanese ice dancer, and two-time Japanese national champion. Aya Cash, an American actress known for the FX series You’re the Worst (2014 to 2019).
- Popularity: Aya ranked 644th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 449 born that year, just off its best rank of 630th in 2024. It is up about 80 percent on the previous decade, and it also turns up among Egyptian girl names.
Bird
Bird was an English surname first, from the Old English bridde, handed to anyone who moved, ate or sang like one. As a first name it is the entire category in one syllable, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on your taste. The category is enormous: the Cornell Lab of Ornithology counts more than 11,000 living bird species (1), so naming a child after all of them at once is a bold move. Byrd is the older spelling if you want the same sound with a surname feel. Either way it is a cool name that has been out of use long enough to feel new.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bird (animal)
- Pronunciation: BURD
- Variations: Byrd
- Namesakes: Bird Smith, a Malaysian co-founder of the Scouting movement in 1926. Bird McGuire, the last U.S. Representative from Oklahoma Territory.
- Popularity: Bird has not shown up in U.S. birth records since the 1920s, for girls or for boys. Its best year was 1926 at 4,371st, and 121 American girls were recorded with it in all.
Birdie
Birdie has the rare trick of sounding like a nickname and working as a full name. It grew out of the surname Byrd, which carried the senses of bright and famous, and it once attached itself to club women who wore bird-trimmed hats. The vintage-nickname wave has pulled it back hard, up about 1,110 percent on the previous decade according to federal birth data. It gives a girl something soft to be called at four and something with a bit of swagger at forty.
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Bird (animal)
- Pronunciation: BEHR-Diy
- Variations: Bird, Birdi, Birdy, Byrdey, Byrdie
- Namesakes: Birdie Draper, an American parachutist known as the “Queen of the Daredevils.” Birdie Amsterdam, the first woman to serve as the New York State Supreme Court justice.
- Popularity: Birdie is the fastest riser on this list, up about 1,110 percent on the previous decade. It ranked 670th among U.S. girls in 2025 with 422 born that year, though its best rank is still 328th, set in 1913.
Blythe
Blythe is the odd entry that does not mean a bird at all. It means pleasant, and it earns its place through sound and surname history instead. The German blithiz gives it the sense of kind and gentle, and Old English added cheerful and joyous. A single syllable ending in that soft TH is unusual for an American girl’s name, which is most of the appeal. It has never spiked and never vanished, so it carries no particular decade with it.
- Origin: English, Germanic
- Meaning: Pleasant
- Pronunciation: BLIHDH
- Variations: Blighthe, Blithe, Blyth
- Namesakes: Blythe Danner, an award-winning American actress, and mother of actress Gwenyth Paltrow. Blythe Hartley, a Canadian diver and gold medalist at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships.
- Popularity: Blythe ranked 2,052nd among U.S. girls in 2025, with 92 born that year. It has held roughly steady over the past decade, and its best rank remains 1,076th from 1974.
Branwen
Branwen puts two Welsh words together, bran for raven and gwen for fair, landing on something close to blessed raven. She is a heroine of the old British tales, so the name comes with a story you can hand a child later. The blunt BRAN start and the softer WEN ending balance each other well in English. It is rare enough in the U.S. that it will need spelling out, and distinctive enough that it only needs spelling out once.
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: Blessed raven
- Pronunciation: BRAEN-Wehn
- Variations: Branwenne, Branwyn, Branwynn, Branwynne
- Namesakes: Branwen Gwyn, a Welsh TV presenter for the S4C program Planed Plant.
- Popularity: Branwen last appeared in U.S. birth records in 2019, at 15,940th. Only 42 American girls have been recorded with it since 1975.
Celandine
Celandine sits in two categories at once. It comes from chelidon, a swallow, and it also refers to a small yellow flower. That pairing is the whole reason to use it, a bird and a bloom inside the same three syllables. It reads botanical and old-fashioned in English, which is exactly what parents hunting well outside the top 1,000 tend to want.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Swallow
- Pronunciation: SAHL-aen-Diyn
- Variations: Celandyne
- Popularity: Celandine has never been recorded in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s birth data, so no American ranking exists for it.
Chelidon
Chelidon is the Latin form of the Greek word for a swallow, which puts it about as close to the bird as a name can get. Swallows are songbirds, so the meaning carries sound as well as flight. Three syllables with a hard CH at the front give it an unusual shape for English speakers, and it will get read as Sheldon at least once. For a family that wants a name with no American history behind it at all, that is the point.
- Origin: Latin, Greek
- Meaning: Swallow (bird)
- Pronunciation: CHEH-lie-Don
- Popularity: Chelidon has no entry in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s records, so there is no American rank for it.
Chenoa
Chenoa means white dove, and the image does most of the work before you learn anything else about it. It reaches back to the Algonquian and Wakashan languages, and it also names a river in Kentucky. The name had its American moment in the mid-1970s and has been quiet since, which leaves it free of any strong association. Three open syllables give it more room to breathe than a one-word bird name gets.
- Origin: Hebrew, Native American
- Meaning: White dove
- Pronunciation: CHIY-Now-ah
- Variations: Chenee, Chenna
- Namesakes: María Falomir (known as Chenoa), an Argentine-Spanish contestant on reality TV series Operación Triunfo. Chenoa Maxwell, an American actress, known for the 1997 romantic comedy Hav Plenty.
- Popularity: Chenoa ranked 11,147th among U.S. girls in 2025, well down from its best rank of 1,663rd in 1976, when 59 girls were given it. It is off about 42 percent on the previous decade.
Cholena
Cholena is one of the true unknowns here. It is recorded as a Native American name meaning bird, tied to Delaware, and past that the trail runs out. That vagueness will bother some parents and delight others. What is certain is the sound: three syllables built around a long A, soft and easy in English. If you want a name that carries no baggage at all, this is about as clear as it gets.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: Chow-LEY-naa
- Variations: Choleena, Cholenah, Cholina, Cholyna
- Popularity: Cholena appears in U.S. birth records exactly once, in 1981, at 10,704th. Five American girls were recorded with it that year and none since.
Circe
Circe comes from the Greek kirke, meaning hawk, so the bird sits right in the root even though the myth usually crowds it out. In Greek mythology she is a sorceress, and her story is well enough known that the name arrives pre-loaded, for better or worse. American use has nearly tripled on the previous decade, a real move for something this unusual. Two syllables and no obvious nickname, which suits parents who want the whole name used.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: SAHR-Siy
- Variations: Circee, Circey, Circie
- Popularity: Circe ranked 4,792nd among U.S. girls in 2025, with 28 born that year, and it is up about 195 percent on the previous decade. Its best rank so far is 4,229th, set in 2022.
Colm
Colm is the plain Irish form of Columba, and it means dove without ever announcing it. One syllable, nothing silent, and it lands somewhere between Colin and Cole for an American ear. It is still used in Ireland today rather than kept as a heritage name, which is part of why it never feels like a costume. For a family that wants Irish without the obvious choices, it is a quiet way in.
- Origin: Irish, Latin
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: KOWLM
- Variations: Calum
- Namesakes: Colm Meaney, an Irish actor known for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 to 1994). Colm Ó Cíosóig, an Irish musician and drummer for the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine.
- Popularity: Colm ranked 6,881st for U.S. boys in 2025, with 12 born that year. It is up about 19 percent on the previous decade, though its best American rank is still 2,826th from 1965.
