Photo by Alexandra Bilham from Pexels
LONDON — Forget Fido and Spot, American pet owners are giving their fur babies much more human names in 2023. A new study looked at the naming trends among both dog and cat owners across the nation, finding that Luna and Charlie top the list of the most popular pet names nationwide.
The 2023 Pet Names Study, commissioned by TrustedHousesitters in honor of National Pet Month, looked at more than 50,000 pet names registered on their platform. Researchers sorted them by species (dog or cat), popularity, and region.
Among dog owners, Charlie beat out Cooper as this year's top dog name, followed by Max, Lucy, and Bella. Meanwhile, Charlie topped Leo as the cat's meow among feline pet owners. Max, Sophie, and Stella rounded out the top five for cats. Simply put, you're probably going to run into several cute and furry Charlies if you're taking a summer road trip this year!
Each state has their favorite too!
While Charlie and Luna may be the king and queen of America's pet parade, it turns out pet names also vary as you travel from state to state. This year, researchers found that Lucy is actually the top choice among dog owners in eight different states, stretching from New York to California. Down south, Daisy was top choice for dogs in Texas and Florida.
When it comes to cats, Luna was the most popular name in an impressive 15 different states, ranging from Maine to Florida on the East Coast, to California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast. While plenty of cat names were pretty standard — like Jack, Max, and Sam — many residents in Indiana chose a very interesting name for their cats — Boo.
Pick a name out of the fridge?
For dog and cat owners, picking a name can sometimes be the hardest part of being a new pet parent. The study found plenty of Americans are turning to their kitchen for inspiration!
In fact, 13 percent of cat owners named their pet after a food or drink. The most popular food-inspired names included Pepper, Ginger, Honey, Cookie, and Peanut.
Just like parents who name their kids after cities and towns like Paris and Brooklyn, the study finds dog owners love naming their pup Aspen. Meanwhile, cat owners prefer Salem if they're looking at a map for inspiration.
Would you rather turn to Hollywood for a new pet name? No problem! The top fictional characters cat owners name their pets after are Tigger, Simba, Zelda, Chester, and Thor. Dog owners prefer Winnie, Zeus, Gizmo, Thor, and Mickey.
