What’s in a name? That which we call a Fido by any other name would fetch a ball. Yet the best pet names are the ones that express the personality of the critter — and a bit of their corresponding person — to a T-bone. Of course, there’s no denying the influence of pop culture. (No duh, Kismet!) So every year for the past 15 years, pet-tacular website Rover has reviewed their vast database of user-submitted dog and cat names in order to compile Top 10 lists for each species, as well as to spot the biggest naming trends. The entries have now been tallied, patterns identified, and categories collated. Without further adog, the 2026 Top 10 dog and cat names overall, along with top names from some of the year’s most prevalent trends:
Top 10 Dog Names: 1. Rumi, 2. Lumi, 3. Melo, 4. Benito, 5. Ducky, 6. Beatrice, 7. Lottie, 8. Junie, 9. Cannoli, 10. Maisey.
Top 10 Cat Names: 1. Chicken Nugget, 2. Miracle, 3. Badger, 4. Sundae, 5. Hector, 6. Umi, 7. Tiggy, 8. Coffee, 9. Laila, 10. Dani.
Cottagecore: The gardening! The baking! The coziness! Cottagecore is the ultimate reminder to take life a little slower and appreciate all the cuteness out there. Those reminders make cottagecore-inspired names the perfect picks for pet parents seeking more tranquility and gratitude for life’s precious gifts (like our pets). New and cozy names this year include Snail, Gnome and Currant for dogs, and Elderberry, Partridge and Shrew for cats.
Dogs: 1. Tarragon, 2. Jammy, 3. Hawthorn, 4. Firefly, 5. Crumpet.
Cats: 1. Alder, 2. Sorrel, 3. Snail, 4. Whimsy, 5. Gnome.Vintage Revival: All that thrifting we’re doing nowadays must really be rubbing off on pet parents, who increasingly choose nostalgic human names for their dogs and cats. Rare vintage names making a comeback this year include Zephaniah and Clotilde for dogs, and Opaline and Jedediah for cats. The name Prunella was new this year for both pet types.
Dogs: 1. Verna, 2. Lorraine, 3. Gwendolyn, 4. Cornelia, 5. Sylvia.
Cats: 1. Lorraine, 2. Pauline, 3. Nell, 4. Cornelia, 5. Wilfred.Food: Food is a classic pet name category, and not just because many of our dogs and cats are so food motivated. Food-inspired names also capture a seriously broad spectrum of pet personalities, appearances, and vibes—or they can be totally random, which is a lot of fun, too! New names on everyone’s lips this year include Cronut, Harissa and Dalgona for dogs, and Cookie, Pandan and Sir Biscuit for cats.
Dogs: 1. Sardine, 2. Olipop, 3. Tallow, 4. Tahini, 5. Tajín.
Cats: 1. Sambal, 2. Tajín, 3. Halva, 4. Burrata, 5. Harissa.Nu-Goth: Nu-Goth is hot this year, so it’s no surprise that many pet parents are embracing the macabre with how they name their pets. “Nu” names this year include Nosferatu, Peraline and Vamp for dogs, and Hexley, Familiar and Enchantress for cats.
Dogs: 1. Ravenna, 2. Hecate, 3. Sabel, 4. Bram, 5. Damien.
Cats: 1. Specter, 2. Coffin, 3. Crypt, 4. Gloom, 5. Nosferatu.
Soooooo many good choices here! So much character! I mean, Chicken Nugget pretty much says it all. Someone introduces themself as “Chicken Nugget,” and you know who that person is. Food is always a great source for pet names — Harissa! Cronut! Cannoli! — though I must say I’m surprised to see Sardine topping the list for dogs instead of cats. A lot of my favorite food names actually ended up on the Cottagecore lists: Tarragon! Crumpet! Elderberry! I also love the vintage names, and am so here for a dog named Clotilde. That’s a superstar’s name; Clotilde the dog could be the next Tika the Iggy, or Samantha the Afghan hound! As a riff on that trend, I like the idea of using the full name of an old Hollywood star. Like a Whippet named Myrna Loy, but you always call her “Myrna Loy” together, never just “Myrna.” This extends to character names, too: if I ever get a Scottie, I’m naming that boy C.K. Dexter Haven. Lastly, I didn’t expect to enjoy the Nu-Goth monikers as much as I did. Call it the spirit of spooky szn! A cat named Gloom is perfect. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that that’s every cat’s name.
Photos Credit: Alexandra Bilham, Krasimir Georgiev and Khaola E. on Pexels. Andrew S on Unsplash.
My parents used to have two cats, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
We once had a Goldie called Orin Oakenshield because he was many things but not a dwarf king, strong though, even as a little pup.
Our current Goldie’s government name is Maribella von Meersburg (in her vaccination passport) — decided on a whim by Mr N because he likes the sea and old castles — but in everyday life she’s simply called Bella. Even if our diva is anything but simple.