Columba
Columba is the Latin word for dove and the source both Calum and Colm grew out of. Saint Columba, also called Colmcille, carried Christianity from Ireland into Scotland in the 6th century, which is why the name still reads as devout. In its full form it is rounded rather than severe, and it sits more easily on a girl than the clipped Irish versions ever did. Coco and Lumi are both there if you want something lighter for daily use.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: Kah-LAHM-Bah
- Variations: Columbe
- Namesakes: Columba Blango, a British para sports runner at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Columba McDyer, a Gaelic footballer for Cavan and Donegal.
- Popularity: Columba last appeared in U.S. birth records in 2000, at 13,539th, and only 43 American girls have been recorded with it since 1919.
Corbin
Corbin comes from the Anglo-Norman corb, a crow, and started out as a nickname for anyone with dark hair. It is the crow name that asks the least of a child, since nothing about it announces the bird. Two syllables, a hard C, and a ready-made Corey or Corb underneath. It peaked in the mid-2010s and has eased back since, so it is familiar without being everywhere.
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Crow
- Pronunciation: KAOR-Bihn
- Variations: Corben, Corbyn, Corbon
- Namesakes: Corbin Bernsen, an American actor first known for the NBC series L.A. Law. Corbin Tomaszeski, a Canadian celebrity chef, known for the Food Network show Restaurant Makeover.
- Popularity: Corbin ranked 512th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 586 born that year, down from a best rank of 203rd in 2014. It is off about 29 percent on the previous decade, though roughly one American boy in 2,915 still gets it.
Corvis
Corvis comes from the Latin Corvinus, built on corvus, the raven. That root covers the whole crow and raven family, so it does not tie a child to one species. It has the rhythm of a surname, which is fashionable right now, and the V keeps it from sounding stuffy.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Raven
- Pronunciation: COHR-vis
- Variations: Corvus
- Popularity: Corvis has never been recorded in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so it carries no American ranking.
Covey
A covey is a small group of birds, so this one names the flock rather than a single species. It also means herdsman, from the Old English cu for cow and hierde for herder, which gives it a farmyard streak alongside the birds. The mother-bird-and-brood reading is why parents pick it, and it works just as well as a unique name for a daughter. It is having its best year on record in the U.S., so other families have clearly noticed the same thing.
- Origin: English, Scottish
- Meaning: Brood of birds
- Pronunciation: KAH-Viy
- Variations: Covi, Covie, Covy
- Popularity: Covey is at its best American rank right now: 3,142nd for boys in 2025, with 38 born that year, and 5,129th for girls. It is up about 154 percent on the previous decade.
Crane
Crane is a surname name with a very tall bird behind it. The Old English cron sits close to the word crown, and the Greek geranos may be further back still. Cranes are known for their long arched necks and their carriage, which lends the name a stillness that most one-syllable boy names lack. It has almost no American history to compete with, so it arrives clean.
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Crane (bird)
- Pronunciation: KREYN
- Variations: Craen, Craene, Crain, Craine, Crayne
- Namesakes: Crane Wilbur, an American writer best known for the silent film The Perils of Pauline. Crane Kenney, an American Major League Baseball President of Business for the Chicago Cubs.
- Popularity: Crane has exactly one year in the U.S. records: 1962, at 4,164th, with five boys born. Nothing since.
Cranford
Cranford means the ford where the cranes gather, which makes it a bird name and a map reference at the same time. It began as an English place name. The FORD ending puts it beside Bradford and Clifford, so it sounds settled rather than invented. Cran is the obvious short form and keeps the bird in view. It has been out of American use since 1962, long enough to feel unclaimed.
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Ford with the crane
- Pronunciation: KRAEN-Ferd
- Variations: Cranferd, Cranferde, Cranforde, Cranfurd
- Popularity: Cranford last appeared in U.S. birth records in 1962, at 4,165th. Its best rank was 2,318th in 1927, and 158 American boys have carried it in all.
Crow
Crow was an Anglo-Saxon surname handed to people who looked or acted the part, usually meaning dark hair. As a first name it is blunt in the best way: one syllable, no softening, no nickname required. Crows have a reputation for memory and problem-solving that keeps growing, which is likely why American parents started reaching for it in 2024.
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Crow (bird)
- Pronunciation: KROH
- Variations: Crowe
- Popularity: Crow is new to the U.S. data: it first appeared in 2024 and ranked 9,911th for boys in 2025, with seven born that year. Twelve American boys have been recorded with it so far.
Culver
Culver comes from the Old English culufre, itself built on the Latin columba. That makes it mean pigeon or dove depending on how generous you feel. The little pigeon reading is the affectionate one and suits a name that sounds tougher than it is. It has the surname shape American parents keep gravitating toward, with a soft ending that stops it turning severe. That softness makes it wearable for a boy at any age, from nursery to boardroom.
- Origin: Old English, Latin
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: KUHL-ver
- Popularity: Culver ranked 10,109th for U.S. boys in 2024 and did not appear in the 2025 file. Its best rank was 2,293rd in 1916, and it is up about 28 percent on the previous decade.
Daya
Daya points at a kite, the hawk, and at compassion in the same breath, an unusual pairing for a bird-of-prey name. In Sanskrit it doubles as a short form of Diana or Dayana, so it can start as a nickname and outgrow the full version. It slots easily into an English-speaking household with nothing to explain. It has been rising in the U.S. for years and still has room before it feels common.
- Origin: Hebrew, Hindi
- Meaning: Bird of prey
- Pronunciation: DAHY-ah
- Variations: Dayah
- Namesakes: Daya Pawar, an Indian poet known for themes of atrocity under the Hindu caste system. Grace Tandon (known as Daya), an American singer/songwriter whose song Hide Away peaked at 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Popularity: Daya ranked 3,535th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 43 born that year, close to its best rank of 3,119th from 2018. It is up about 82 percent on the previous decade.
Deryn
Deryn is the Welsh word for bird, trimmed down from Aderyn, and it works for a son or a daughter without changing shape. Greek gives it a second sense, gift, which is a pleasant accident rather than a connection. Two syllables and a soft R keep it gentle, where plenty of Welsh names come out hard for English speakers. It has never been common in the U.S., so it stays firmly in the discovery pile.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: DEH-Rihn
- Variations: Deryne, Darryn
- Namesakes: Deryn Brace, a Welsh football player-manager of Carmarthen in 2007. Deryn Lake (pseudonym of Dinah Lampitt), a British writer of historical novels.
- Popularity: Deryn ranked 13,925th among U.S. girls in 2024 and did not appear in 2025. Its best rank was 6,747th in 1995, and it is off about 20 percent on the previous decade.
Dove
Dove is the peace symbol and the bird at once, and it needs no explanation at any age. Spelled Dov it becomes a Hebrew name for boys meaning bear, which is a sharp turn for one dropped letter. The Old English sense is closer to wood pigeon, less romantic and just as accurate. 2025 was its best year on record in the U.S. For parents who want a word name that carries an idea rather than a decoration, this is the one.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Dove, bird of peace
- Pronunciation: DUWV
- Variations: Dov, Duv
- Namesakes: Dove Attia, a Tunisian documentary filmmaker who was General Director of the French TV station TF1’s international operations. Dove Gregory, an English cricketer for Derbyshire in 1871 and 1872.
- Popularity: Dove is at its best American rank ever: 1,487th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 144 born that year. It is up about 567 percent on the previous decade.
Drake
Drake is Middle English for a male duck, a far less grand image than the name suggests. The Old English andraca is the other candidate root, and that one also means dragon and snake. Most American parents arrived through the surname rather than either animal, and use peaked hard in 2010 before easing off. That drop is good news if you liked the sound but not the crowd.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Male duck
- Pronunciation: DRAYK
- Variations: Draek, Draeke
- Namesakes: Drake Graham (known as Drake), a Canadian musician with a #1 hit on the Billboard charts for 13 weeks. Drake Berehowsky, a Canadian ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- Popularity: Drake ranked 827th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 299 born that year, well down from its best rank of 196th in 2010. It is off about 60 percent on the previous decade.
