Let’s start with the recent popularity of naming dogs with human names. Notice how many of the 2008 Top Ten Dog Names were people names? Sure, it looks innocent enough, but what if your Uncle Jack doesn’t like the fact that you’ve named your English Mastiff after him? Worse yet, what if your child Lucy names her dog Lucy and then her little friends start telling your daughter that she’s got a dog’s name? Think about who you might know with the same name that could potentially be offended by having a dog named the same name. Plus, it just sounds weird when you’re talking to your friends saying, “Charlie pooped in the living room again the other day!”
Next, let’s talk about cutesy names. Sure, anything is cute when the dog is a puppy, but you can picture a St. Bernard named Cupcake? Short Stuff is maybe cute for a Dachshund, but what about for the Collie that grows up? The same thing goes for those names that your pet might find embarrassing like Stinky, Butthead or Stupid. It might be funny for a little while, but your dog is hopefully going to live 10-20 years and it might get old after a while. Last but not least along this line of thinking, don’t be too trendy or faddy to the point of embarrassment once the fad has passed. Do you really want to keep calling in your Beagle named Beanie Baby ten years after the craze faded?
Dogs are smart, but keeping their names to one or two syllables makes it easier for them to learn. It would be both a little difficult to call out Peppermint Patty, Abracadabra or Lamborghini.
Some people name their dogs after their favorite football teams, so there are a number of dogs named Minnesota, Dallas, Phoenix, Packer, Cincinnati, Jet, or Giant.
Unlike babies, who have to be named within a certain number of days after birth, you can take a little time to get to know your dog’s personality before naming it. The name should match the dog’s personality. For example, you wouldn’t expect Spunky to be a lethargic dog and you wouldn’t expect Slowpoke to be a Great Dane.
Dog names vary according to size, breed, color, and even utility. For example, many hunting dogs have names like Magnum, Pistol, Remington, Trigger, Bullet, Fetch, and Gunner. And next to dogs as man’s best friends has to be vehicles conjuring up dogs named Beetle, Harley, Chevy, Porsche, Hummer, Dodge, and Mercedes. And of course no list would be complete without mentioning those named after drinks including Bacardi, Starbuck, Whiskey, Mocha, Budweiser, Brandy, and Schnapps.
Just like baby name generators, there are also dog name generators and books about naming your dog. Take the above information into consideration so that your dog won’t petition the court for a new name when he becomes an adult. Have fun with it - after all, it’s more about how much we love our dogs than what we name them.
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