The Top Dog Names of 2023

Giving a dog a name is a big job. When we brought our youngest girl home a few years ago, we must have talked about a million different names for her. She came to us with the name Lola, but that definitely didn’t suit her personality. We landed, after much discussion, on Indi (short for Indiana Jones – my favourite movie). And it fits. She’s fiery, and curious. She loves adventure. And she’s stubborn. Plus, it’s a fun play on the movie – true fans know the joke 😉 

These days, she also gets called Noodle, Little (even though she’s very much not little), Turnip, Barks McGee, Indigo, Fart Nugget, Sassy McSassypants… yes, we’re very creative…

And I think it’s safe to say that everyone goes through this process when they bring home a new dog. What’s the ideal name for this perfect creature? That’s a lot of pressure!

Today, we’re having a bit of fun, and running through the top dog names of 2023. If you brought home a new pup in 2023, what name did you choose, and why – and is it on the list?

Top Dog Names of 2023

There are several different categories here, so we’ll run through a few!

The Top Names Overall:

1. Luna
2. Charlie
3. Bella
4. Milo
5. Daisy
6. Max
7. Cooper
8. Coco
9. Molly
10. Bailey

Top Female Dog Names:

1. Luna
2. Bella
3. Daisy
4. Molly
5. Lucy
6. Lola
7. Lily
8. Rosie
9. Stella
10. Willow

Top Male Dog Names:

1. Charlie
2. Milo
3. Max
4. Cooper
5. Leo
6. Teddy
7. Rocky
8. Buddy
9. Winston
10. Beau

Popular Sources of Inspiration

The things we all love – be it food, music, television, or movies (ex. Indi) – all influence our decisions when it comes to choosing our pets’ names. 

Each year, we see how big an influence pop culture can have on our animals’ names. And this year was no different. Barbie was a big one in 2023. According to Rover.com, Barbie is up for dogs by 34% and Sasha is up 18%. Marvel continues to top the charts for pop culture inspiration too. The top trending pet names from Marvel movies include Viper, Thanos, Mystique, Pyro, Coulson, Groot, and Fury. Raza, Triton, and Deadpool are new to the list this year. In our house, we also have a Loki and a Zeus… 

Popular television shows also inspired names in 2023! Yellowstone was a big one (Beth, Tate, Jimmy, Montana, Wheeler). Wednesday was also a big inspiration (Wednesday, Wednesday Addams, Enid, Gomez, Thing). Mandalorian even made the list!

Even video games inspire pet parents when it comes to choosing the perfect name!

1. Yoshi
2. Luigi
3. Tom
4. Zelda
5. Mable
6. Sable
7. Daisy
8. Harvey
9. Link
10. Tommy

And remember how I said our Indi gets called Noodle or Turnip? Well, food was a big inspiration for the top dog names of 2023! 

1. Cupcake
2. Almond
3. Yuka
4. Banana
5. Toast
6. Kimchi
7. Schnitzel
8. Chilli
9. Waffle
10. Brisket

Sports (Kelce, Dunn, Rapinoe, Jewell, and Trea), beverages (Beer, Whiskey, Prosecco), and technology (Elon, Musk, Data), were also inspirations for some of the top dog names of 2023.

No matter what your dog’s name is, we know that a lot of thought went into it. And we know they also have many others that just sort of happen over time! Even if you chose to stick with the much-beloved “Dog” or even “Cat” to be ironic, we know the names were chosen with love!