Top Dog Names of 2018 [Infographic]

by Jessi Larson

The results are in! We’re excited to announce the top dog names of 2018, as determined by the 4.3 million new dog owners who used our site so far this year.

My Dog’s Name provides thousands of options for names and allows users to save their favorites while they search. To determine the most popular dog names in 2018, we compiled the most selected names of the year. 

What we found surprised us – but for reasons you might not think.

Curious to see what other names topped the charts? Check out the lists below.

Top 10 Female Dog Names

1. Bella
2. Abby
3. Daisy
4. Luna
5. Bailey
6. Willow
7. Coco
8. Roxy
9. Bambi
10. Lola

Top 10 Male Dog Names

1. Bear
2. Axel
3. Milo
4. Charlie
5. Biscuit
6. Bailey
7. Archie
8. Buddy
9. Duke
10. Tiger

Top Dog Names Infographic

Here’s our infographic from all the data on our top dog names. Feel free to reuse this with a link back to this blog post!

Top 50 Dog Names

Top Female Dog Names

1. Bella
2. Abby
3. Daisy
4. Luna
5. Bailey
6. Willow
7. Coco
8. Roxy
9. Bambi
10. Lola
11. Nala
12. Harper
13. Ava
14. Piper
15. Rose
16. Hazel
17. Angel
18. Sadie
19. Zoey
20. Belle
21. Dixie
22. Gracie
23. Ellie
24. Addison
25. Biscuit
26. A.J.
27. Addie
28. Blue
29. Winnie
30. Cleo
31. Millie
32. Honey
33. Cookie
34. Amber
35. Lucy
36. Alice
37. Maisie
38. Oreo
39. Chloe
40. Ella
41. Mia
42. Kiki
43. Poppy
44. Lulu
45. Koda
46. Penny
47. Pixie
48. Maggie
49. Buttercup
50. Lily

Top Male Dog Names

1. Bear
2. Axel
3. Milo
4. Charlie
5. Biscuit
6. Bailey
7. Archie
8. Buddy
9. Duke
10. Tiger
11. Blue
12. Alfie
13. Diesel
14. Caesar
15. Coco
16. Oreo
17. Chewie
18. Benji
19. Archer
20. Arlo
21. Teddy
22. Bruno
23. Bandit
24. Bacon
25. Finn
26. Coco
27. A.J.
28. Max
29. Boomer
30. Barkley
31. Blaze
32. Atlas
33. Thor
34. Rocky
35. Barney
36. Pluto
37. Scout
38. Augie
39. Bolt
40. Jasper
41. Banjo
42. Jax
43. Bingo
44. Copper
45. Argos
46. Admiral
47. Tank
48. Brownie
49. Toto
50. Waffles

Top Female Dog Names

Once again, the name Bella topped the list of female dog names. The name became popular over a decade ago when the Twilight series was released and featured a protagonist named Bella. Twilight mania has long subsided, but the name Bella is still the top choice for new dog owners.

In addition to Bella standing firm in the top position, the names Abby, Daisy, Luna and Bailey rounded out the top 5 list in the exact same spots as last year.

Despite this repetition, there were a few surprises in the list of top 10 female dog names. Coco, for instance, shot up from the 14th spot up to 7th, most likely due to the popularity of the Disney animated movie of the same name.

Another interesting trend is that Bambi cracked the top 10 for the first time since we launched the site in 2013.

Top Male Dog Names

The list of top male dog names in 2018 had a huge shocker: Max is no longer in the top 10 for new dogs for the first time since we started the site. Even more curiously, it wasn’t even in the top 25.

For reference, Max topped was 1st in 2015 and ranked 10th in 2016 and 2017. We’re not sure what’s behind the name’s precipitous drop, other than changing tastes.

The rest of this year’s list featured tried-and-true favorites like Bear, Charlie, Milo and Buddy.

Top Dog Names by Category

My Dog’s Name gives you the ability to search for awesome dog names within categories that are relevant to you and your pup. After all, we started this site after we got our dog Toby and the only option was to wade through endless A-Z lists. Our goal was to create a better experience for new pet owners and allow them to sort by their favorite styles and themes to find the best name more quickly.

