Top Dog Names 2025 - which will be top in 2026?

According to The Dog's Trust survey 2025, the top dog names for girls and boys has stayed the same at the top, with Poppy and Teddy remaining number one.

We wonder if this will change in 2026!

Is your name in the top ten?

Rank	Female names	Male names
1	Poppy	Teddy
2	Luna	Milo
3	Bella	Alfie
4	Daisy	Buddy
5	Ruby	Charlie
6	Rosie	Max
7	Willow	Bertie
8	Molly	Barney
9	Lola	Bailey
10	Mabel	Archie

 

Go Compare insurance have released their top 10 dog names list, and it's slightly different to the Dog's Trust at the top, but it does share some names.

1             Luna (↑1)

2             Bella (↓1)

3             Teddy

4             Milo

5             Poppy

6             Buddy (↑1)

7             Lola (↓1)

8             Daisy

9             Bailey

10           Willow

 

What Makes a Dog Name Popular?

For quite a while now, the trend for giving your dog a human name has been popular. You also find that top dog names can mirror popular baby names in the UK!

Names like Poppy, Luna, Ella and Lily are popular baby names and dog names at the moment.

Current culture, tv shows, movies and characters also give people ideas for names, like super heroes or villains!

We also like ‘cute’ or familiar names like Teddy as not only do some dogs look like adorable teddies, the name implies comfort, companionship and love.

Are you stuck on what to call your puppy?

Keep it short and sweet – Dogs listen for intonation in your voice, so a short name is much easier for them to understand. Keep to one or two syllables, as they won’t understand longer names so easily.

Sometimes the puppy names just comes to you!

Consider their appearance and personality. Try not to choose a name before you meet them, as often a dog will ‘suit’ a name when you meet it.

What do you like saying – try saying your options out loud. Which name do you like saying?

If you ask for ten opinions, you will get ten different answers – it’s not always a great plan to get endless input, it will just confuse you. Go with your heart.

Nicknames for your dog

Whichever name you finally chose, you can bet your dog will end up with a ton of nicknames. Bob obviously knows his name, but he’s also called bobdoodle, doodle, bobbidy, best boy, chuffer (there’s a story behind that one!), salty sea bob………the list goes on.

Like I say, a dog will hear the intonation in your voice as well as the word, so they end up having various names and they always know you are talking to them.

Stuck for a puppy name?

If you are really stuck, you could take a look at Purina's dog name generator

Dog Name Generator : Over 500 Adorable Dog Names | Purina UK

Try and think of a name that means something to you.

Possibly your favourite flower, literary character or childhood toy. 

How about the name of your favourite place to visit, your favourite fruit, or maybe you'd like to hark back to good old fashioned dog names!

Old fashioned dog names

The 'fashion' for giving dogs (and all animals) human names is a relatively recent one. Dogs used to be called dog names - do you remember, or have they always had human names in your family?

Dogs on tv like Lassie, often leant their name to the dog breed! People still called Rough Collies 'lassie dogs'. Dogs in cartoons were often called Scamp or Butch, to match their physical characteristics.

Which is your favourite old fashioned dog name? What have we missed in the list below?

• Patch
• Pip
• Rusty
• Socks
• Butch
• Rover
• Buddy
• Jip
• Pluto
• Pongo
• Scrap
• Snowy
• Spike
• Toto
• Benji
• Chance
• Duke
• Major
• Ranger
• Shep
• Spot
• Bess
• Bonnie
• Goldie

Do you remember any old-fashioned dog names from years back?

Nature offers lots of inspiration for a good puppy or dog name

How about some of these options

• Daisy, Lily, Poppy, Rose or Rosie.
• Clover, Iris, Petal, Posey, Fleur and Ivy
• Aster, Tulip
• Basil, Cedar, Fennel, Juniper, Sage

Look to old language for inspiration

Celtic

Blair: Field

Blaine: Blonde

Duff: Dark, peace

Keane: Wise

Keegan: Little fire

Kerry: Dark, dusky

Kane: Warrior

Merlyn: From the hill over the sea

Quinn: Wisdom, intelligence

Ronan: Little seal

Sloane: Fighter

Winnie: White, fair

Old English names

Alfred: Wise counsel

Edgar: Wealthy spear

Edmund: Protector of wealth

Edward: Guardian of prosperity

Harold: Army ruler

Oswold: God's ruler

Wildfred: Willer of peace

Audrey: Noble strength

Edith: Striver for peace

Hilda: Battle

Isolda: Fair

Ethel: Noble, regal

Old Latin names

Bennett: Little blessed one

Dante: Everlasting

Dominic: Of the Lord

Felix: Lucky, successful

Horatio: From the Roman family name Horatius

Victor: Conqueror

How did you choose your name? We'd love to know!