Dror
Dror means bird in Hebrew and reaches on into sparrow, swallow and freedom, which is a lot of ground for four letters. That last sense is why it gets chosen as often as the bird one. It is one syllable with a rolled R that English speakers will flatten, and the name survives that fine. Drora is the feminine form if a daughter arrives later.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: DRAOR
- Namesakes: Dror Biran, an Israeli pianist, and winner of the Spring Competition in Tel Aviv (2000). Dror Hagag, a Turkish-Jewish Israeli basketball player for the Israeli National Team.
- Popularity: Dror does not appear in U.S. Social Security Administration birth records, so no American ranking exists for it.
Dunlin
Dunlin is a small shorebird, and the name says exactly that: dun for gray-brown and ling for little. Dunlins work the Arctic edges and the tideline, which gives it a cold, open feel that suits parents drawn to weather and coastline names. Two syllables, soft consonants, easy to say and hard to mishear. It is unrecorded in American birth data, so it arrives with nothing attached to it.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Dunlin (bird)
- Pronunciation: DUHN-Lin
- Popularity: Dunlin has no record in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s birth data, so there is no American rank for it at any point.
Eagle
Eagle comes through the Old French egle from the Latin aquila, and the older sense leans dark rather than golden. As a first name it is unambiguous, which is both its strength and its ceiling. It has been in American use since 1981 but never in numbers, so it still reads as a deliberate choice rather than a trend. If the plain word feels heavy, Aquila reaches the same bird by a longer route.
- Origin: French, Latin
- Meaning: Eagle (bird of prey)
- Pronunciation: IY-Gahl
- Variations: Eagel, Eegle, Egill, Egyl
- Namesakes: William Weatherford (known as Red Eagle), a chief in the Creek War (1813 to 1814) against U.S. forces. Eagle Pennell, an American director whose film The Whole Shootin’ Match (1978) inspired Robert Redford to start the Sundance Institute.
- Popularity: Eagle ranked 12,832nd for U.S. boys in 2024 and did not appear in 2025. Its best rank was 5,697th in 1981, and 96 American boys have been recorded with it in total.
Effron
Effron means singing bird, and the older spelling Ephron belongs to a Hittite figure in the Hebrew Bible connected to Abraham. That gives it a scriptural anchor without any of the wear the popular Bible names carry. Two syllables ending in a hard N make it sound modern despite its age, and it sits close enough to Ephraim to feel familiar. Efron and Ephron are both there if you prefer a different look.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird, lark
- Pronunciation: Eh-FRAHN
- Variations: Efron, Ephron
- Popularity: Effron has no entry in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s records, so no American rank exists for it.
Eileen
Eileen is the anglicized Gaelic Eibhlin, and little bird is the reading that lands it on this list. It also carries strength and desired, and it may reach back to the French Aveline, beautiful bird. It was a genuine mid-century staple in America, which is exactly the distance that makes a name feel warm again rather than dated. The sound stays soft the whole way through, and Leenie is there if a nickname is wanted.
- Origin: Gaelic
- Meaning: Little bird
- Pronunciation: Ay-LIYIYN
- Variations: Eilene, Eilin, Eilleen
- Namesakes: Eileen Brennan, an American actress known for the film Private Benjamin. Eileen Bell, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2007.
- Popularity: Eileen ranked 654th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 437 born that year. Its best rank was 68th in 1943, when 4,092 girls were named Eileen, and it is up about 31 percent on the previous decade.
Enda
Enda comes from the Gaelic Éan dála, meaning something like a bird, so the resemblance is the point rather than a species. Saint Enda was a warrior king before he founded monasteries on the Aran Islands, which gives the name two lives in one biography. In Ireland it leans male; in American records it has shown up mostly for girls, so it is genuinely open. Two soft syllables and a spelling nobody has to think twice about.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Like a bird
- Pronunciation: EHN-Daa
- Variations: Endah, Endeh
- Namesakes: Enda Kenny, an Irish Fine Gael politician and Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017. Enda Walsh, an Irish playwright who co-wrote the screenplay of the film Hunger.
- Popularity: Enda last appeared in U.S. birth records in 1973, at 7,704th. Its best rank was 2,162nd in 1914, and 238 American girls have carried it in all.
Evelyn
Evelyn earns its place through Aveline, which carries the sense of little bird. Some read it instead as Eve plus Lynn, and it picks up mother of life through Eva. Whichever route you take, it is a traditionally pretty name that has spent the last decade near the very top of the American charts. That popularity is the one real drawback: your Evelyn will meet others.
- Origin: English, Hebrew
- Meaning: Beautiful bird
- Pronunciation: EHV-ah-Lihn
- Variations: Evalin, Evaline, Eveline, Evelynn
- Namesakes: Evelyn Mora (born Kimia Moradzadeh), a Finnish entrepreneur and founder of Helsinki Fashion Week. Evelyn Fornet, the Chilean Minister of Labor and Social Security under President Sebastián Piñera.
- Popularity: Evelyn is the highest-ranked name on this list: 8th among U.S. girls in 2025, the same position it held the year before (2). About one American girl in 176 is named Evelyn, and 9,123 were born in 2025 alone.
Ezio
Ezio is based on the Latin name Aetius, possibly pointing at Flavius Aetius, a Roman general of the 5th century. The Greek a(i)etos, eagle, is the other root, and that is the one that puts it here. It is one of the strongest-sounding names in the category without being loud about it. Three quick syllables, an Italian finish, and 2025 was its best American year yet.
- Origin: Italian, Latin
- Meaning: Eagle
- Pronunciation: EH-ziy-Ow
- Variations: Ezeo, Ezeyo, Eziyo
- Namesakes: Ézio Filho (known as Super-Ézio), a Brazilian footballer for Fluminense who won the Rio de Janeiro State Championship in 1995. Ezio Vigorelli, the Italian minister of labor and social welfare between 1954 and 1959.
- Popularity: Ezio hit its best American rank in 2025 at 1,224th, with 165 boys born that year. It is up about 134 percent on the previous decade.
Faigel
Faigel is the Yiddish word for bird, standing as a parallel to the Hebrew Zipporah rather than a translation of it. The FAY start is soft and the GEL ending is unexpected in English, which keeps it from blurring into Abigail. It has long been used affectionately for young girls, though nothing about it stops working on an adult. Faiga and Feigel are the alternate spellings if you want a different look on paper.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: FAYJ-Hehl
- Variations: Feigel, Faiga
- Popularity: Faigel has never been recorded in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so it has no American ranking.
Falcon
Falcon comes from the Latin falx, a curved blade. That is a fair description of the wing in flight. Through the French falcun it went to falconers and to anyone thought to resemble the bird. It is a straightforward word name that needs no interpretation. It moves at the speed the bird does. That directness is the whole appeal, no explanation required at school pickup.
- Origin: English, French
- Meaning: Falcon (bird of prey)
- Pronunciation: FAHL-Kaan
- Variations: Falcó
- Popularity: Falcon ranked 12,623rd for U.S. boys in 2025, with five born that year, down from its best rank of 3,675th in 2020. It is still up about 28 percent on the previous decade, and 499 American boys have carried it since 1961.
Faulkner
Faulkner is the job rather than the bird. A fauconer trained and kept the falcons, and in a medieval household that was a real post with real standing. As a first name it lands in the same territory as Fletcher and Cooper: occupational, surname-shaped, easy to picture. Two syllables with a swallowed L that English speakers handle without thinking. Falk keeps the bird in view if you want a short form.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Falconer
- Pronunciation: FAALK-Ner
- Variations: Falconer, Falconner, Falkner
- Popularity: Faulkner has no entry in U.S. Social Security Administration birth records, so no American rank exists for it.
