Reptiles perceive sound quite differently from mammals — snakes have no
external ears and pick up low-frequency vibration through the ground and jaw
rather than airborne speech. In practice, no reptile is going to come when
called. The name is entirely for you, the vet's file and whoever asks.
Which is why this category leans so naturally towards mythology, minerals,
deserts and heat: the names have room to be grand. Everything below is tagged
for reptiles, and the mythology
theme alone holds 1,746 more.
A cross-section of the 2,604 names tagged for reptile, picked to span
mythology, world languages, nature, food and screen. Every one of them, and
2,532 more, is filterable in the name quiz.
AbigailHebrewMy father's joy
AkseliFinnishFather of peace
AlanaIrish GaelicIrish Gaelic: "dear child" or feminine of Alan
AlexeiStranger Things CharacterRussian form of Alexis, "defender"
AmaterasuJapanese"Shining in heaven," from ama "sky/heaven" and teru "to shine"; Japanese sun goddess
AnnabelleLatin/ScottishLatin/Scottish: blend of Anna ("grace") and Belle ("beautiful")
ApolloGreekUncertain; possibly from apollymi "to destroy" or Doric apella "assembly"; god of music, prophecy, and the sun
AraceliIndigenous Latin AmericanAltar of heaven
AudreyEnglishNoble strength
AxolotlEndangered SpeciesWater monster
BaronEnglishRoyal/Noble Titles
BaronessEnglishRoyal/Noble Titles
BlackjackColor-BasedBlack and bold
BombastLoudOld French bombace, "cotton stuffing"; grandiose noise
BootGamingOld French bote, "footwear"; startup
BosonPhysics"after Bose; a force-carrying particle"
BrandyEnglishDutch (brandewijn): "burnt wine"; the spirit
BreathWhisperOld English bræth, "vapour, whisper"
BridgetIrish GaelicIrish Gaelic (Brighid): "exalted, high"
BrilliantEnglishIronic
BritneyEnglishEnglish: variant of Brittany, "from Britain"
BufferTechnologyEnglish: "one that cushions"; temporary store
Buffy1990sEnglish: pet form of Elizabeth, "pledged to God"
BugTechnologyEnglish: "an insect, a system defect"
Byte2000s Y2KEnglish: "unit of digital data"
CacheTechnologyFrench cacher, "to hide"; fast temporary storage
CamembertCheeseSoft bloomy French cheese
CantabileSingingItalian: "in a singing style"
CarnationJanuaryLatin caro, "flesh"; January birth flower
CellBiologyLatin cella, "small room"; basic unit of life
CesiumChemistryLatin caesius, "sky-blue"; soft metal
ChantSingingLatin cantare, "to sing repeatedly"
ChewbunnyEnglishPortmanteau
ChilaquilesMexican FoodTortilla and sauce dish
ChimeMedicineLatin cymbalum, "small bell"; ambient healing sound
ChrysanthNovemberGreek: "golden flower"; November birth flower
CipherEnglishArabic (sifr): "zero, nothing"; also a code
ConorIrishLover of hounds
CountessEnglishRoyal/Noble Titles
CyGreekPersian/English: short for Cyrus, "sun/lord"
CyberGreekGreek (kybernētēs): "steersman, governor"
DetectiveEnglishOccupations
DoctorEnglishAcademic Titles
DragonfruitExotic FruitPink spiky dragon fruit
ElationSentimentLatin elatus, "raised up"
ElderberryBerryDark purple immune-boosting berry
ElianaHebrewMy God has answered
EstivalSummerLatin aestas, "of the summer"
FawnAnimal SpeciesYoung deer
FelicitySentimentLatin felicitas, "good fortune, happiness"
FondueSentimentFrench: "melted"; a sweet, indulgent nickname
FracasSentimentItalian fracasso, "a loud noise"
FrenzySentimentGreek phrenitis, "mental frenzy"
FreshetSpringEnglish: "a spring stream from melting snow"
FrostineWinterFrench coinage: "little frost"
GrendelEnglishOld English: the monster in Beowulf; possibly "grinder"
HarlequinColor-BasedPatterned and colorful
KilgoreFantasycoined; roughly "kills more"
KomodoEndangered SpeciesFrom Komodo Island
LombardiFootballItalian: "from Lombardy"; coaching great
NagaSanskrit"Serpent"; divine snake beings in Hindu and Buddhist mythology
NorbertaFantasyGermanic: "bright north"; the Hebridean dragon
OrangutanEndangered SpeciesPerson of forest
RailExtremeLatin regula, "straight bar"; a skate obstacle
RimBasketballOld English: "an edge, border"
RipperExtremeEnglish: "one who tears it up"
SaphiraFantasyLatin sapphirus, "sapphire"; blue dragon of Eragon
ScalesFantasyOld Norse skál, "shell, layer"; dragon skin
ScorchFantasyEnglish: "to burn the surface"
SolLatinLatin: "sun"; Roman sun god
StripeColor-BasedMarked and banded
ZorroColor-BasedBlack and masked