Giraffe Name Generator

Tall, spotted and sky-high names for giraffes

Animals & Creatures500 names

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500 giraffe names for zoo calves, plush toys, mascots and story characters, from height puns like Stretch, Longfellow and Periscope to spot names such as Patches and Domino. Swahili and Zulu words like Twiga, Zuri and Indlulamithi are in the list too.

About giraffe names

Giraffes are the tallest land animals. A grown bull can stand around 18 feet, a newborn calf is already about six feet tall, and that long neck has the same seven vertebrae as yours. So a lot of giraffe names look up: Stretch, Skyler, Longfellow, Lofty, Periscope and Treetop are all here, next to ironic picks like Shorty and Tiny. A group of giraffes is called a tower, and Tower is in the list too.

The coat is the second source. No two giraffes wear the same pattern of patches, so Patches, Domino, Mosaic, Jigsaw and Cobblestone suit any of them. The third is language and place. Twiga is the Swahili word for giraffe, Zuri means beautiful and Jabari means brave, and the Zulu word, Indlulamithi, means taller than the trees. Place names follow wild giraffes across Africa, from Samburu and Amboseli to Luangwa, Hoanib and Kouré, and the savanna adds Acacia, Whistling Thorn and Oxpecker.

Well-known giraffes are in the mix as well: Melman from the Madagascar films, April, whose 2017 calf was watched live by millions, Gerald from Giraffes Can't Dance, and Zarafa, who walked to Paris in the 1820s. The rest are soft names for toys and calves, such as Gigi, Raffles and Gertie, plus sky words and a few basketball jokes like Alley-Oop.

How to choose giraffe names

  • Zoos often name a calf in a language of the animal's home range. A Swahili or Zulu word such as Twiga, Mrefu or Izulu fits that habit, but look up the meaning and the pronunciation before you settle.
  • For a plush toy, soft sounds and a repeated syllable are easy for a small child to say. Try Gigi, Jojo, Raffy or Dottie.
  • Let the pattern decide. Big, clean patches suggest Mosaic, Flagstone or Jigsaw, while a busy, freckled coat points to Speckles, Confetti or Polka Dot.
  • A mascot needs a name a crowd can chant and a jersey can carry: Stretch, Hoops, Skyhook and Slam Dunk all pass that test.
  • Naming a pair? Pick a set that belongs together, like Polka and Dot, Nimbus and Cirrus, or Her Highness and His Highness.

Frequently asked questions

What are good names for a giraffe?

Names that play on the height, the neck or the spots are the classics: Stretch, Lofty, Turtleneck, Patches and Domino. For something less expected, try a word from the giraffe's home range, such as Twiga, Zuri or Samburu, or a sky name like Nimbus or Stargazer. The list mixes these styles, so a few rounds will show you which one fits.

What is the Swahili word for giraffe?

It is twiga, and the giraffe is the national animal of Tanzania. The list also has the word for giraffe in other languages, including Indlulamithi (Zulu), Kameelperd (Afrikaans), Kirin (Japanese), Jirafa (Spanish) and Girafe (French). Camelopard, an old English word for the animal, is there too.

Are any famous giraffes in the list?

Yes. You will find Melman from Madagascar, Gerald from Giraffes Can't Dance, April and her calf Tajiri from the 2017 livestream, and Zarafa, the giraffe sent from Egypt to France in the 1820s. Geoffrey, Sophie and the Pokémon Girafarig are in there as well.

What is a baby giraffe called, and what names suit one?

A baby giraffe is a calf. It is about six feet tall at birth, so Tiny and Shorty make a good joke and Six Footer is simply accurate. Softer picks such as Gigi, Dottie, Sprig and Twiga Mdogo, which means little giraffe in Swahili, fit a calf as well.

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All 500 giraffe names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 26 names

  • Acacia
  • Admiral Skyview
  • Airy
  • Akagera
  • Alley-Oop
  • Aloft
  • Alta
  • Altitude
  • Alto
  • Altus
  • Amafu
  • Amani
  • Amble
  • Amboseli
  • Anga
  • Angani
  • Anthill
  • Apex
  • April
  • Argyle
  • Arusha
  • Asali
  • Asante
  • Ascot
  • Auntie Acacia
  • Aurora

B: 30 names

  • Baba Twiga
  • Babu
  • Backboard
  • Balcony
  • Bambi Eyes
  • Bamboo
  • Banana
  • Baobab
  • Baringo
  • Baron von Neck
  • Baroness Beanpole
  • Batik
  • Beanpole
  • Beanstalk
  • Bee-eater
  • Big Friendly
  • Big Man
  • Birdseye
  • Blossom
  • Blotch
  • Blue Yonder
  • Boipelo
  • Bottleneck
  • Bounce
  • Bowtie
  • Breeze
  • Brickwork
  • Bridget
  • Bulawayo
  • Butterbean

