
If you are at that stage where you’re battling with friends and family regarding the best name to christen your dog, you’ll find a lot of favour in this article. For starters, you’re not alone; most dog owners have been where you are right now. You bring home a new puppy, and the next thing, everyone has a name in mind for it. Choosing a name then becomes a hot debate. Or maybe no one is sure what to call the dog. You thought Rocky would be cool, but then it sounds more like a movie character.

So what’s next? How do find the perfect name for your new canine companion? Are there rules to this dog naming thing? Well, let’s take a look.
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Finding The Perfect Name For Your Dog

There are a lot of ways to get inspiration for your dog’s name. You could get an idea for a name by thinking of a special person, an incident or item. There are people who have named their puppy “Blossom” because they were born in the spring. It doesn’t have to be about the season your dog was born. It could be anything special that brings back good memories.
You can also cook up a perfect name for your dog by considering its personality and physical features. You can call it “Happy” if it’s a jovial kind and “Shorty” for a small breed.
Sometimes, people name their dogs after their favorite celebrity. If you fancy those kind of inspiration, you could also try it, as long as your favorite celebrity’s name isn’t too long.
Apart from celebrities, you can give your dog a human name in order to honor someone you like. It could be a friend or a relative.
Another fun way to find a name is by thinking about what you like. If you’re brainstorming names with your family, you can all agree on something you all love. Wine lovers might consider names like “Riesling” or “Merlot.” A family that’s big on science could name their dog after an element, a compound or some interesting gas. All you need to do is get creative.
If figuring out a dog name by using any of the ways above isn’t working out for you, then an easy way out is to browse a list of dog names. Below, we’ve put together some cute and trendy dog names you can give your dog.
Top 50 Female Dog Names
- Josie
- Abby
- Bianca
- Blondie
- Maggie
- Lexi
- Rosie
- Greta
- Freya
- Stella
- Lily
- Anna
- Katie
- Izzy
- Lucy
- Allie
- Dolce
- Layla
- Jenna
- Diva
- Goldie
- Annie
- Dixie
- Queenie
- Elsa

- Violet
- Foxy
- Izzi
- Jada
- Jossie
- Ginger
- Bella
- Winnie
- Coco
- Chloe
- Gigi
- Zuzu
- Bailey
- Zoey
- Sophie
- Lulu
- Gracie
- Cherry
- Molly
- Bonnie
- Lola
- Malia
- Maya
- Zoey
- Kiki
Top 50 Male Dog Names
- Hunter
- Frankie
- Simba
- Spencer
- Biggy
- Oscar
- Tommy
- Frankie
- Bolt
- Panda
- Eddie
- Murphy
- Jojo
- Parker
- Bruno
- Diego
- Charlie
- Tucker
- Jack
- AJ
- Dylan
- Chico
- Henry
- Archie
- Toby

- Nico
- Frodo
- Otis
- Riley
- Buddy
- Pepe
- Finn
- Cooper
- Leo
- Kai
- Brody
- Andy
- Alex
- Alvin
- Rusty
- Teddy
- Tucker
- CJ
- Lucky
- Ivan
- Dino
- Morris
- Benji
- Mickey
- Max
Rules For Naming Your Dog

Yes, there are rules to this dog naming thing. You might not be fined if you break them, but things could go awry with your dog naming if you don’t follow them. These rules are simple and not entirely rocket science. So what are these rules?
Choose Dog Names That End With Vowels
You may not have noticed, but a lot of the popular dog names around end with vowel sounds. There’s actually a good reason for that. Dog names ending with vowels change tone when you’re calling for your dog. This is very important because the level at which dogs distinguish frequency ranges is much higher than that of humans. With a name ending with a vowel sound, its get quite easy get the attention of your dog. Names like Simba, Kimba, Taco and Rossi are good candidates that follow this rule.
Choose Bi-syllabic Dog Names
There’s really no much science to this, its just common sense. Giving your dog a by-syllabic name makes it easier for it to get used to the name. Of course, it also saves you the stress of calling out several syllables every time you need to call out for your dog. Lucy definitely sounds easier to call out than Agammemnon (which is actually a dog’s name somewhere in Greece). It doesn’t always have to be two syllables, three is also fine, but two makes things easier.
Try to avoid the most popular names
Bingo, Lucky and Max are all good and popular dog names that follow dog naming rules. However, they are also too popular. Consider the dog name traffic jam that could ensue when your dog is among several other dogs when their owners start calling out for them. Depending on your locality, there should be a lot of Maxes, Dexters and Busters. Of course, you don’t want your dog getting confused every time another person calls out for their dog.
It you’re giving your kids the honor of naming your dog, you might want to guard against names like cartoon-inspired Mr. Freckles. There are a lot of those going around already.
Pay special Attention when Renaming Adult Dogs
If you brought home an adult dog, it will be harder to give it a new name than it would be for a puppy. If the dog’s current name is cool, its best to leave it. However, if you’re totally not comfortable with the current name, you can save yourself and the dog a steep learning curve by going for a similar sounding name. “Harley” can easily replace Charlie while “Kaylee” can easily replace “Bailey.”
Avoid Complicated Names

We all have some long multi-word names we would love to call our dogs, but complicated names make the naming process complex. Try not to pick a name like Sir Fluffy Von Neumann or High Lord Wagglestein. Its sounds all cool, but calling that over and over again is going to be challenge. Also, it’s going to take your dog much longer time to get used to multi-word names.
Avoid Dog Names That Sounds Like Commands
Many dog owners make the mistake of giving their dogs names that sound like commands. This could make it very confusing for the dog to differentiate that particular command from its name. If you plan to teach your dog to perform a “fetch” command, naming it “Fletch” isn’t a good idea.
Avoid Offensive Names

Although your dogs won’t object to it, never give your dog an abusive name, ever! As a general rule, avoid curse words and any form of racial slurs. It might sound cool at first, but it wouldn’t be cool to the ears of those that feel offended. There is a good chance you may end up giving your dog a name that is offensive to a particular group of people. Although your intentions may not be malicious, it may nonetheless appear as an affront on others. Whenever you come up with a dog name, check it up to make sure it doesn’t have any discriminatory undertone.
Whatever name you give your dog should be something you’re proud of. It doesn’t have to be a name that already exist. As long as it is not abusive or too long, you can break a few naming rules to arrive at something that brings you joy. All you need is something that resonates well with you and gives you and your family happiness. Your dog is meant to be an addition to your family, the name you give to it should reflect such an ideal.