“Maribella von Meersburg” is just the kind of formal name a cat deserves — love it!
Personally I am not on board with cats and dogs having human names, Lorraine?? Great name but to me just doesn’t sit right for a dog or cat.
Be creative people, have fun!
I am always tickled when the vet needs the cats full name, I don’t know why but the idea of him having a surname amuses me.
That is funny, SarahCS. I had a friend (in the 1990s, long before the joke) who had a dog named Steve and a cat named Karen and it just made me cackle every time I went to their house and heard their dad calling for Steve. My cats names didn’t make any of the lists, and i thought they were super duper common (Jasper and Odie).
That’s so interesting! Personally, I find it strange when people are like, “I LOVE my dog so much. She’s as smart as a human and she’s basically my daughter. Here, meet Miss Wacky Butterscotch.” I think we usually end up treating our pets like people, so human names just make more sense to me. Especially since you call out to them! I would feel so ridiculous yelling, “Chicken nugget, want a treat?” To each their own, for sure. 🙂
I have never actually named any of my pets (except for giving the cat my roommate’s got, & that eventually became mine, a middle name). All of my animals have been rescues that either already had a name from the family that dumped them in shelter or from the shelter. I didn’t bother changing names for my fosters (except one named “Fema” who I started calling Fe so whoever adopted her could easily change her name to something similar) so when I foster failed, they already had a decent recall to that name and I didn’t bother playing the name game to change it.
I was on the fence about food names for pets until I fostered a mama dog called Sorbet and her 8 puppies: lemon, lime, blueberry, banana, orange, grape, pineapple, and rainbow. The adoptive owners changed the names of all the pups except banana and blueberry, but I had come to love the fruit names!
My cat’s name is Kochka, which is Czech for cat. My family has decided if we get another cat we’ll pick another language’s word for cat as a name.
My super handsome tuxedo cat is Pierce Brosnan of course. I wish I could post a picture! His diluted calico sister is Smokie Cheddar (long gray hair) and the other calico sister is Sunshine Rainbow Circe. She was Circe until I discovered she had a sunshiney personality. The two sisters have a face divided into halves, orange and black(gray) on each side. Beautiful! They all have tuxedo white markings. They were alley cats and the distribution system worked for me! Love!!
So sweet. There are lots of dogs called Luna over here in the UK. Tripping over them. Figuratively!
Our canine floof is Sir Winston Churchill. Aka Churchie.
I think I’d be a bit afraid of a cat named Nosferatu. lol.
For some reason, I really love Sardine! And Cannoli. Leave the gun take the cannoli.
My cats are Freya and Hamlin. Freya is a fat diva who expects to be catered to as the goddess she is and Hamlin is my ADHD kitty. Hamlin is named after Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills safety whose heart stopped on the field. Hamlin and Freya are rescue cats so like Damar Hamlin they’re getting their second chances.
My beloved cat who passed last year at 16 was Spike. He was an orange cat whose hair on his spine wouldn’t lay flat, hence the name. And he was just as feral and psycho as the name suggests!
Freya the fat diva really made me smile. I’m not necessarily a cat person, having dogs growing up and now, but I think I’d warm to a solidly built cat to cuddle. Years ago, as a student, I was being shown round a house with rooms to rent. The house owner asked if I was OK with cats because her ginger cat was on the large side. Thinking ‘how big can a cat be’, I was amazed when this table of ginger fur and legs came marching towards us. It was like the size of a cocker spaniel. Massive. I’ve never seen a cat like it since.
I think the cat and dogs names are in the wrong order. The article mentions dog names, but then they are listed under Cats and vice versa
We had many, many (indoor!) cats growing up. At one point there were eight. Mom named them all after Shakespeare and other characters…. Oberon, Regan, Castor, Polix, Abalard, Trilby, Arabella…
Since I was little, all my family pets (mostly Irish Wolfhounds until I moved out) have been named for musicians. We’ve had 4 Keiths because it seemed lucky: Wolfies are one of the shortest-lived breeds, but the ones we’ve named Keith, like their namesake, have tended to live long past their “how are you still alive?!” dates.
After my husband and I got together, he really liked the musician theme, so our current dogs are Cash and Waylon (R.I.P. Willie and Kris), and one of our cats is Marianne (the other, adopted shortly after our first woman VP was elected, was named Kamala by my stepdaughter).
I think my favorite name for someone else’s pet was my English major ex’s cat, Mistress Quickly. But when she had kittens, he kept one and somehow DIDN’T name her Doll Tearsheet, which was so disappointing.
I loved reading this, Miranda. Cheered me up on a miserable day. You may be in the UK, in which case you’ll know it’s raining cats and dogs, day in, day out, at the moment!
My dog was named Puce, wich is french for Flea.