C: 31 names

  • Camelopard
  • Camelopardalis
  • Camelthorn
  • Canopy
  • Captain Treetop
  • Caramel Swirl
  • Checkers
  • Cherry Picker
  • Chin Up
  • Choc Chip
  • Cinnamon Toast
  • Cirrus
  • Cloud Nine
  • Cloudchaser
  • Cobblestone
  • Colonel Longneck
  • Comet
  • Confetti
  • Contrail
  • Cookie Dough
  • Cornflake
  • Cosmo
  • Count Camelopard
  • Countess Spotsworth
  • Crackle
  • Crane
  • Cravat
  • Crazy Paving
  • Crosshatch
  • Crow's Nest
  • Cumulus

D: 17 names

  • Daddy Longlegs
  • Daffodil
  • Damaraland
  • Dapple
  • Daybreak
  • Denga
  • Dik-Dik
  • Doctor Domino
  • Doe Eyes
  • Domino
  • Dot
  • Dottie
  • Dry Stone
  • Duchess of the Treetops
  • Duke of Dapple
  • Dumela
  • Dunk

E: 8 names

  • Easy Does It
  • Eiffel
  • Eland
  • Elevation
  • Embe
  • Empire State
  • Escarpment
  • Etosha

F: 7 names

  • Farigiraf
  • Fast Break
  • Fever Tree
  • Flagpole
  • Flagstone
  • Fosbury
  • Freckles

G: 41 names

  • Galileo
  • Gallop
  • Garamba
  • Garissa
  • Gemma
  • General Patchwork
  • Gentle Genevieve
  • Gentle Giant
  • Geoffrey
  • Georgia
  • Georgie
  • Gerald
  • Geraldine
  • Gerenuk
  • Gerry
  • Gertie
  • Gia
  • Gianna
  • Giggles
  • Gigi
  • Gina
  • Gingersnap
  • Gingham
  • Ginny
  • Gio
  • Giorgio
  • Giraf
  • Girafarig
  • Girafe
  • Giraffa
  • Globetrotter
  • Golden Hour
  • Gonarezhou
  • Gracie
  • Graham
  • Graham Cracker
  • Grandpa Longlegs
  • Growth Spurt
  • Guinea Fowl
  • Gulliver
  • Gumdrop

H: 28 names

  • Hakuna Matata
  • Halo
  • Hang Time
  • Harlequin
  • Head in the Clouds
  • Her Highness
  • Hexagon
  • High Bar
  • High Five
  • High Flyer
  • High Hopes
  • High Jump
  • High Note
  • High Tea
  • High Tower
  • Highlands
  • Highrise
  • His Highness
  • Hluhluwe
  • Hoanib
  • Hollyhock
  • Honeycomb
  • Hoops
  • Horizon
  • Hornbill
  • Hubble
  • Hurdle
  • Hwange

I: 7 names

  • Ilanga
  • Imara
  • Indlulamithi
  • Inkanyezi
  • Inkosi
  • Inyanga
  • Izulu

J: 13 names

  • Jabari
  • Jaffa
  • Jambo
  • Jeffy
  • Jetstream
  • Jiffy
  • Jigsaw
  • Jirafa
  • Jojo
  • Jua
  • Jump Ball
  • Jump Shot
  • Juu

K: 21 names

  • Kahawa
  • Kahawia
  • Kaleidoscope
  • Kameelperd
  • Kanga
  • Karibu
  • Kasane
  • Kidepo
  • Kidogo
  • Kilele
  • Kili
  • Kilimanjaro
  • Kirahvi
  • Kirin
  • Kite
  • Kitenge
  • Knobthorn
  • Kouré
  • Kubwa
  • Kudu
  • Kudzai

L: 30 names

  • Ladder
  • Lady Longlegs
  • Lady Lookout
  • Lamp Post
  • Langa
  • Langata
  • Lanky
  • Lashes
  • Lattice
  • Layup
  • Leadwood
  • Leafy
  • Lighthouse
  • Lofty
  • Long Horse
  • Long John
  • Long Lashes
  • Long Rains
  • Long Shot
  • Long Story
  • Long Tall Sally
  • Longfellow
  • Longneck
  • Lookout
  • Lord Lofty
  • Lorenzo
  • Luangwa
  • Lullaby
  • Luna
  • Lusaka