Of all our categories, the most popular by far is “Cute.” It makes sense: cute canines deserve cute names! Second in popularity is the “Tough” category, especially for male dog names. Many new pup parents are drawn to strong-sounding names for their new pets.

Top Cute Dog Names

1. Lola
2. Nala
3. Teddy
4. Harper
5. Barney
6. Scout
7. Piper
8. Augie
9. Sadie
10. Zoey

Top Tough Dog Names

1. Roxy
2. Diesel
3. Duke
4. Koda
5. Caesar
6. Bruno
7. Bandit
8. Pepper
9. Max
10. Thor

Top names in the “Sports” category ranged from classic athletes like Ali, Babe and Dotti to powerful athletic words like Boomer, Blitz and Champ.

Once again, the “Funny” category had a food focus, with names like Bacon, Brownie and Waffles.

Top Sports Dog Names

1. Ali
2. Tiger
3. Teddy
4. Boomer
5. Babe
6. Moon
7. Blitz
8. Champ
9. Dottie
10. Wrigley

Top Funny Dog Names

1. Biscuit
2. Oreo
3. Kiki
4. Buttercup
5. Bacon
6. Barkley
7. Brownie
8. Banjo
9. Toto
10. Waffles

Movies and TV shows always provide great inspiration for dog names. We were surprised to see Barney – name of both the big purple dinosaur and the bumbling sheriff from The Andy Griffith Show – rise to 7th place.

When it came to geeky dog names, Star Wars is still reigning supreme with Chewie (short for Chewbacca) topping the list once again and Finn (from the new movies) moving up to the second spot.

Top TV & Movie Dog Names

1. Blue
2. Angel
3. Dixie
4. Archer
5. Addison
6. Winnie
7. Barney
8. Cleo
9. Lucy
10. Pluto

Geeky Dog Names

1. Chewie
2. Finn
3. Gizmo
4. Cookie
5. Ruby
6. Apache
7. Buffy
8. Bones
9. Xena
10. Mac

Most Popular Dog Breeds

The AKC released their 2018 list of the most popular dog breeds which included:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd
3. Golden Retriever
4. French Bulldog
5. Bulldog

This year the French Bulldog jumped from the 6th spot up to 4th, right ahead of the regular Bulldog. The move bumped the Beagle out of the top 5 most popular breeds for the first time in nearly two decades.

If you’re interested in finding the perfect breed for you and learning more about breed traits, check out our dog breed selector.

Dog Ownership Trends

Dog owners share an increasingly close bond with their pups these days. In fact, in a survey by Purina, 95% of dog owners said they consider their dog to be part of the family.

This close bond also has mental health benefits, with 62% saying their dog helps them destress and 55% reporting that their dog provides emotional support.

The canine bond is even closer with millennials. In the survey, 77% of millennial respondents said they feed their dog before themselves. And 55% said they’ve bought their dog a birthday cake before.

What To Do With These Top Dog Names

Picking a name for your dog is quite a fun process, between searching through name options, brainstorming ideas and discussing the best choices with your family and friends.

It’s also a very important decision since your new dog will have this name for the rest of their life.

The purpose of our top dog names list is to give you insight into what’s popular these days and share trends you can use. Or if you want a completely unique dog name that no one else has, you’ll know to avoid these options.

Use our dog name search to find thousands of unique dog names. 

As always, we thank you for using My Dog’s Name! We’re proud of our site and love helping new pup parents find the perfect name for their new dogs.

Can I share this infographic?
If you would like to share our Top Dog Names infographic on your website or social sites, go for it! We just ask that you credit it to My Dog’s Name with a link to our site.

About My Dog’s Name
Founded in October 2013, My Dog’s Name provides a fun, interactive experience for new dog owners looking for just the right pet name. The site allows users to sort names by preferred style and interests. More than 4 million people use My Dog’s Name each year when picking a name for their dog.

Jessi Larson

Jessi is a marketing strategist for Fortune 50 companies who loves to research and write about all things dog. She is the proud mom to Toby, a giant Labrador Retriever who thinks he’s a lapdog. He inspires her to be a better pet parent and to share advice with other dog owners.