CLEVELAND, Ohio – The name given to a dog from a Cuyahoga County pet owner says something about their relationship with their pet.
Some dogs are named after famous people, others after characters in books, movies, and mythology, and more share a name with a favorite food item or a memorable place.
Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer sorted through nearly 52,000 names contained in Cuyahoga County’s dog license registry for 2024.
Many are among those identified by the American Kennel Club as the most popular for male and female dogs across the United States.
Without further introduction, here are the top 10 names:
1. Bella – 598 dogs. More than 100 others are named Belle, Bella Rose, Bellatrix, Annabelle, Isabelle or Isabella.
2. Luna – 435. Another 6 were named Moon.
3. Daisy – 431. Dozens had other floral names like Daffodil, Lily and Rose.
4. Charlie – 418. Some Charlies had full names, like the cartoon Charlie Brown and the country musician Charlie Daniels.
5. Lucy – 400. Several variations of Lucy Liu, like the actress’s name, were found. They include Lucy Lu, Lucy Lou, and Lucy-Lou.
6. Buddy – 397. Another seven were more informal, just having the name Bud.
7. Max – 381. More than 100 dogs were given an extended name of Maximus, Maxwell, Maxine or Maximillian.
8. Bailey – 347. Other variations include Bailee, Baily and Bailey.
9. Cooper – 321. One heroic dog is also named Super Cooper, while a more business-minded canine is addressed as Mr. Cooper.
10. Molly – 311. Another six dogs were properly addressed as Miss Molly.
Other dog names, while not as popular, could be grouped into various categories.
Foods
Ginger reigns supreme for food-based names, and surely a couple of red-haired dogs. But other food names include Pepper, Peanut, Olive, Honey, Oreo, Cookie, Cocoa, Brownie, Biscuit, Peaches, Chip, and Bean.
Animals
Name an animal after another animal. Many dogs are named Bear. One was named Beluga. Others include Kitty, Flounder, Newt and Cleveland’s favorite pest: Midge.
Stories and screens
Rocky just missed the top 10 with 248 dogs named after Sylvester Stallone’s boxer character. Another titular movie character name comes from Disney’s Coco, responsible for 240 names. The Lion King characters Simba and Nala made numerous appearances, as well as Norse gods Thor and Loki, most recently made famous anew by Marvel. And one dog was even named Beetlejuice.
Famous people
A bulldog named Brad Pitt. A mixed retriever named Beethoven. A cocker spaniel named Bob Marley.
Traditional
Among nearly 52,000 dogs, there are three named Rover and just one – a miniature poodle – named Fido.
Zachary Smith is the data reporter for cleveland.com. You can reach him at zsmith@cleveland.com.
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