Dog names from license records

PuppnDogs, by the record

The most popular dog names, counted from 445,923 licensed dogs

Real names from city dog license records in New York, Seattle, Pittsburgh's county and Cambridge, each dog counted once. Pick a breed below for its own list.

Source: dog license records from four US registers, updated to Oct 2026.
Watercolor portrait of a Labrador RetrieverWatercolor portrait of a Shih TzuWatercolor portrait of a Yorkshire TerrierWatercolor portrait of a Poodle
Bella is the most popular dog name: 4,184 dogs, about 1 in 100
445,923licensed dogs, each counted once
Bellamost popular female name
Maxmost popular male name
65breeds with their own name list

The 50 most popular dog names in US license records

Ranked by the number of licensed dogs with each name, out of 418,812 named dogs.

  1. 1Bella4,184
  2. 2Luna3,887
  3. 3Max3,455
  4. 4Charlie3,254
  5. 5Coco2,925
  6. 6Lucy2,496
  7. 7Daisy2,413
  8. 8Rocky2,411
  9. 9Milo2,395
  10. 10Lola2,371
  11. 11Teddy2,288
  12. 12Bailey2,041
  13. 13Buddy2,008
  14. 14Lucky1,688
  15. 15Penny1,687
  16. 16Leo1,660
  17. 17Cooper1,654
  18. 18Toby1,620
  19. 19Chloe1,552
  20. 20Oliver1,519
  21. 21Princess1,472
  22. 22Molly1,468
  23. 23Rosie1,404
  24. 24Ruby1,392
  25. 25Stella1,378
  26. 26Mia1,339
  27. 27Lily1,334
  28. 28Oreo1,294
  29. 29Jack1,243
  30. 30Bear1,224
  31. 31Sadie1,209
  32. 32Maggie1,194
  33. 33Blue1,177
  34. 34Cookie1,156
  35. 35Pepper1,139
  36. 36Sophie1,118
  37. 37Prince1,071
  38. 38Bruno1,054
  39. 39Riley1,052
  40. 40Louie1,037
  41. 41Ginger1,035
  42. 42Lulu1,024
  43. 43Zoey1,024
  44. 44Zeus1,009
  45. 45Benji969
  46. 46Winston945
  47. 47Ollie943
  48. 48Bentley935
  49. 49Frankie925
  50. 50Roxy915

The most popular female and male dog names

From the registers that record sex: New York, Allegheny County and Cambridge.

Female dogs, top 20

  1. 1Bella4,054
  2. 2Luna3,620
  3. 3Lucy2,321
  4. 4Lola2,266
  5. 5Daisy2,248
  6. 6Coco2,011
  7. 7Penny1,559
  8. 8Chloe1,489
  9. 9Princess1,442
  10. 10Molly1,385
  11. 11Stella1,288
  12. 12Mia1,283
  13. 13Rosie1,270
  14. 14Ruby1,261
  15. 15Lily1,254
  16. 16Bailey1,164
  17. 17Sadie1,124
  18. 18Maggie1,103
  19. 19Sophie1,056
  20. 20Zoey980

Male dogs, top 20

  1. 1Max3,309
  2. 2Charlie2,609
  3. 3Rocky2,291
  4. 4Milo2,234
  5. 5Teddy2,087
  6. 6Buddy1,899
  7. 7Leo1,557
  8. 8Cooper1,523
  9. 9Toby1,521
  10. 10Oliver1,420
  11. 11Lucky1,403
  12. 12Jack1,154
  13. 13Bear1,048
  14. 14Prince1,047
  15. 15Bruno1,012
  16. 16Zeus973
  17. 17Louie944
  18. 18Benji932
  19. 19Oreo887
  20. 20Winston884

Dog names rising and falling in New York since 2016

Luna went from 48.6 to 123.5 dogs per 10,000 and overtook Bella (113.6 to 105.4). Names with at least 50 dogs in both years.

Rising fastest

  • Nova4.1 → 20.2 per 10,000 dogs
  • Dior1.7 → 8.4 per 10,000 dogs
  • Miso1.5 → 7 per 10,000 dogs
  • Maple3 → 11.4 per 10,000 dogs
  • Goose2.4 → 8.6 per 10,000 dogs
  • Bean2.7 → 9.4 per 10,000 dogs
  • Arlo2.5 → 8.7 per 10,000 dogs
  • Mango2.7 → 9.2 per 10,000 dogs
  • Obi1.8 → 5.9 per 10,000 dogs
  • Mochi7 → 22.7 per 10,000 dogs

Falling fastest

  • Spanky7 → 1.6 per 10,000 dogs
  • Nemo5.2 → 1.6 per 10,000 dogs
  • Tiffany5.5 → 1.7 per 10,000 dogs
  • Mugsy5.1 → 1.6 per 10,000 dogs
  • Dylan5.6 → 1.9 per 10,000 dogs
  • Spencer6.2 → 2.2 per 10,000 dogs
  • Blackie5.1 → 1.9 per 10,000 dogs
  • Foxy9.2 → 3.5 per 10,000 dogs
  • Sparky18.7 → 7.5 per 10,000 dogs
  • Precious12.8 → 5.1 per 10,000 dogs

The most popular dog names in each city

Top 10 per register.

New York City, 330,099 dogs

  1. 1Bella3,455
  2. 2Luna3,037
  3. 3Max2,976
  4. 4Charlie2,593
  5. 5Coco2,589
  6. 6Lola2,093
  7. 7Rocky2,075
  8. 8Milo1,984
  9. 9Teddy1,912
  10. 10Lucy1,785

Seattle, 25,565 dogs

  1. 1Luna247
  2. 2Charlie176
  3. 3Lucy161
  4. 4Daisy158
  5. 5Rosie124
  6. 6Milo122
  7. 7Poppy118
  8. 8Penny116
  9. 9Ruby112
  10. 10Bella108

Allegheny County, PA, 58,987 dogs

  1. 1Bella601
  2. 2Luna559
  3. 3Daisy537
  4. 4Lucy528
  5. 5Bailey457
  6. 6Charlie452
  7. 7Cooper430
  8. 8Max379
  9. 9Buddy378
  10. 10Sadie365

Cambridge, MA, 4,161 dogs

  1. 1Luna44
  2. 2Charlie33
  3. 3Milo29
  4. 4Rosie24
  5. 5Daisy22
  6. 6Lucy22
  7. 7Bella20
  8. 8Penny20
  9. 9Lola19
  10. 10Pepper18

The most popular dog names in each New York borough

Charlie leads in Manhattan; Bella everywhere else.

Manhattan

  1. 1Charlie1,046
  2. 2Luna942
  3. 3Bella820
  4. 4Lucy807
  5. 5Max739

Brooklyn

  1. 1Bella888
  2. 2Luna793
  3. 3Max740
  4. 4Charlie636
  5. 5Coco613

Queens

  1. 1Bella816
  2. 2Max747
  3. 3Luna631
  4. 4Coco616
  5. 5Rocky528

Bronx

  1. 1Bella556
  2. 2Max484
  3. 3Luna463
  4. 4Coco399
  5. 5Rocky343

Staten Island

  1. 1Bella354
  2. 2Max252
  3. 3Coco226
  4. 4Rocky220
  5. 5Buddy193

Dog names by breed: 65 breeds

Every breed with enough licensed dogs for a reliable top 30. The name shown is its most common.

How far these dog name rankings can be trusted

Four places, not the whole country

Only four US registers publish each dog's name and breed together. 80% of these dogs are licensed in New York City, so the rankings lean towards New York tastes. Many owners never license their dog, so this is a large sample of licensed dogs, not a census.

Sources for these figures