A Guide On How To Choose A Name For Your Dog

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to naming your dog. It may be similar to naming babies but with a wee bit more flexibility. If you have a pet but are stuck on one thing: its name, we’ve got you.

Whether your dog is big or small, male or female, exotic or common, every dog deserves a unique name. How do you figure out what to name the newest addition to the family?

Here are some tips:

Choose A Name Based On Your Dog’s Size

While there are no rules to name your dog, it would be weird to name your Chihuahua or Yorkshire Terrier Giant, Beast, or Rex. When you have small dogs, try to name them after small things appropriately, and the same goes for large breeds, like Great Dane and English Mastiff.

Girl dog names for small breeds:

• Bean
• Chiquita
• Lil Bit
• Teacup
• Button

Boy dog names for small breeds:

• Atom
• Goober
• Piccolo

Girl dog names for large breeds:

• Java
• Kia
• Maxi
• Tundra

Boy dog names for small breeds:

• Beef
• Bjorn
• Champion
• Harlow

Name Your Dog After Other Animals

A dog named Cat. Isn’t that hilarious? As if your dog isn’t cute enough, naming them after other cute animals takes it to the next level. While Bear, Goose, and Moose are already popular dog names. Here are unique dog names:

• Badger
• Cat
• Cub
• June Bug
• Ladybug
• Mouse
• Piglet
• Rhino
• Vixen

Select a Name After Its Coat Color

Naming the dog after its color is not new. For example, there was a time when names like Blacky, Browny, and Spot or Spotty were so popular – all because of the color and patterns of the dog.

You can now take it to another level with these relatively rare names:

• Blue – For dogs with a blue coat, such as the Australian cattle dog, Kerry blue terrier, Weimaraner, or Chihuahua
• Chestnut – For brown dogs
• Cobalt – For dogs with a blue or grayish coat
• Cotton – For dogs with a white coat
• Cream – For dogs with a super light-brown coat
• Navy – For dogs with a blue coat
• Neon – For dogs with a bright coat
• Nimbus – For dogs with a black or dark coat
• Snowball – For dogs with a white coat

Choose A Name Appropriate For Its Personality

Native Americans have a compelling way of naming their children. Some tribes call children after nature, while others do it based on the child’s personality. Now, that’s an interesting way of naming your dog.

Here are some examples of names based on your dog’s personality:

• Blaze – Fiery dogs
• Boss – Bossy and confident dogs
• Breeze – Gentle dogs
• Chomper – Dogs who love to munch on your things
• Cuddles – Affectionate dogs
• Dolce – Sweet-natured dogs
• Feisty – Aggressive dogs (female)
• Fierce – Aggressive dogs (male)
• Fleur – Delicate dogs
• Hurricane – Aggressive dogs
• Lightning – Fast dogs
• Marshmallow – Soft, cuddly dogs
• Maverick – Stubborn dogs
• Pride – Proud dogs
• Renegade – Rebellious dogs

Pick A Name After Your Favorite Food or Drink

With so much food and drinks, you will surely find awesome dog names for your fur baby. It could be a food and drink that you love or just something that sounds great as a name.

Here are some great ones:

• Acorn
• Angus
• Bacon
• Beef
• Biscuit
• Butter
• Cannoli
• Champagne
• Cheerio
• Cheeto
• Chowder
• Churro
• Cookie
• Eclair
• Fondue
• Gin
• Hershey
• Kebab
• Lambchop
• Macchiato
• Melon
• Milkshake
• Pringles
• Pumpkin Spice
• Sushi
• Tequila
• Waffle
• Whiskey

Choose a Name After Places

Places are also popular names for dogs. Usually, when people name their dogs after a memorable place. The name could be after a place they grew up in or where the dog was adopted from.

The following are some dog names for boy and girl dogs you can consider:

• Adelaide
• Alaska
• Amaya
• Bristol
• Brynn
• Champagne
• Dakota
• Eden
• Java
• Memphis
• Rhode
• Yosemite

Name Your Dog After Famous People and Characters

Pet parents commonly name their dogs after famous people and characters from film and television. For example, the top-trending dog name of 2022 was Fezco, a character from Euphoria, a famous HBO TV show.

Besides celebrity names like Keanu Reeves, Stanley Tucci, Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, and Steve Buscemi, here are some names you can consider for your pet:

• Arya – A renowned character from Game of Thrones
• Calista – Hollywood actress Calista Flockhart
• Cillian – Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy
• Dakota – While also a name of a place, it can be for Hollywood actress Dakota Johnson
• Einstein – Albert Einstein is the most influential scientist of all time
• Electra – Elektra is a comic book assassin/heroine
• Galileo – Galileo Galilei discovered the moon and laid the basis for modern space studies
• Gatsby – Character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel The Great Gatsby
• Hamilton – Hamilton is a famous musical on the life of Alexander Hamilton; the most famous F1 racer is also named Lewis Hamilton
• Joplin – Late singer-songwriter Janis Joplin
• Kenobi – Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Jedi master on Star Wars
• Lucifer – A DC comic character; also the given name of satan according to the Bible
• Oompa Loompa – A character from Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the 2023 musical Wonka
• Scar – Villain from Disney’s The Lion King
• Simba – Protagonist from The Lion King
• Ursula – The villain from The Little Mermaid
• Wolfgang – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a prolific Austrian composer; Wolfgang Puck is a famous Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur

Name Your Dog After Plants

It is also quite common to name dogs after plants. Delicate and sweet dogs are usually named after flowers, while the ones with sassy personalities get more flavorful names.

The following are some excellent and unique dog names:

• Acorn
• Basil
• Chive
• Clementine
• Clove
• Dahlia
• Dill
• Fig
• Nutmeg
• Orchid
• Petunia
• Thyme
• Tulip

Do’s and Don’ts of Naming Pets

Get Creative

There are endless options when it comes to dog names. You can be creative and come up with amusing and unique names. For example, Bark Twain is a pun for Mark Twain. It’s quite fitting since Twain was a humorist.

Puppuccino, a portmanteau of puppy and cappuccino, is a fantastic option for coffee lovers. Then there is Dee Oh Gee, a stylized spelling for “dog.”

Avoid Changing Your Dog’s Name

Don’t hurry to name your dog, only to change it later. This only confuses dogs, and they may not respond to you anymore. But if you have to, perhaps you can change it once but don’t make a habit of it.

Steer Clear Of Names That Sound Similar to Commands

Training will be an essential part of your dog’s formative weeks. Avoid names that sound similar to the commands you will be teaching it. For example, the names Hit, Kit, and Mitt sound so much like “sit.”

Your dog may have a hard time differentiating their name from the command. The same could be said about Fletch, Twitch, and Stitch, which sound similar to “fetch.”

Your pet belongs to you. Give it a name that resonates with you and your family. While this article lists some names, you can get creative and come up with your own name. You can also choose between unisex names – there is no wrong or right way to go about with it. In any case, we hope this article gets you one step closer to deciding.