The Most Popular Dog Names Right Now, Counted From Real Dogs
The most popular dog names, counted from 201,748 real dogs in New York, Seattle and Austin city records, with the top girl and boy dog names.
October 12, 2026 · 2 min read · By the Dog Names team
Most "top dog names" lists are guesses. Ours is a head count: we added up the names of 201,748 real dogs from the public licensing and shelter records of New York City, Seattle and Austin. Here's what people actually call their dogs.
The top 25 dog names
Luna is the most popular dog name by a clear margin, ahead of Bella and Max. The full ranking runs to 500 names on our most popular dog names page.
- 12,006 dogs
- 21,704 dogs
- 31,517 dogs
- 41,289 dogs
- 51,285 dogs
- 61,139 dogs
- 71,076 dogs
- 81,060 dogs
- 91,018 dogs
- 10966 dogs
- 11844 dogs
- 12816 dogs
- 13701 dogs
- 14690 dogs
- 15686 dogs
- 16682 dogs
- 17680 dogs
- 18671 dogs
- 19668 dogs
- 20665 dogs
- 21597 dogs
- 22595 dogs
- 23581 dogs
- 24580 dogs
- 25578 dogs
Most popular girl dog names
Female dog names lean soft and two-syllable: a long vowel sound at the end (Bella, Lucy, Daisy) carries well across a park. Browse the full list of girl dog names for more.
Most popular boy dog names
Male dog names split between short, punchy names (Max, Leo, Bear) and friendly human names (Charlie, Milo, Teddy). See every boy dog name ranked.
Why popular names stay popular
- They're easy to say. Nearly every name in the top 100 is one or two syllables.
- They sound friendly. Names ending in a vowel sound (Coco, Milo, Lucy) are easy to call in a happy voice.
- They cross over. Many top dog names are also popular baby names, so they feel familiar.
Want your dog to be the only Luna in the class? Pick from our unique dog names instead: names that rarely show up in the city records at all.