Fechine
Fechine grows out of the Gaelic fiach, a raven, and it keeps the darker edge raven names tend to carry. The spelling gives English speakers no useful clue, so this is a name you will pronounce for people rather than let them guess. That is a real cost, worth weighing against how completely unclaimed it is. For a family with Irish roots looking well past the familiar picks, it is a genuine find.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Raven
- Pronunciation: FECH-Ayne
- Popularity: Fechine has no record in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s data, so there is no American ranking for it.
Finch
Finch comes from the Old English finc and points straight at the songbird. It started as a surname, often attached to people who kept finches, and it picked up a slangier sense of swindling along the way. As a first name it is short, bright and entirely current, which is why it has only appeared in American records since 2011. It leans male in the data but is well within reach for a daughter.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Songbird
- Pronunciation: FIHNCH
- Variations: Finche, Fynche
- Popularity: Finch ranked 5,945th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 15 born that year, near its best rank of 4,905th in 2022. It only entered the U.S. data in 2011 and is up about 60 percent on the previous decade.
Fukuro
Fukuro comes from the Japanese fukurou, an owl, and points at the Ural owl found between Japan and the Ural Mountains. Owls carry wisdom in Japanese storytelling much as they do in English, so the association arrives intact. It turns up often enough as an anime character name that a child will likely meet it on a screen before they meet it on a person. Three open syllables, and nothing in the spelling trips an English reader up.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Owl
- Pronunciation: FOO-koo-Row
- Variations: Fukuruo
- Popularity: Fukuro has never been recorded in U.S. birth data, so no American rank exists for it. It stays firmly among the Japanese boy names it comes from.
Gavin
Gavin is a Scottish version of the Gaelic Gawain, and the white hawk inside it stands for a love that lasts. Sir Gawain of the Round Table is why most people recognize the older form, and the association has never quite left the shorter one. It was a real American favorite in the late 2000s, which is why it now signals an age group more than a place. The falloff since means a Gavin born today will stand out far more than one born in 2008.
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: White hawk
- Pronunciation: GAEV-ihn
- Variations: Gavn, Gavun, Gavinn
- Namesakes: Gavin Claxton, a British filmmaker known for The All Together comedy. Gavin Rossdale, a British musician and member of the rock band Bush.
- Popularity: Gavin is the steepest faller on this list, off about 69 percent on the previous decade. It still ranked 303rd for U.S. boys in 2025 with 1,125 born, but that is a long way from 30th in 2008, when 11,752 boys were named Gavin.
Gawain
Gawain comes from the Welsh gwalch, a hawk, and reaches on into little hawk and May hawk. He is the courteous knight of the Round Table and King Arthur’s nephew, which is a great deal of story for a name only a handful of American boys get in a year. The W is the only thing anyone hesitates over, and one hearing fixes it. Gav is right there if you want the modern short form without the modern full name.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Battle hawk
- Pronunciation: Gah-WEYN
- Variations: Gavin
- Namesakes: Gawain Vincent, a British handball player who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Gawain Bell, the British colonial Governor of Northern Nigeria from 1957 to 1962.
- Popularity: Gawain ranked 12,658th for U.S. boys in 2025, with five born that year. Its best rank was 3,406th in 1974, and it is up about 31 percent on the previous decade from a very small base.
Griffin
Griffin comes from the French grifon, a bird of prey, and the creature it names carries an eagle’s head and wings on a lion’s body. It also means fighting chief and fierce, so nothing here is gentle. That mix is why it works on a toddler and keeps working on an adult, which is more than most animal names manage. It has sat inside the American top 250 for years without spiking, the sort of stability parents tend to underrate.
- Origin: French, Latin
- Meaning: Mythological Eagle
- Pronunciation: GRIH-Fahn
- Variations: Griffen, Griffon, Griffyn, Gryffin, Gryffyn
- Namesakes: Griffin Sabatini, a Swiss footballer for Gretna 2008. Griffin Newman, an American comedian, known for the Amazon TV series The Tick.
- Popularity: Griffin ranked 222nd for U.S. boys in 2025, with 1,627 born that year, just off its best rank of 214th in 2023. It has held steady over the past decade, and about one American boy in 1,049 gets it.
Gufo
Gufo is the Italian word for owl, built on the Latin gufus, and it points at the Eurasian eagle-owl of the mountains rather than a barn owl. It sounds far friendlier than the bird looks. It is short enough to work as a nickname on its own, which suits a family that wants something informal from day one. Nothing in American records means nobody has claimed the sound yet.
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: Eagle Owl
- Pronunciation: GOO-Foh
- Popularity: Gufo has no record in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so no American ranking exists for it.
Gwylan
Gwylan comes from the Breton gwelan and the Cornish guilan, both meaning gull, so it is a seabird name through and through. This Welsh name may also connect to the French Guillaume, though the gull is the reading that matters. The GW opening is the only hurdle for English speakers, and it is a small one. Gulls get a rough press, but the name itself comes out soft and coastal rather than raucous.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Seagull
- Pronunciation: GWIHL-aen
- Variations: Gallyne
- Popularity: Gwylan has never appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration data, so it carries no American rank.
Halcyon
Halcyon means calm, and most people meet the word before the name through the phrase halcyon days. In Greek myth Halcyone becomes a bird with the power to still the sea, which is where the calm and the bird meet. Three syllables that move quickly and end soft, unusual for a name this long. It is a lot to put on a birth certificate and a beautiful thing to have called across a garden.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Kingfisher bird
- Pronunciation: HHAEL-siy-Ahn
- Variations: Halcyone, Halcion, Halcionne
- Popularity: Halcyon last appeared in the U.S. girls’ data in 2021, at 16,117th, and in the boys’ data in 2023. Its best rank was 2,986th back in 1915, and 85 American girls have been recorded with it in total.
Hawk
Hawk runs back through the Middle English hauk to the Old English hafoc, and it has stayed one blunt syllable the whole way. Hawks are common across the Americas, which is part of why the name sounds native to the western United States rather than imported. It is direct to the point of being a statement, so it suits parents who are not trying to be subtle. Hawke is the surname spelling if you want a little more on the page.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Hawk (bird of prey)
- Pronunciation: HHAOK
- Variations: Hauk, Hauke, Hawke
- Namesakes: Ralph “Hawk” Branca, an American baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944 to 1953). Coleman “Hawk” Hawkins, an American jazz saxophonist and influence on bebop in the 1940s.
- Popularity: Hawk ranked 5,099th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 19 born that year, down from its best rank of 1,772nd in 2017. Even so it is up about 101 percent on the previous decade.
Hula
Hula is a genuinely mysterious name with almost nothing solid behind it. In Hungary it works as a nickname for Holly, and in Hawaiian it means dancing and names the dance itself. Anyone choosing it is choosing the sound and the movement rather than a documented history. Two entirely open syllables, and impossible to mispronounce.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Eagle
- Pronunciation: HOO-lah
- Namesakes: Sean Yoro (known as HULA), an American artist known for his murals near or in bodies of water.
- Popularity: Hula has not appeared in U.S. birth records since 1947. Its best rank was 3,133rd in 1916, and 82 American girls were recorded with it in all.
Ibis
Ibis comes from the Latin ibes, used for long-legged wading birds, and the bird itself has one of the more recognizable silhouettes going. The name shares its Latin form with the egret’s scientific name, so it sits in the middle of a small tangle of lookalikes. Two syllables, and it reads more like a word than a name until you have said it a few times. Rare enough in America that it comes with no associations to shake off.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Long-legged bird
- Pronunciation: IH-Bihs
- Namesakes: Ibis Gómez-Vega, a Cuban-American professor of 20th-Century American literature at Northern Illinois University. Ibis Nieves, an American contestant on Road Rules X-treme Season 13.
