The just-released 2017 ranking culled dog-name data from across the globe for its English-speaking Top 10. Pet insurers, rescues, online communities like Rover and city and county records provided popularity rankings for more than 2.5 million dog names, which resulted in a collection of more than 50 county, city, national and international lists.

 

A Decade on Top

 

Bella’s remained steady at the top of the female dog-name lists for more than a decade now, and shows no sign of shaking off the No. 1 ranking, while Max hangs onto the most popular male name for the third year in a row.

 

New names to the Top 10 include Abby, Luna and Coco, while Alfie and Leo are making their first appearances in the most-popular category.

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No More Bellas

 

Bella’s a lovely name that means ‘beautiful’ in Italian, but there are so many other wonderful, creative names out there for your fur kids. We’re asking that potential pet parents consider choosing a name that’s more meaningful to them and their families.

 

A decrease in the number of dogs named Bella would also reduce confusion among vets, groomers and other pet-care professionals and help to avoid potential medication and other kinds of mix-ups.

 

We recommend picking a name by starting with a list of personal favorites -- bands, TV shows, sports heroes, vacation spots, even foods -- and then searching those categories in the free-to-access DoggieNames.com database. Visitors can also search by breed, color, appearance and more. The 5,000-name database was developed to aid rescues and shelters in coming up with a steady supply of suitable dog names, since studies have shown that shelter pets with names are more likely to be adopted.

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Note: This data was compiled from a variety of Most Popular Dog Name lists, including a variety of pet insurers, along with rescues and online pet communities including Cuteness, Nextdoor and Rover, as well as registration records from more than 50 cities worldwide.

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