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I’ve posted about my dogs a time or two (they are, in fact, wrestling around on the floor next to me as I type), but maybe you don’t remember their names - Jackson, Winston and Patton. I’ve escaped the top 10 most common names list, although you could argue that Jackson is similar enough to Jack to count. Jason’s dog Bailey makes the list at #8. The list was compiled by Veterinary Pet Insurance.
Top Ten (20, really) Names for Dogs
Male Names
1. Max
2. Buddy
3. Jake
4. Rocky
5. Bailey
6. Buster
7. Cody
8. Charlie
9. Bear
10. Jack
Female Names
1. Molly
2. Maggie
3. Daisy
4. Lucy
5. Sadie
6. Ginger
7. Chloe
8. Bailey
9. Sophie
10. Zoe
Does your pet make the list?
Shhh…super secret special for blog readers.
Comments (60)
Comment
Layla (female)
posted by Justin on 6-17-2008 at 2:21 pm
Coltrane - male Weimaraner
posted by Ira on 6-17-2008 at 2:32 pm
Haha of course Molly is our black lab mix, and our adorable dachshund/beagle mix is named Chester.
posted by Liz on 6-17-2008 at 2:35 pm
Socks didn’t make the list but I’m sure it’s probably #11. I continually run into people who have named their dogs (or cats) Socks.
And yes, she’s brown all over but has white paws (green when the grass has just been mowed).
reCAPTCHA: Victoria Museum
posted by KJ on 6-17-2008 at 2:40 pm
When you let your 3-year-old name your dog, you end up with Bingo (female).
posted by Debi on 6-17-2008 at 2:47 pm
Dignon-golden retriever (male)
Izzy-Mutt (Female)
Didn’t make the list, but I did have a Charlie growing up.
posted by Ariel on 6-17-2008 at 2:47 pm
Buzz is my sweet girl’s name.
posted by OU812 on 6-17-2008 at 2:49 pm
I had a beagle namer Jinjur as a kid, but that’s about as close as any of my dogs have been.
My parents do have 2 horses named Cody (they came pre-named); now they go by Big Cody and Little Cody. And I recently went to a riding stable with 2 Codys who used the same “Big” and “Little” to tell theirs apart, so I think it’s at least as common for horses as it is for dogs.
posted by frumpiefox on 6-17-2008 at 2:52 pm
I named my dog Cisco, but per Ransom’s post last week (?) my next Dog’s name will be ’small man in a dog suit’
posted by Witty Nickname on 6-17-2008 at 2:55 pm
I didn’t think we’d make the list, but alas, I have a Golden Retriever named Chloe.
My old dog didn’t make the list, though. Her name was Streak. She had a white streak from the top of her snout and up her forehead that was shaped like a Pontiac emblem. We had to explain her name a lot.
My (then) four-year-old daughter named our male cat Posey. All of her dolls and stuffed animals at the time were also named Posey. I call him Poe, so he doesn’t get a complex.
posted by bre on 6-17-2008 at 3:00 pm
My dog’s name is Max. So he made the list, although before we had him (we are his third owners) his name was Dimitri. Mom dislikes that name though, and so after much bickering Mom won and he was named Max. I told her it was to over used and unoriginal though. =P
posted by Air on 6-17-2008 at 3:02 pm
My best-loved dog ever was a chi mix named Lucy, and my husband’s best-loved dog is a black lab named Chloe. We also have a Liz, Bonnie Barker Brown, Madeline, Roxy, Tiny (a chihuahua, of course!), Numaya, Francheska, and Isabella.
And Debi? Yep, my mom let me name our cat when I was five — Bingo (and she lived to be about 18).
posted by Raven on 6-17-2008 at 3:06 pm
Addison — actually his full name is 1060 W. Addison … or addy for short :)
posted by cormac on 6-17-2008 at 3:11 pm
The #5 pick for girl names, Sadie, is my Grandma’s name. She told me not too long ago that she only hears her name when someone is talking about their dog.
posted by Andrea on 6-17-2008 at 3:19 pm
i have a dog named winston too. he was named for john winston lennon, who in turn was named for winston churchill.
posted by ryan on 6-17-2008 at 3:26 pm
none of my dogs made the list… (is that good or bad? can’t decide)
PJ (short for peter jason) - golden lab
freckles (lord freckles the VII) - cocker spaniel
ebony and ivory (sisters) - black and white german shepherds
“bigger fineberg”
posted by shaun on 6-17-2008 at 3:29 pm
We have had two dogs, Einstein and Max Planck, so I suppose that counts as a dog named Max.