- Popularity: Ibis last appeared in the U.S. girls’ data in 2010, at 18,018th. Its best rank was 5,669th in 1964, and 57 American girls have carried it in total.
Jaritta
Jaritta stands for the birds of wisdom in Indian tradition, the eagle and the phoenix among them, rather than for any one species. It connects to Garuda, the king of birds, and it also carries the sense of mother, an unusual pairing for a bird name. Three syllables with a double T at the center give it a firm middle. It sits close enough to Jarita and Marietta to be readable in English without being either of them.
- Origin: Hindi
- Meaning: Legendary bird
- Pronunciation: Yaa-RIY-taa
- Variations: Jareeta, Jareita, Jarieta, Jaritah, Jarytah
- Popularity: Jaritta has no record in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s birth data, so no American rank exists for it.
Jay
Jay is the bird and the letter at once, which is why it has never really gone away. It doubles as a short form for most names beginning with J, and on its own it carries the sense of rejoicing. Jays are loud, sociable birds, so the old use of the word for someone who talks a lot has a real source behind it. One syllable that fits any surname and any age, which is rarer than it sounds.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Jaybird
- Pronunciation: JHEY
- Variations: Jey, Jhey, Jaye
- Namesakes: Jay Abdo, a Syrian actor known for the film Queen of the Desert. Jay Idzes, a Dutch footballer for Eerste Divisie club Go Ahead Eagles.
- Popularity: Jay ranked 392nd for U.S. boys in 2025, with 809 born that year, well below its best rank of 78th in 1960. It is up about 20 percent on the previous decade and charts for girls too.
Jonah
Jonah comes from the Hebrew Yonā, a dove, which is the part most people never learn. The prophet and the whale carry the name instead, and that story is familiar enough to anchor it without weighing it down. It can also read as pigeon, if you prefer the less flattering branch of the same family. Two soft syllables have kept it steady inside the American top 150 while flashier Bible names came and went.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: JHOW-Nah
- Variations: Joenah, Jona
- Namesakes: Jonah Frankel, an Israeli writer and Israel Prize laureate. Jonah Peretti, the American co-founder of BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post.
- Popularity: Jonah ranked 128th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 2,828 born that year, just off its best rank of 124th in 2023. It has held steady over the past decade, and about one American boy in 604 is named Jonah.
Jonas
Jonas is the Greek and Latin form of Jonah, so the dove sits underneath it too. Greek adds a second sense, sign, and in the ancient world birds were read as messages sent down rather than as animals. That makes it a quieter, more formal route to the same meaning. It peaked in America in 2008 and has settled since, which leaves it recognizable without belonging to that year.
- Origin: Greek, Hebrew
- Meaning: Peaceful dove
- Pronunciation: JOW-Naas
- Variations: Jonah
- Namesakes: Jonas Åkerlund, a Swedish director known for the Grammy-winning music video for Madonna’s “Ray of Light.” Jonas Støre, the 36th prime minister of Norway since 2021.
- Popularity: Jonas ranked 599th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 476 born that year, down from its best rank of 274th in 2008. It has been roughly flat over the past decade.
Kestrel
Kestrel comes from the Old French cressele, a rattle, which is a fair description of the call. The bird is the smallest of the falcons and is sometimes called a sparrow-hawk, so the name carries speed without carrying size. Two crisp syllables and a spelling that gives nothing away, which is why it reads modern despite the age of the word.
- Origin: English, French
- Meaning: Bird of prey
- Pronunciation: Kehs-TRAHL
- Variations: Kestral, Kestril, Kestryl
- Namesakes: Kestrel Lehrman, an American actress known for the horror film Room 13 Part 2 (2012). Kestrel Martin, an American actress, known for the short film Fragments (2011).
- Popularity: Kestrel ranked 6,985th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 16 born that year, near its best rank of 6,300th in 2019. It is up about 59 percent on the previous decade and charts for boys as well.
Laraline
Laraline is built on the Latin larus, the genus that covers the gulls, so it is a seabird name with a very soft finish. The LINE ending puts it beside Caroline and Adeline, which makes a rare name feel immediately usable. Lara sits inside it as a ready short form that stands perfectly well on its own. Nothing in American records means you would be starting it from scratch, which is either the appeal or the risk.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Seagull
- Pronunciation: Leh-rah-LIYN
- Variations: Laralyn
- Popularity: Laraline has never been recorded in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so no American rank exists for it.
Lark
Lark comes from the Middle English laverke and needs no translating. Larks are among the few birds that sing while they are flying, which is a hard image to beat for a name. One bright syllable, no nickname, no spelling questions, and it works on a boy or a girl. American use has more than doubled on the previous decade, so it is climbing without being anywhere near common.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Songbird
- Pronunciation: LAAHRK
- Variations: Larke
- Namesakes: Lark Pien, the American creator of the mini-comics Stories from the Ward. Lark Voorhies (born Lark Holloway), an American actress known for the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989 to 1993).
- Popularity: Lark ranked 4,416th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 32 born that year, and 11,447th for boys. It is up about 107 percent on the previous decade, though its best rank is still 1,116th from 1949.
Lonan
Lonan is the Old Irish lon, a blackbird, with the affectionate -an ending attached, so it reads as little blackbird. Several early Irish saints carried it, which gives it depth without the weight the better-known saint names bring. It sounds close enough to Logan and Ronan to be immediately usable in America while being nothing like as common. Two easy syllables, and it has only been in the U.S. data since 2014.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Little blackbird
- Pronunciation: LOH-nan
- Variations: Lonin, Lonann, Lonyn
- Popularity: Lonan ranked 13,461st for U.S. boys in 2024 and did not appear in 2025. It only entered the data in 2014, and 49 American boys have been recorded with it so far.
Luscinia
Luscinia is the Latin name for the nightingale, and its parts add up to something like the barely seen twilight singer. Four syllables make it the most formal option in this stretch of the alphabet, and some families will prefer it in the middle-name slot. Lucy hides inside it if you want everyday wear.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Nightingale
- Pronunciation: Luu-SYN-nee-Ah
- Popularity: Luscinia has no entry in U.S. Social Security Administration records, so there is no American ranking for it.
Lynet
Lynet is a name of many small meanings: little lake in Old English, beautiful in Latin, grace in Gaelic. She turns up in Arthurian legend as a noblewoman, which puts her in the same world as Gawain further up this list. The single T spelling is the older one and looks lighter on paper than Lynette. Two syllables, nothing to explain, and effectively no American history to work around.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: Lihn-EHT
- Variations: Lynette, Linette, Linet, Lynnet
- Popularity: Lynet appears in only three years of U.S. records, the last of them 1960 at 6,106th. Eighteen American girls in total have been recorded with it.
Manu
Manu is the Polynesian word for bird, and birds run all through Polynesian storytelling, the Great Bird of Tāne among them. It also carries famous and man, so it is not only an animal name. It crosses languages without needing a single adjustment. That portability is the real reason to choose it, and it is quietly rising in the U.S.
- Origin: Polynesian
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: MAA-Nuw
- Variations: Manoo, Manou, Manue
- Namesakes: Manu Intiraymi, an American actor known for the TV series Star Trek: Voyager. Manu Honkanen, a Finnish ice hockey player with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga.
- Popularity: Manu ranked 4,486th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 23 born that year, and it is up about 23 percent on the previous decade. It also appears among Indian boy names, where it has a separate life of its own.
