The top dog names for 2017 are once again Max for boy dogs and Bella for girl dogs. Those two names have topped Rover.com’s annual popularity list for each of the past five years it’s been released. Rover.com Ownership Trends Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research. In addition to Max, the top names for males were Charlie, Cooper, Buddy, Jack, Rocky, Bear, Tucker, Oliver and Duke. After Bella, rounding out the top 10 for female names were Lucy, Daisy, Luna, Lola, Sadie, Molly, Bailey, Maggie and Sophie. Also of no surprise, to pet owners at least, 94% of Americans consider their dogs as part of the family.
A few of the other notable trends and statistics include:
- 44% of all dog names are human-based. This figure was up from 28% in 2016. (The Rover.com database compared the names with the top 1,000 human names according to the U.S. Social Security baby names census.)
- 75% of dog owners are Millenials.
- Powerful women influenced dog names; Ivanka was up 88% this year and Atwood, a reference to the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” was up 200%. Celebrity inspirations Oprah and Madonna were also up. Katniss, inspired by the protagonist of The Hunger Games trilogy, was up. Wonder Woman-themed names were up 45%.
- 8% percent of all dog names were clearly pop culture-influenced.
- In all, TV-inspired names were up 17%. Game of Thrones-related names were up 12%, Barb and Eleven, from “Stranger Things,” were up 182% and 166% respectively.
- Star Wars-inspired names are up 70% with Finn, Luke, Leia, Rey, and Yoda being the most popular
- 53% of dog owners named their dog after a celebrity or a character from a movie, TV show, or book.
- 90’s Nostalgia was still prominent. However, while the names Nirvana, Kurt, Daria, Buffy, and Willow all grew in popularity, Angel, Spike, and Xander decreased.
- Pet parents are also getting inspiration from their favorite destinations. The top 5 city-based names are Sydney, Dallas, Rio, Phoenix, and Savannah. The top 5 state-based names are Georgia, Montana, Indiana, Main, and Alaska.
Overall, regional preferences correlated with national rankings, though there were some differences. Following are the most popular dog names for select cities.
CHICAGO:
Male: Charlie, Max, Cooper, Buddy, Rocky, Bear, Toby, Oliver, Teddy, Jack
Female: Bella, Lucy, Daisy, Lola, Luna, Stella, Molly, Sadie, Chloe, Lily
DALLAS
Male: Max, Charlie, Buddy, Cooper, Jack, Bentley, Bear, Rocky, Tucker, Duke
Female: Bella, Lucy, Daisy, Sadie, Molly, Bailey, Lola, Maggie, Chloe, Zoey
HOUSTON
Male: Max, Charlie, Cooper, Rocky, Buddy, Duke, Bear, Jack, Zeus, Milo
Female: Bella, Luna, Lucy, Daisy, Molly, Lola, Bailey, Sadie, Penny, Sophie
LOS ANGELES
Male: Charlie, Max, Buddy, Rocky, Oliver, Cooper, Teddy, Milo, Toby, Jack
Female: Bella, Luna, Lola, Lucy, Daisy, Coco, Molly, Bailey, Chloe, Roxy
NEW YORK CITY
Male: Max, Charlie, Oliver, Buddy, Cooper, Rocky, Milo, Leo, Teddy, Jack
Female: Bella, Lucy, Luna, Lola, Daisy, Lily, Sophie, Chloe, Molly, Bailey
SAN FRANCISCO
Male: Charlie, Max, Buddy, Cooper, Milo, Jack, Oliver, Teddy, Bear, Leo
Female: Bella, Lucy, Luna, Lola, Daisy, Coco, Penny, Stella, Lily, Sophie
SAN DIEGO
Male: Charlie, Max, Jack, Buddy, Cooper, Rocky, Bentley, Bear, Duke, Toby
Female: Bella, Lucy, Luna, Lola, Daisy, Roxy, Sadie, Molly, Chloe, Penny
SEATTLE
Male: Charlie, Max, Cooper, Buddy, Oliver, Jack, Toby, Bear, Rocky, Milo
Female: Bella, Lucy, Luna, Daisy, Lola, Sophie, Maggie, Stella, Lily, Bailey
WASHINGTON, DC
Male: Charlie, Teddy, Cooper, Max, Oliver, Rocky, Winston, Leo, Jack, Toby
Female: Bella, Lucy, Penny, Luna, Daisy, Sadie, Rosie, Maggie, Lola, Sophie
PREVIOUS TOP DOG NAMES BY YEAR
| 2016 —————- | 2015 —————- | 2014 —————- | 2013 —————- | |||||||
 Max Charlie Buddy Cooper Jack Rocky Bear Duke Toby Tucker |
 Bella Lucy Daisy Lola Luna Molly Sadie Sophie Maggie Bailey |
Max Charlie Buddy Cooper Jack Rocky Toby Duke Bear Tucker |
Bella Lucy Daisy Molly Lola Sadie Maggie Sophie Chloe Bailey |
Max Buddy Charlie Jack Cooper Rocky Toby Tucker Jake Bear |
Bella Lucy Daisy Molly Lola Sophie Sadie Maggie Chloe Bailey |
Max Charlie Buddy Jack Cooper Rocky Riley Toby Bear Harley |
Bella Lucy Bailey Daisy Lily Molly Lola Maggie Sadie Chloe |
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What’s Your Dog Name?
Rover.com also has a humorous dog name generator based on your human name’s popularity with the dog name of equal popularity.
THE FULL LIST…
| Top 100 Boy Dog Names of 2017 |
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| Top 100 Girl Dog Names of 2017 |
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REFERENCES:
Rover.com Releases the Most Popular Dog Names and Trends of 2017
Rover.com Reveals the Most Popular Dog Names of 2016
Rover.com’s Top Dog Names of 2015
Rover.com’s Top Dog Names of 2014
Top Dog 2013 – Rover.com’s Most Popular Dog Names!