Also cats named Butterscotch, Samantha (black cat-bewitched), Mouse, and Bucky
posted by Cheri on 6-17-2008 at 3:35 pm
I’ve got a Molly (she already had the name when I adopted her)! And her sister’s name was Maggie!
posted by Craig on 6-17-2008 at 3:40 pm
Heidi. She is a rescue dog, and that is what she was called. We call her Heidi Beidi, or Wuffin for short.
posted by bookmole on 6-17-2008 at 3:42 pm
My parents currently have 3 dogs: Jazzy (our lone registered show dog), Pippin (The mighty! The slightly stupid!), named for the LOTR character, and Daisy, who makes the list. We also previously had a dog named Spirit, a cat named Princess, and a budgie (think parakeet on steroids) named PJ (I think the Disney Robin Hood had just come out…)
posted by Bekah on 6-17-2008 at 3:48 pm
My cats….
Lammie (female)
Cosmo (male)
Persephone or Sh*thead (female)
posted by Jamie on 6-17-2008 at 4:06 pm
Neither of my dogs make the list. Olliver (Ollie) and Pixel (Pixie), respectively.
We do, however, have an African clawed frog named “Froggy” because he began life as a first grade classroom pet, and I’d imagine if there were a “Most Common Frog Names” list, that would be the topper.
posted by marquess on 6-17-2008 at 4:10 pm
We have a Winston too. He’s a calm and distinguished older Golden Retriever. The name fits him well–if he were human, he would totally be a British gentleman with a library and a penchant for pipes.
posted by kate on 6-17-2008 at 4:11 pm
i think lucy is a great name for a dog! It gives me an excuse for talking like Ricky Ricardo whenever I want. Whats better than that? Most people haven’t had an excuse for doing that in 20 years!
…and even though our blonde dog started out as Jack, he has since adopted the name Jack E.Chan which is an AMAZING name. Really. You wouldn’t dis on that would you? Jack E.Chan? C’mon! Step ya game up! Ya know I keeps a private jet!
I sing his name like I’m in “dumb & dumber” singing the mockingbird song in the van and it sounds lousy but is so much fun and makes the hoomanz laugh out LOUD.
jack
e
chan
yea
jack-e-chan no don’t sing yea
jack e chan
don’t sing!
yea!
I’m o.k. with standing alone on this…
posted by michael on 6-17-2008 at 4:25 pm
Wow…I didn’t see any of the names my brother’s in law named their pets growing up…
Rat Spit - Mutt
Low Roach - Dachshund
Looch - Mutt
Beer Fart - Friend’s Dog
Boozer - Mutt
Reefer - Mutt
posted by Bob Jones, Esq. of El Armpito, TX on 6-17-2008 at 4:25 pm
My name made both lists. I know more dogs named Bailey than people. It’s not so bad now, but as a wee boy, getting all the flyers for ballet classes instead of karate in school (because the mass mailing companies sent a ballet flyer for each girl and a karate flyer for each boy) really sucked.
“captured their” (captured their what???)
posted by Bailey on 6-17-2008 at 4:28 pm
My cocker spaniel, Casanova, didn’t make the list. It’s his “nickname” shorten from Monsieur Casanova de Monte Cristo :)
posted by Juliet on 6-17-2008 at 4:32 pm
I named my black Peke Hop Sing after the Bonanza cook but my son changed it to Vinnie cuz he’s all back w/a white tie (like a hitman). When the new one came along he’s black and white and I wanted to name him Carmine to go w/Vinny but got outvoted cuz he looks like a panda so his name is Mou Shi, a kina panda name. My daughter’s two labs are Maverick and Goose from the movie
posted by Mary Lou on 6-17-2008 at 4:43 pm
We must get bonus points for originality, a pair of names where neither is on the list.
Bogey and Bacall…
…and yes, we know (now) that Humphrey Bogart was “Bogie”, but it is too late. They’re 12.
posted by DoggyDad on 6-17-2008 at 4:48 pm
My Treeing Walker Coon Hound (or just a very big Beagle, we’re not sure), Sarah Jane, didn’t make the list. She’s named after the Doctor Who companion.