Mavis
Mavis is an old word for the song thrush, which makes it one of the few names here that was a bird word first and a name second. It may also touch the Celtic Maeve, though the thrush is the connection that holds. It sounds like a great-grandmother’s name, and that is precisely why it is coming back so quickly. American use is up more than fivefold on the previous decade, according to federal birth records.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Songbird
- Pronunciation: MEY-Vihs
- Variations: Mavise, Maviss, Mavus, Mavys
- Namesakes: Mavis Staples, an American singer, and member of the family band, The Staple Singers. Mavis Wilson, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990.
- Popularity: Mavis ranked 561st among U.S. girls in 2025, with 537 born that year, rising fast but still well short of its 1927 peak of 270th. It is up about 430 percent on the previous decade.
Merle
Merle is the French and Latin word for blackbird, and it doubles as a form of Merrill and Muriel. It was often handed to people who liked to sing, which is a pleasant reason for a name to exist. It ran strong in America a century ago and then spent decades as a name people attached to their grandparents, which is exactly where the current revivals come from. One syllable, unisex in the records, no spelling to negotiate.
- Origin: French, Latin
- Meaning: Blackbird
- Pronunciation: MURL
- Variations: Myrle, Merl, Mearl
- Namesakes: Merle Haggard, an American country musician, and recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor (2010). Merle Park, a British prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s.
- Popularity: Merle ranked 3,485th for U.S. boys in 2025 and 16,474th for girls, having reached 170th back in 1918. It is up about 56 percent on the previous decade, and about a third of American Merles on record are female.
Minerva
Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, and the owl beside her is what earns the name its place here. The Latin mens, mind, sits underneath, so the wisdom is baked in rather than borrowed. Three syllables give it a grandness that a shortened Minnie immediately undercuts, which is a useful pairing to hand a child. It is rising steadily in America without being anywhere near common.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Owl goddess
- Pronunciation: Mih-NAHR-Vah
- Variations: Minervah, Minirva, Minerve
- Namesakes: Minerva (the Internet username), a Korean internet activist who wrote about the Korean economy. Minerva Urecal (born Florence Minerva Dunnuck), an American actress known for playing frontiers women in TV westerns.
- Popularity: Minerva ranked 2,112th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 89 born that year, and it is up about 81 percent on the previous decade. Its best rank was 409th in 1913, and it also turns up among Mexican baby names.
Myna
Myna comes from the Hindi maina, meaning delightful, and names a starling found across India and beyond. Mynas are famous mimics, which gives the name a talkative streak most bird names lack. In Hindu tradition the bird stands for undying love, so there is real sentiment behind the sound. Two syllables that sit close to Mina and Myra without being either of them.
- Origin: Hindi, Sanskrit
- Meaning: Myna (bird)
- Pronunciation: MAY-Nah
- Variations: Mynah, Mina
- Popularity: Myna ranked 11,838th among U.S. girls in 2024 and did not appear in the 2025 file. Its best rank was 3,085th in 1939, and 301 American girls have carried it in all.
Nestor
Nestor comes from the Greek for one who returns from his travels, a good deal of meaning for two syllables. The bird connection is more literal than most: Nestoridae is a parrot family known for bright color and for copying sounds back at you. That leaves the name with a wise-elder reading and a mischievous one at the same time. It has been in American records since 1885 and is easing off now, which makes it available again.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Parrot
- Pronunciation: NEHS-Towr
- Variations: Nestar, Nester, Nestir, Nestur
- Namesakes: Nestor Serrano, an American actor known for the TV series 24. Nestor Kukolnik, a Russian playwright who contributed to the first Russian opera, A Life for the Tsar.
- Popularity: Nestor ranked 1,535th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 113 born that year, down from its best rank of 587th in 1991. It is off about 26 percent on the previous decade.
Oriole
Oriole comes from the Latin oriolus, the golden one, which is exactly what the bird looks like against a dark branch. Orioles belong to the blackbird family and look quite different from one continent to the next, so the name covers more ground than it appears to. It has not returned to American birth records since that single year in the 1920s, which leaves it wide open. Ori is the obvious short form and stands up on its own.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Oriole (blackbird)
- Pronunciation: AO-riy-OWL
- Variations: Oriel
- Popularity: Oriole appears in U.S. birth records for a single year, 1928, at 5,259th, with five girls born. It has not been recorded since.
Paco
Paco is best known as the Spanish short form of Francisco, and it runs alongside Pascal as well. The bird arrives from a different direction: in Native American use it points at a bald eagle. Spanish gives it the sense of free, which sits neatly beside that. Two quick syllables with a hard C make it one of the easiest names here to call across a playground.
- Origin: Spanish, Native American
- Meaning: Eagle
- Pronunciation: PAE-Kow
- Variations: Pako, Packo
- Namesakes: Paco Dècina, an Italian choreographer who won the Ménagerie de Verre choreography prize in 1987. Paco Gallegos, an Ecuadorian politician and the Metropolitan Mayor of Quito from 2000 to 2009.
- Popularity: Paco ranked 9,645th for U.S. boys in 2024 and did not appear in 2025. Its best rank was 3,296th in 1968, and it is off about 17 percent on the previous decade.
Palila
Palila names a Hawaiian finch with a golden head and green-tinted wings, so it is as specific as bird names get. It is a nectar feeder, which suits a name this light on the tongue. Three open syllables with the stress in the middle make it easy for English speakers even though it is entirely unfamiliar. For parents who want a Hawaiian name outside the handful everyone knows, this is a real alternative.
- Origin: Hawaiian
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: Pae-LIY-lah
- Variations: Palilah, Palilla, Pallila
- Popularity: Palila has never been recorded in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so no American ranking exists for it.
Paloma
Paloma is the Spanish word for dove, from the Latin palumbus, and in its own language it is an ordinary noun rather than an exotic pick. The dove carries peace and, in Christian tradition, the Holy Spirit, so the name is quietly devotional without announcing it. Three syllables move smoothly and stay soft the whole way through. It has held steady in American use for well over a decade, which points to a keeper rather than a trend.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: Pae-LOW-maa
- Variations: Palomah
- Namesakes: Paloma Artiñano, a Spanish pianist and founder of the Reina Sofía School of Music. Paloma Herrera, the director of the Argentine Colon Theater Ballet from 2017 until 2022.
- Popularity: Paloma ranked 793rd among U.S. girls in 2025, with 343 born that year, close to its best rank of 703rd in 2010. It has been roughly flat over the past decade, and it also appears among Brazilian girl names.
Parastoo
Parastoo is the Persian word for a swallow, and it reaches toward the turtle dove as well. It is given as a Muslim name for girls and is rarely met outside Iranian families. Three syllables ending in that long OO give it a sound English has almost nothing else like. It will need spelling every time, and it will also never be confused with anything else.
- Origin: Persian
- Meaning: Swallow bird
- Pronunciation: Pae-Raa-STUW
- Variations: Parasto
- Namesakes: Parastoo Golestani, an Iranian actress known for the comedy TV series Man of Many Faces. Parastoo, an Iranian actress known for the film Ajal-e moallagh (1970).
- Popularity: Parastoo has no record in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so there is no American rank for it.
Phoebe
Phoebe comes from the Greek phoibos, bright or pure, and it doubles as another name for the moon goddess Diana. The phoebe itself is a small flycatcher, and the bird carries associations of hidden knowledge, which is a lot of freight for something that size. The PH spelling is the only real decision to make, and most parents keep it. It is having its strongest year on record in America, so it is popular and still not everywhere.