M: 47 names

  • Madame Mosaic
  • Madikwe
  • Madoa
  • Majani
  • Major Altitude
  • Mama Twiga
  • Manyara
  • Mapungubwe
  • Marble
  • Marula
  • Matobo
  • Maua
  • Maun
  • Mawingu
  • Maypole
  • Maziwa
  • Medici
  • Melman
  • Mezzanine
  • Mgunga
  • Mikumi
  • Mild Mannered
  • Mile High
  • Minenhle
  • Mkuze
  • Mlima
  • Mokolodi
  • Moonbeam
  • Moonshot
  • Mopane
  • Moremi
  • Mosaic
  • Mosey
  • Mpole
  • Mr. Tall
  • Mrefu
  • Mti
  • Mtoto
  • Mudcloth
  • Munashe
  • Murchison
  • Mustard
  • Muti
  • Mvua
  • Mwedzi
  • Mwezi
  • Mzee

N: 14 names

  • Nairobi
  • Naivasha
  • Nanasi
  • Ndizi
  • Neck and Neck
  • Neckerchief
  • Necklace
  • Necktie
  • Netted
  • Nimbus
  • Nokuthula
  • Nuru
  • Nyeredzi
  • Nyota

O: 6 names

  • Oakleaf
  • Okapi
  • Orbit
  • Ossicone
  • Overlook
  • Oxpecker

P: 17 names

  • Patches
  • Patchwork
  • Pebbles
  • Penthouse
  • Periscope
  • Pilanesberg
  • Pinnacle
  • Pole Pole
  • Pole Vault
  • Polka
  • Polka Dot
  • Prince Beanstalk
  • Princess Polka Dot
  • Professor Periscope
  • Pula
  • Puzzle
  • Puzzle Piece

Q: 2 names

  • Queen of the Canopy
  • Quilt

R: 19 names

  • Raff
  • Raffaella
  • Rafferty
  • Raffles
  • Raffy
  • Rafiki
  • Rainbow
  • Rangi
  • Rebound
  • Red Dust
  • Red Oat
  • Redwood
  • Reticule
  • Rift Valley
  • Rocky Road
  • Roller
  • Rooftop
  • Ruaha
  • Rubberneck

S: 69 names

  • Saadani
  • Safari
  • Samburu
  • Saunter
  • Sausage Tree
  • Savanna
  • Sawubona
  • Scarf
  • Secretary Bird
  • Seedpod
  • Sequoia
  • Serengeti
  • Seven Footer
  • Shaba
  • Shingo
  • Short Rains
  • Shorty
  • Shuka
  • Silver Lining
  • Sir Spots-a-Lot
  • Sir Stretch-a-Lot
  • Six Footer
  • Sjiraff
  • Sky
  • Sky High
  • Skye
  • Skyhook
  • Skyla
  • Skylark
  • Skyler
  • Skylight
  • Skyscraper
  • Skywalker
  • Slam Dunk

S, continued

  • Slim
  • Slow Blink
  • Softy
  • Sophie
  • Speckles
  • Spike
  • Spire
  • Splotch
  • Spots
  • Spotty
  • Sprig
  • Sprinkles
  • Spyglass
  • Stained Glass
  • Starburst
  • Stargazer
  • Starlight
  • Starry
  • Steeple
  • Stella
  • Stepladder
  • Stiltwalker
  • Stratosphere
  • Stratus
  • Stretch
  • Sukari
  • Summit
  • Sunbeam
  • Sundowner
  • Sunflower
  • Sunrise
  • Sunshower
  • Sunup
  • Sway
  • Swish

T: 42 names

  • Tafara
  • Tajiri
  • Tall Drink
  • Tall Order
  • Tall Paul
  • Tall Tale
  • Tall Timber
  • Tarangire
  • Tatenda
  • Tawi
  • Telescope
  • Tenderfoot
  • Terrazzo
  • Tessa
  • Tessellate
  • Thorn Tree
  • Thornbush
  • Thorny
  • Thutlwa
  • Tickbird
  • Tiny
  • Tip-Off
  • Tippy Top
  • Tiptoes
  • Toffee Crunch
  • Too Tall
  • Top Floor
  • Top Seed
  • Top Shelf
  • Topaz
  • Tower
  • Treehouse
  • Treeline
  • Treetop
  • Trellis
  • Tuli
  • Turtleneck
  • Twig
  • Twiga
  • Twiga Mdogo
  • Twiggy
  • Twiza

U: 6 names

  • Ubuntu
  • Umande
  • Umbrella Thorn
  • Uncle Stretch
  • Updraft
  • Upsy Daisy

V: 3 names

  • Vine Leaf
  • Vista
  • Volley

W: 7 names

  • Watchtower
  • Waza
  • Weathervane
  • Weaverbird
  • Whistling Thorn
  • Windhoek
  • Windsock

Z: 9 names

  • Zakouma
  • Zarafa
  • Zawadi
  • Zenith
  • Zephyr
  • Zürafa
  • Zuri
  • Zuva
  • Żyrafa