My parents dogs didn’t make the list either. They have 2 Chihuahuas- Peanut (female) and Ramsey (male). If there’s a list of top 10 Chihuahua names, Peanut’s probably near the top!
posted by Martha on 6-17-2008 at 5:01 pm
My cats are Roger and Miss Emma.
RIP - cats Lucy, Oliver and Axl, and dogs Ralph and Sadie.
posted by Lynne on 6-17-2008 at 5:08 pm
my recaptcha “frontage trophy” ha ha ha!!!
not surprised that “butterscotch” didn’t make the list. Butterscotch Ripple to be exact!!! he looked just like the ice cream…mostly white with a butterscotch color swirl!
You are truly misses my friend
posted by Tonya on 6-17-2008 at 5:22 pm
Murphie Appolonia (Female)For short I call her Murphalonia
posted by Kelly on 6-17-2008 at 5:59 pm
If we’re getting specific, my dogs’ full names are:
Jackson Explosion
Winston Leonidas
Patton Simon
After Nathan Explosion, Leonidas and Simon from Frisky Dingo, to be exact. I contend that Winston is named after John Winston Lennon too, Ryan, but my husband insists he is named after Churchill. Winston acts like neither. He was a puppy mill dog and is terrified of everything as a result :(
posted by Stacy on 6-17-2008 at 6:29 pm
my in-laws have dogs named maggie rip:(, libby, sadie and sophie.
3 outta four is pretty funny
i have a bella which i am surprised is not on the top ten because after i named her, everyone and their cousin had a bella.
posted by samanthamum on 6-17-2008 at 7:27 pm
my two kitties:
das boogie mister crazy pants stephen j. amaral the cat the first (male)
sinclair (female)— she was named after emile sinclair, from hesse’s novel demian (to go with our tarantula, demian), but it was too late we discovered she was a girl. oops.
departed kitties include samuel, alice, raymonibaba, and templeton.
recaptcha: mrs weekes… i think i’m going to have to write a book about this character…
posted by casey on 6-17-2008 at 9:11 pm
Beagle - Rusty, he’s 4
Black and white cat - T9C (pronounced tee-nine-see) she’s 6
Black and white cat - Riley (TT for short) he’s 2
Black and white cat - Chuck (Chuckles for long) she’s deceased, was 17
posted by Jules9999999 on 6-17-2008 at 9:31 pm
I had a dog named “Jacksons very own Superhero” but we just called him “Hero”, and I have two cats “Zachariah rides on a storm” knows as “Zach” and “They found him at Sears” just called “Sears”….years ago a friend had a pedigree mutt with a stupid long pretentious name that totally didn’t suit him and this freind was very snooty about it….so I mockingly gave my animals just as pretentious names!!! The sad thing was Hero….who was a beautiful Great Pyrenees died protecting my kids….so he really was a Hero.
“sours Manufacture” was my recaptcha…
(Hey that almost rhymes!!)
posted by Sandie on 6-17-2008 at 9:40 pm
Our Great Dane is named Bosley, since his sisters were named Jill, Kelly and Sabrina. The lady who was the foster mother for Bosley named them, since he was a puppy mill rescue, and we decided to keep the name.
posted by David on 6-17-2008 at 9:41 pm
David- My Mom’s cockatiel is named Charlie. What a perfect setup!
posted by Johnny Cat on 6-17-2008 at 11:08 pm
Banditadog - Border Collie/Boxer mix
posted by crooked halo on 6-18-2008 at 3:35 am
My roommate at college has a dog named Bailey (he doesn’t live with us, no dogs allowed in the dorms).
None of my family’s dogs made the list though.
Muffin (Female Chihuahua)
Pogo (Male Australian shepherd, as is my roommate’s Bailey.)
Itchy (Male mutt)
And R.I.P. Ignatz (Female Mutt)
and Zot (Male black lab).