- Origin: English, Latin
- Meaning: Phoebe (bird)
- Pronunciation: FIY-Biy
- Variations: Phoeby, Phoebie, Phebie, Pheebe
- Namesakes: Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Laub), an American singer-songwriter known for her hit 1975 song “Poetry Man.” Phoebe Watson, a British tennis player who reached the final of the U.S. Championships in 1929.
- Popularity: Phoebe is at its best American rank ever: 157th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 1,885 born that year. It is up about 41 percent on the previous decade.
Phoenix
Phoenix comes from the Greek phoinix, crimson, and the mythical bird that burns and returns is why anyone chooses it. Rebirth is a heavy idea to hand a newborn and a genuinely hopeful one, which is the balance parents end up weighing. It works for a son or a daughter, and the American data bears that out rather than merely claiming it. The X ending does most of the work, and Nix is there for daily use.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Mythological bird
- Pronunciation: FIY-Nihks
- Variations: Phenix, Pheonix, Phoenyx
- Popularity: Phoenix ranked 329th for U.S. boys and 534th for girls in 2025, so it is genuinely unisex in practice. It reached 236th in 2020 and is up about 81 percent on the previous decade.
Piper
Piper comes from the Old English pipere, someone who plays the pipe, so music is the original meaning. The bird arrives through the sandpiper, which runs the tideline in short bursts, and that is a fair picture of a toddler. It may also be a form of the Irish Peppard. It rose hard through the 2010s and has settled since, which leaves it well known and no longer everywhere.
- Origin: English, Scandinavian
- Meaning: Sandpiper (bird)
- Pronunciation: PY-pur
- Variations: Pyper, Pypere
- Namesakes: Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs), an American actress best known for the horror film Carrie (1976). Piper Gilles, an American-Canadian ice dancer and the 2019 Skate Canada International champion.
- Popularity: Piper ranked 155th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 1,940 born that year, down from its best rank of 67th in 2015. It has been roughly steady over the past decade, and about one American girl in 829 gets it.
Raven
Raven comes from the Old English hræfn and the Old Norse Hrafn, and it has meant the same bird the whole way through. Poe’s poem gave it a gothic edge it has never entirely lost, which is either the appeal or the reason to pass. Ravens themselves are clever, sociable and long-lived, so the bird is far better company than its reputation. It peaked in America in the early 1990s and is climbing again now, this time for boys as well as girls.
- Origin: English, Norse
- Meaning: Raven (bird)
- Pronunciation: REY-Vahn
- Variations: Raeven, Raevin, Ravenne, Ravinn, Rayven
- Namesakes: Raven Klaasen, a South African tennis player, ranked 7th in the world for doubles in 2019. Raven-Symoné, an American actress who started as a child actor on The Cosby Show.
- Popularity: Raven ranked 404th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 771 born that year, and 2,973rd for boys. It is up about 45 percent on the previous decade, though its best rank is still 139th from 1993.
Robin
Robin started as a pet form of Robert, became a bird name, and ended up a unisex standard, which is an unusual career for four letters. Robins carry hope and rebirth in English folklore, tied to the first song of the spring. It ran hard for American girls in the early 1960s, and current use now sits at almost the same rank for both, 704th for girls and 705th for boys. Two syllables that need no explanation anywhere in the English-speaking world.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Robin (bird)
- Pronunciation: RAA-Bihn
- Variations: Robyn
- Namesakes: Robin Williams, an American actor/comedian who debuted on the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978 to 1982). Robin Chase, the American co-founder of Zipcar.
- Popularity: Robin ranked 704th among U.S. girls in 2025 and 705th among boys, essentially tied. It reached 25th for girls back in 1962 and is up about 71 percent on the previous decade.
Sarika
Sarika names a songbird in India, known for the melody rather than the plumage. It also works as a Hungarian form of Sara, meaning princess, so it arrives with two unrelated histories attached. Three syllables with the stress in the middle make it easy to say and hard to shorten badly. It has been in American records since 1974 without ever catching on, which keeps it firmly in the discovery pile.
- Origin: Indian
- Meaning: Myna bird
- Pronunciation: Sae-RIH-kah
- Namesakes: Sarika Bahroliya, an Indian actress known for the TV show Gudiya Hamari Sabhi Pe Bhari. Sarika Sabrin, a Bangladeshi actress and brand ambassador of BanglaLink Telecommunication.
- Popularity: Sarika ranked 10,200th among U.S. girls in 2023 and has not appeared since. Its best rank was 4,489th in 1982, and it is off about 19 percent on the previous decade.
Sephora
Sephora is a spelling of Tzipora, which comes from the Hebrew for bird and belonged to Moses’s wife in the Bible. Greek adds sephos, beauty, which is why the name reads ornamental as well as scriptural. The obvious problem is the cosmetics chain, and how much that bothers you is a personal call. Underneath it sits a three-syllable biblical name with a real bird meaning that predates it by centuries.
- Origin: Greek, Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: Seh-FOR-ah
- Variations: Sefora
- Namesakes: Sephora Venites, a Brazilian multidisciplinary artist who participated in the 2019 Biennale Art Festival.
- Popularity: Sephora ranked 4,535th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 31 born that year, down from its best rank of 2,916th in 2014. It has been roughly flat over the past decade.
Shahaf
Shahaf is the Hebrew word for a seagull, and the readings that travel with it run to free, dreamer and love of the sea. For once the set is coherent: everything points at open water. Two syllables ending in a soft F give it a shape English has very little of, which is most of the appeal and all of the difficulty. For a family drawn to Hebrew names past the biblical roster, it is a genuine option.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Seagull
- Pronunciation: Sha-HAAF
- Popularity: Shahaf has no entry in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so no American rank exists for it.
Sora
A sora is a small water bird that keeps to the marshes, which is where this Native American name gets its bird meaning. In Japanese it means sky, and in Korean it points at a conch shell, so it lands differently in every language that has it. It sits alongside Soraya and Zora without being a form of either. It travels easily and keeps rising steadily in the U.S.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Warbling songbird
- Pronunciation: SOW-Raa
- Variations: Sorah, Sorra, Sorrah
- Namesakes: Sora Jung (born as Kim Seo-ra), a South Korean actress known for the film Mayumi (1990). Sora Amamiya, a Japanese voice actress appearing in the 2014 anime TV series One Week Friends.
- Popularity: Sora ranked 1,959th among U.S. girls in 2025 and 2,250th for boys, so it reads unisex in the data. It is up about 87 percent on the previous decade, close to its best rank of 1,864th in 2023.
Soren
Soren means stern or severe in Danish, which is a hard sell until you hear it said aloud. The bird arrives through the barn owl who leads the Guardians of Ga’Hoole books and the 2010 film built from them, so plenty of children meet the name that way first. Two syllables with a long O give it a warmth the meaning never promises. It is having its strongest American year on record, so it is findable now in a way it was not a decade ago.
- Origin: Scandinavian
- Meaning: Male barn owl character
- Pronunciation: SAOR-ehn
- Variations: Soran, Sorren, Sorun
- Namesakes: Soren Thompson, an American fencer who competed in the 2004 Olympics. Søren Jensen, a Danish Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
- Popularity: Soren is at its best American rank right now: 464th for U.S. boys in 2025, with 665 born that year. It is up about 69 percent on the previous decade and charts for girls too.
Sparrow
Sparrow is the plainest bird in the garden, and that is exactly why the name works. Sparrows are the ones already at the feeder, so nothing about it is exotic or hard to picture. That ordinariness gives it a warmth the showier bird names never manage, and it reads gently on a boy or a girl. It has been climbing in America for a decade without ever getting crowded.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sparrow (bird)
- Pronunciation: SPEH-Row
- Variations: Sparow, Sparowe, Sparro, Sparroe
- Popularity: Sparrow ranked 4,157th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 35 born that year, and 6,403rd for boys. It is up about 89 percent on the previous decade, though its best rank remains 2,180th from 2017.
