Amphibians occupy a strange position in the naming world: they're tiny and
jewel-coloured, and they've also been carrying symbolic weight in myth and
folklore for thousands of years. That gives you two directions — the
cheerful one and the ancient one — and both work.
Axolotls in particular seem to attract names from Aztec and Nahuatl sources,
which is fitting, since that's where the animal's own name comes from. The
list below is tagged for amphibians; the name quiz has
the rest.
A cross-section of the 2,527 names tagged for amphibian, picked to span
mythology, world languages, nature, food and screen. Every one of them, and
2,455 more, is filterable in the name quiz.
AceEnglishLatin (as): "one/unity"; a card of highest rank
AlchemistFantasyArabic al-kimiya, "the art of transmutation"
AlicornFantasyLatin ala + cornu, "winged horn"; a horned pegasus
AmaltheaFantasyGreek: "to nourish"; the last unicorn
AshokaSanskritSanskrit: "without sorrow"; name of the ancient Mauryan emperor
AtumEgyptianCreator god, setting sun
AuburnNature ColorReddish-brown
AzureNature ColorSky blue
BengalColor-BasedStriped color
BlushNature ColorRosy pink
BrienneCelticCeltic: feminine of Brian, "noble/strong"
BuffGamingEnglish: "to polish"; a stat boost
CamperHobbyLatin campus, "field"; one who camps
CanvasArtLatin cannabis, "hemp cloth"; the painter's ground
CarrieEnglishEnglish: short for Caroline, "free woman"
CatherineGreekGreek: from Aikaterine, "pure"
ChandlerOld FrenchOld French: "candle maker"
ChimeraGreekShe-goat; fire-breathing hybrid monster in Greek myth
ChoirSingingGreek khoros, "band of dancers, singers"
ChromoBiologyGreek chroma, "colour"; chromosome root
CircuitTechnologyLatin circuitus, "a going around"
CodaMusicItalian: "tail"; the closing passage
CompileTechnologyLatin compilare, "to gather"
CortexBiologyLatin: "bark, rind"; outer brain layer
CountryMusicOld French cuntree, "region"; American folk genre
CroonSingingMiddle Dutch cronen, "to hum softly"
CrownEnglishBirthday/Gotcha Day
CzarRussianRoyal/Noble Titles
DNABiology"deoxyribonucleic acid; the code of life"
DashEnglishEnglish: "to move quickly"
DeclanIrishMan of prayer
DiscoEnglishEnglish/French: short for discothèque, "record library"
DonarGermanicThunder; Old High German/Germanic form of Thor
EclipticAstronomyGreek ekleipsis, "eclipse"; sun's path
EdisonEnglishOld English: "son of Edward"
EdwardEnglishFunny Human
EilisIrishPledged to God
EleanorGreekSenior Pets
EliasHebrewGod is fortune
ElsieScottishPledged to God
EmmetEnglishOld English: "ant"; also a form of Emma
EmmyEnglishGermanic: pet form of Emma, "whole/universal"
EngineerEnglishOccupations
FergusIrishMan of strength
FocacciaBreadOlive oil Italian flatbread
FoxAnimal SpeciesSly animal
Fur-dinandEnglishPunny
FurbabyEnglishPortmanteau
GazelleAnimal SpeciesElegant deer
GeraldGermanFunny Human
GleeSentimentOld English gleo, "entertainment, mirth"
GloamieDuskEnglish coinage: "little gloaming"
GloamingDuskOld English glomung, "twilight"
GourdAutumnOld French gourde, "hollow vine fruit"
GrapefruitCitrus FruitLarge pink citrus fruit
GrinSentimentOld English grennian, "to smile broadly"
GritSentimentOld English greot, "sand, endurance"
HalloweenOctoberEnglish: "All Hallows' Eve"; October festival
HephaestusGreekUncertain, likely pre-Greek; Greek god of fire, forge, and metalworking
HighnoonAfternoonEnglish: "twelve o'clock exactly"
KakapoEndangered SpeciesNight parrot
KawaSentimentJapanese: "river"; a serene flow
KefSentimentTurkish/Arabic: "delight, good mood"
KoalaAnimal SpeciesNo drink
MiloLatinGermanic: "merciful" or "soldier"
ParmesanCheeseHard granular Italian cheese
PitayaExotic FruitDragon-like spiky cactus fruit
RookieBaseballEnglish: "a first-year player"
SliderBaseballEnglish: "a sharp-breaking pitch"
SluggerBaseballEnglish: "a hard hitter"
ThorNorse"Thunder" (from Proto-Germanic Þunraz); Norse god of thunder, storms, and strength
TorchOlympicOld French torche, "twisted rag"