Also, my recaptcha was “privy indignation” which amuses me a whole lot.
posted by Hazzard on 6-18-2008 at 8:41 am
growing up my dog was named hans, and my first cat i had i named mercedes (i was 9 and my friend’s dog was named porsche), we called her sadie for short. my current cat is kiona, but if i ever get a male cat, i will probably name him bear.. so i guess i’ll be stuck in the top 10.
posted by tami on 6-18-2008 at 9:34 am
As a young child, I had a mutt we called Rusty. As a teenager, my brother and I had a border collie, Missy. Now, my daughter has a scottie she calls Doggie. (Not a very common name!)
posted by Steve C on 6-18-2008 at 9:40 am
my dogs have all had musical themed names:
Ella Fitzgerald (called Ellie)
Clara Schumann (composer/pianist/wife of Robert)
Carmen (the opera)
Eva (after the singer Eva Cassidy)
posted by sarah on 6-18-2008 at 10:28 am
We named our bunny Zoe. But after a Firefly character so I don’t think it should count as just some run-of-the-mill name.
posted by jamielou on 6-18-2008 at 10:52 am
My boyfriend’s dog, that I adore (the dog mostly :)), is named Daisy. Things got complicated when my Dad starting dating a woman named Daisy and I had to differentiate between the dog and the person when talking to my boyfriend.
My mom tells me that I am named after a dog, her best friend’s dog who died around when I was born. Luckily, the dog had a rather pleasant name.
posted by Heather on 6-18-2008 at 10:54 am
We have a black Pomeranian- he’s very fluffy. We named him Marley after Bob Marley and Jacob Marley. His full name is Marley Jacob Billy Marsh.
We did not name him after the dog’s name in the book “Marley and Me” (although I do eventually want to read it before the movie comes out).
Billy is after “billy goat” because he climbs up on EVERYTHING!
posted by Holly on 6-18-2008 at 11:22 am
My Chow/Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix is named Uzi, short for Uziel which means something along the lines of “Soothed by the Strength of God” in Hebrew.
posted by Brooke on 6-18-2008 at 12:25 pm
Our basenji is named She-Ra, after my wife’s favorite cartoon as a kid.
We also call her Wheatey, but we don’t really know where that came from.
posted by Al on 6-18-2008 at 1:15 pm
Two boston terriers.
Male: Atticus He is a “seal” terrier. That means he is brown where he is supposed to be black.
Female: Scout
I love “To Kill a Mockingbird”
posted by tommy on 6-18-2008 at 2:14 pm
My dogs are:
Church - Plott hound
Mushu - Shitzu
Jackie (Short for Jackie Chan just like Michael’s posted above!) - Shitzu
posted by Sara on 6-18-2008 at 2:16 pm
We initially named our cat “Captain Jean-Luc Picat” (yeah, yeah, I know) but as we got to know him better started calling him Captain Murder.
I also used to have this tiny fat monkey-dog named John Henry, but he recently went to the big hammer in the sky.
posted by annie on 6-18-2008 at 2:24 pm
Kaylee Frye - female boxer
Named her after Kaylee on Firefly
what a great show - also - she seems to have a similar personality
posted by Janet on 6-18-2008 at 2:39 pm
I have a husky/border collie cross that’s named Kenobi
posted by Zod on 6-18-2008 at 3:35 pm
Two girls - one is A syberian Husky named “Whoopi” and the other is a Golden Retriever/Wolf hybrid named “Sigourney”
Siggy and Whoop for short.
posted by Jeffrey on 6-18-2008 at 4:14 pm
Ginger and Roxie, both females
However, Roxie is short for “Rocks For Brains”
posted by Korin on 6-18-2008 at 4:53 pm
In the past we had Sumac and Juno both Ridgebacks, Quelo a Siamese cat, and for some reason another cat called Michael Benteen (british actor).
Into the present another cat Zeck (german for tick as he came riding home on the back of another cat, E’gone - as in where’s he gone), daft eh!
posted by max on 6-18-2008 at 5:14 pm
We currently have a cat named Kat. I had a cat named critter when I was a teen.
Growing up we had dog and puppy. Not very original, huh? Dog first. Got pregnant and the one puppy we didn’t give away got a creative name like her momma…puppy!
We also had a hup-n-dog becuase as a puppy he would climb up on a small plastic foot ball and it would shoot out from under his legs and we’d catch the ball. I believe we were 6, 4 and 3 at the time.
posted by Karen on 6-18-2008 at 10:31 pm
She’s gone now, sadly, but our family dog was named Cookie. Click on my name for a cute picture of her, yay.
My fiancé’s family’s cats are named Elmore, Edgar, Emily, Elizabeth, Elton, Erin, and Estelle. I think it’s pretty obvious which are male and which are female.
Currently, my only pets are Roborovski hamsters named Munchy & Crunchy.
reCaptcha: cricket paper!
posted by Celeste M. on 6-19-2008 at 1:06 am