Suzume
Suzume is the Japanese word for the tree sparrow, a bird common enough there to be part of the everyday scenery. Three syllables ending in a soft E give it a lightness that suits the bird exactly. It only entered American birth records in 2025, making it the newest name on this list as well as the rarest that charts.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Sparrow
- Pronunciation: SUW-zuw-Meh
- Popularity: Suzume is the rarest of the names on this list that chart at all in 2025, at 14,738th, its first year in the data. Six girls were born with it that year, roughly one in 250,000 (3).
Swan
Swan is the bird everyone pictures the second they hear it, though the Old English swan actually meant a herdsman or servant. The Norse Swein may be part of the same story. That gap between a plain origin and an elegant modern image is what makes it interesting rather than obvious. One syllable, no possible misspelling, and the grace does all the work.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Swan (bird)
- Pronunciation: SWAAN
- Variations: Swann
- Popularity: Swan last appeared in the U.S. girls’ data in 2018, at 17,850th, and in the boys’ data in 2014. Its best rank was 6,524th in 1969, and 78 American girls have carried it in total.
Talon
Talon is the claw rather than the bird, which makes it the sharpest option in the category. It comes from talus, an ankle bone, so the anatomy sits right in the root. It rose with the surname-name wave of the 2000s and has been sliding since, which means it now reads specific rather than trendy. Two syllables, easy to say, and it never needs explaining.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bird claw
- Pronunciation: TAAL-ahn
- Variations: Talan, Tallon, Talyn
- Popularity: Talon ranked 1,181st for U.S. boys in 2025, with 175 born that year, down from its best rank of 426th in 2006. It is off about 44 percent on the previous decade.
Teal
Teal is a duck and a greenish-blue color at once, and the color is named for the bird rather than the other way around. The Eurasian teal carries the blue-green markings that started it. That double life lets the name sit on a color list and a bird list without straining either. One syllable, unisex in the American data, and quietly rising for years.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Duck
- Pronunciation: TIYL
- Variations: Teale, Teele, Teil, Teile
- Namesakes: Teal Sherer, an American actress known for the web series The Guild. Teal Swan (born Mary Teal Bosworth), an American spiritual influencer and the subject of the Hulu documentary series The Deep End.
- Popularity: Teal ranked 8,308th among U.S. girls in 2025 and 6,760th for boys, with 13 born on each side. It is up about 47 percent on the previous decade, though its best rank is 2,000th from 1961.
Tori
Tori is the Japanese word for bird and the everyday short form of Victoria, which gives it two entirely separate lives. The Latin side carries winner and conqueror, so there is nothing soft underneath the sound. Birds stand for hope in Japan, which fits the lighter reading. It ran hard in America in the 1990s and has eased right back, so it now comes across as friendly rather than dated.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: TAOR-iy
- Variations: Torri, Tory, Torrey
- Namesakes: Tori Spelling, an American actress best known for the 90’s TV series Beverly Hills, 90210. Tori Koana, a Japanese curler and member of Team Fujikyu.
- Popularity: Tori ranked 1,337th among U.S. girls in 2025, with 167 born that year, well down from its best rank of 142nd in 1994. It is off about 42 percent on the previous decade.
Torrio
Torrio works as a Spanish short form of Victor and sits beside the Japanese Tori, so the bird arrives by association rather than by translation. It carries a warmth Victor never had. It is unrecorded in American birth data, which makes it about as unclaimed as a name gets. Tor and Rio are both hiding in it if you want a shorter everyday version.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Bird’s tail
- Pronunciation: TAOR-iy-Ow
- Variations: Torio, Torriyo, Toriyo
- Popularity: Torrio has no record in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so there is no American ranking for it.
Usoa
Usoa means dove, and the white dove image comes with it whole. It also turns up as an African nickname for boys named Usoah, which gives it two routes into a household. Three vowels inside four letters make it soft to the point of being breathed rather than said. Nothing in American records means it stays entirely yours.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: UH-Sow-ah
- Variations: Usoah
- Popularity: Usoa has never appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration birth records, so it has no American rank.
Vireo
Vireo comes from the Latin virēre, to be green, which points at the greenfinch and at the vireo family itself. Small, plain and loud, vireos are the sort of bird you hear long before you see. It shares the shape of Leo and Rio with none of the familiarity. It is unrecorded in American data, so a child named Vireo would be introducing it to everyone they meet.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: A small bird
- Pronunciation: VEER-ee-Oh
- Popularity: Vireo has no entry in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s data, so no American ranking exists for it.
Wren
Bird names do not get more literal than Wren. The bird is tiny, quick and famously clever for its size, which is a flattering thing to hand a child. One syllable with that W opening gives it a softness the spelling never promises. American use is up more than fivefold on the previous decade, so this is the bird name that has genuinely arrived.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Small bird
- Pronunciation: REHN
- Variations: Wrene, Wrenn
- Namesakes: Wren Blackberry, an American children’s fiction author known for the Métrico Mesh series. Wren Blair, the Canadian ice hockey general manager of the Minneapolis Bruins from 1963 to 1965.
- Popularity: Wren ranked 231st among U.S. girls in 2025, with 1,331 born that year, and 1,090th for boys. It is up about 422 percent on the previous decade.
Wolfram
Wolfram was a German surname first, built from wulf and hraban, so it is a wolf and a raven inside one word. In Norse tradition the raven travels with Odin, which puts the name squarely in the mythic register. Two heavy syllables make it a lot of name, and Wolf lightens it considerably. It has never been common in America, which is probably the point for anyone choosing it.
- Origin: Germanic, Norse
- Meaning: Wolf-raven
- Pronunciation: WUHL-Fraem
- Variations: Wulfram
- Namesakes: Wolfram Waibel, an Austrian sport shooter and gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Wolfram Wuttke, a German footballer for Bundesliga.
- Popularity: Wolfram ranked 13,801st for U.S. boys in 2025, with five born that year. Its best rank was 5,643rd in 1971, and 58 American boys have been recorded with it in all.
Yonina
Yonina is a biblical name built on the Hebrew yonah, a dove, and little dove is the reading most parents mean by it. It is the feminine counterpart to Jonah, which makes it a neat way to share a name across a family without repeating it outright. Three soft syllables with the stress landing in the middle. Yoni and Nina both fall out of it naturally.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: Yow-NIY-naa
- Variations: Yoneena, Yoninah, Yonyna
- Popularity: Yonina last appeared in U.S. birth records in 2003, at 18,376th. Its best rank was 10,198th in 1979, and 47 American girls have carried it in total.
Zippora
Zippora comes from the Hebrew sipora, a bird, and belonged to Moses’s wife in the Hebrew Bible. The double P gives it a snap that most biblical girls’ names do not have. It is the parent name behind Sephora elsewhere on this list, so choosing it means choosing the original.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: Ziy-PAOR-ah
- Variations: Zipporah
- Popularity: Zippora has no record in U.S. Social Security Administration birth data, so no American ranking exists for it.
Zitkaduta
Almost nothing is documented about Zitkaduta beyond its likely Sioux origin and the red bird it names. That leaves you with the sound and the image and very little else, which some parents will find freeing rather than frustrating. Four syllables are a lot to carry, though the rhythm is even and the spelling is phonetic once you have heard it said. Zita works as a short form for daily use.
- Origin: Native American
- Meaning: Redbird
- Pronunciation: ZIT-kah-DOO-tah
- Popularity: Zitkaduta has no entry in U.S. Social Security Administration birth records, so no American rank exists for it.
