Naming your dog is an important step in welcoming him to your home. Make sure you select a name that fits the dog’s personality, look, and temperament. That can be hard to do when you are naming a new pet, since you may not know their personality at first.
Don’t feel pressured to name your dog or puppy on the first day. Take a few days to get to know your pet. Once you choose a name, it’s best to stick with it, to avoid confusing the dog. So, take time to make sure you’ve chosen a name that fits.
Naming a dog is fun. It’s a good idea to involve the whole family. You’ll have to choose a name upon which everyone can agree. The best way to do that is to sit down together to brainstorm names. You’ll go through a lot of “no’s,” but ultimately, someone will suggest a name that sticks.
Below are seven tips for selecting a dog’s name. There are even some names to get you started. Choose one of these, or create your own. What matters is that you and your new pet like the name.
Name the dog based on physical characteristics.
This is an easy way to name your dog. Gigantic fur balls lend themselves to names like Harry, Shaggy, Fuzzy, Wooly, and Grizzly. While small, soft furry animals are suited to names like Velvet, Curls, Curley, and Brooke.
Small, delicate dogs can be named after flowers: Rose, Hyacinth, Lily, Mumsy, Sweet Pea, or Tulip. Gemstones, like Jade, Ruby, Crystal, Jasper, Pearl, Jasper, and Opal make good names for small dogs.
Large male dogs need large names like Hulk, Ulysses, Mufasa, Hercules, Burl, Shrek, Colonel, Garth, Rocky, Hannibal, and Maximus. Consider Tess, Latifah, Xena, Raven, or Medea. These names don’t make fun of strong or plus-sized women, but honor them by using their name for your large puppy love.
If you have an ugly dog try out Quasimodo, Frankenstein, Ursula, Jugs, or Medusa.
Give your dog a name that is descriptive of their personality.
Cute, cuddly female dogs are easy to name. Angel, Celeste, and Joy invoke the feeling of joy and goodness a dog brings to your home. Muffin, Chablis, Sable, Pinky and Pumpkin are adorable names for an armful of love.
Feisty, Comet, Dynamo, and Frisky describe energetic, playful dogs. Other names for lively dogs include: Whiz, Scuttle, Skip, Skipper, Fritz, and Flash.
If you’ve adopted a mischievous pet consider Rogue, Pirate, Rascal, Sneaker, Sly, Slick, Banshee, Clyde, Nixon, or Specter. There’s also Cruella, Elvira, Nakita, and Buffy.
Select a name that is artfully descriptive of your dog’s true nature.
Delilah and Desiree are indicative of a sweet dog with a little something to hide. What better name than Sherlock for a stealthy male.
Stonewall, Custer, Patton, and Sherman are aggressive, tenacious dog names. Opie, Ernest, Oswald, Einstein, and Dudley name dogs with quirky personalities.
Rhett, Gerard, Gatsby, Weldon, Clint and Casey are sophisticated, yet masculine.
Grace, Carlotta, Molly, and Bonita are sophisticated and feminine.
Name your dog after a celebrity or favorite character.
Country music fans can choose from female singers like Reba, Shania, Martina, and Trish. Toby, Hank, Merle, Tucker, and Chesney, named after male country music vocalists, sound like good farm dogs.
Classical music fans choose from favorites like Bach, Beethoven, Irving, Livingston, or Strauss.
Movie characters and actors with lots of personality make for interesting pet names. Denzel, Spencer, Bogart, Morgan, and DeNiro are evocative names. Characters like Captain Jack, Ace, Hitch, Rizzo, Othello, Maverick, Foley, and Atticus give tribute to great actors and movie characters. They also make great dog names.
Cartoon characters can also lend their names. Try Cartman, Homer, Mario, or Stewie for an interesting twist.
Actress names that will bring attention to your pup include: Cameron, Gilly, Meg, Hattie, Miley, Halle, Uma, and Greta. Female characters that lend their name to your dog’s personality include Frenchie, Scarlett, Gidget, Quinn, Scully, Murphy, and Roseanne.
Wilma, Mulan, Tink, Pebbles, and Marge are cartoon characters who offer fascinating choices for female pets.
Brainstorm a name that reflects your family or your personality.
This can include quirky names, or dog names based on family interests or hobbies. An antique collector may like the name Rusty, an old but strong name for a robust Retriever or Labrador.
A sports fan may choose a name from their favorite team. Choose from baseball greats like Nolan, Jackie, and Babe, or football heroes like Herschel and Peyton. Short sports hero names make excellent pet names.
Buck and Ira are perfect names for owners into finance, as are Dollar and Richie.
A family of chocoholics might choose from Hershey, Coco, Chunky, Brownie, or Candy.
The cook in the family may like the name Cookie, Stewart, Emeril, or Deen, which are all fitting tributes to great chefs.
Pick a name just for fun.
There doesn’t have to be a hidden meaning behind every dog’s name. Some names just sound good. They feel right rolling off your tongue.
Here are a few female names to help you brainstorm your own: Ginger, Cara, Estee, Basil, Cassie, Kinsey, and Phoenix, Diego, Baxter, Gordon, Mack, and Aldo are interesting names to get you started thinking about unique male names.
Go with a classic name.
Sometimes a traditional dog name just fits a dog, like a Dalmatian named Pongo or a Beagle named Shiloh. Traditional male dog names include: Max, Hank, Jake, Bailey, Buster, Cody, Harley, Murphy, Barney, Buddy, Jack, Lucky and Sparky. Traditional female dog names include Princess, Daisy, Maggie, Molly, Sadie, Sasha, Lucy, Dakota, Sophie, Sandy, and Tasha, among others.
Hopefully, these tips and ideas will help you figure out a name that is ideal for your dog. You will likely call your dog’s name over 50,000 times. Pick a name you like.
