This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
The post The 15 Most Popular Dog Names of the Year first appeared on Crafting Your Home
Every year, millions of new dog owners stand in a living room, staring at a wriggling puppy and hoping the perfect name will simply arrive. Most of them end up choosing from the same short list. U.S. News & World Report updated its ranking of the 100 most popular dog names in America in July, and Bella took back the top spot from Luna.
The ranking rests on more than half a million data points from a pet insurance industry partner, covering names registered from January 2022 through June 2026.
The top 15 tells a bigger story than a simple popularity contest. Names now move through pop culture, baby name trends, and even the movie theater, and the differences between rankings show how quickly tastes shift.
A quick note before the countdown: other lists use different data and don’t always agree with this one. Where they differ in a meaningful way, we mention it below.
Bella
Bella returns to No. 1 in the U.S. News ranking, and its lead is broad. Bella was the unanimous top name in 25 states, including Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania, and tied for first in two more.
A Rover analysis suggests its rise began around 2009, the year after the first Twilight book became a bestseller, though the name also simply means beautiful in Italian. That double appeal, a pop culture link plus a sweet meaning, helps explain why it has stayed near the top for well over a decade.
Luna
Luna is a very close second, and it swaps places with Bella depending on who is counting. It was the unanimous leader in 12 states, including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.
Rover’s 2025 rankings put it first overall, and an August 2026 report on insured pets aged two or younger said Luna had overtaken Bella among the youngest dogs. Pet owners cite the moon, the Harry Potter character Luna Lovegood, and the cat in Sailor Moon as inspirations, according to Rover.
Max
A steady favorite, Max holds third place. Newsweek reported on Rover’s data that Charlie replaced Max as the most popular male dog name in 2023, so this name no longer leads every list, but it remains a top-five pick on most rankings.
Nameberry notes that Max is also among the popular male dog names that double as human names, which fits a larger pattern in how people name pets today.
Coco
This is the biggest comeback story of the top five. Coco moved back into the top five for the first time since 2023. Short, sweet, and easy to shout across a park, it also ranks in the top ten on Rover’s 2025 list at No. 9, showing the name’s appeal isn’t tied to a single dataset.
Daisy
The name has an unusually long history in entertainment. U.S. News traces its popularity back to the late 1930s, when a dog in the Blondie film series carried the name. Decades later, the first John Wick film introduced a beagle named Daisy, and a Shih Tzu named Daisy appeared in the second Secret Life of Pets film.
Nameberry also lists Daisy among the female dog names that are common for babies, alongside Bella, Lucy and Lily. Rover’s 2025 list ranks it fourth, slightly higher than in this ranking, so the name sits comfortably in the top five under either method, which is a rare kind of consistency.
Milo
Milo shows up near the top in the United States and abroad. Time Out reported that Teddy and Milo led the male dog names in Australia for another year, so the name’s charm crosses borders. Nameberry lists it as a popular male dog name that is also common for boys, so it fits the trend of dogs sharing names with children.
Buddy
Buddy looks different depending on the source. It is No. 7 in the U.S. News ranking, yet Rover’s 2025 top 100 places it at No. 19. That gap is a good reminder that no single national census of dog names exists, and each list draws on its own pool of pets, whether insured dogs, registered dogs, or users of a pet-care platform.
Lucy
Lucy holds eighth place, and Nameberry counts it among the female dog names that are also popular for babies. Rover’s 2025 list ranks it sixth, meaning the name performs slightly better in that dataset. Like Daisy and Bella, it falls into the group of soft, friendly names owners often choose for family pets.
Charlie
Charlie is the rare name that works for any dog. Newsweek reported it as the most popular male name on Rover’s list, replacing Max in 2023.
Vice noted that the name appears in the top 10 for dogs and the top 200 for both baby boys and baby girls, showing how thoroughly the line between pet names and children’s names has blurred over the past few decades.
Lola
Daily Paws observed that people seem to love dog names ending in the letter A, and it listed Lola among the favorites, along with Bella, Nala, Stella and Nova. The outlet added that many trainers recommend two-syllable names because they are easy for dogs to learn and easy to call out in a hurry.
Rover’s 2022 report found that every name in its top 10 for female dogs had two syllables, supporting the idea that a name’s rhythm matters as much as its meaning. Lola fits that pattern neatly, with a bright, bouncy sound that carries well across a yard or a dog park.
Bear
This is the highest-ranking animal name on the list, and it belongs to a growing group. Animal names such as Bear and Moose appear in the top 100, and the name Dog itself lands at No. 86, just ahead of Moose. Nameberry adds that even animal names are now used for babies, so Bear moves easily between kennel and nursery.
Rocky
Rover dog trainer Nicole Ellis told Newsweek that names such as Rocky, Loki and Maverick in the top 100 are telling, because adults who get to name a pet often draw on favorite movies, actors and pop culture heroes.
Rocky is her first example, and it is a fitting one. The name carries a scrappy, underdog charm that suits a dog with a big personality.
Teddy
A soft, cuddly name that suits plush, fluffy pups, Teddy is No. 13 here and one of the two names leading the male rankings in Australia, according to Time Out.
Nameberry also lists it among the male dog names that overlap with common human names. Its appeal is easy to see, since it sounds affectionate before the dog has even done anything.
Cooper
Cooper has remained a steady favorite. Rover’s 2022 report ranked it third among male dogs, and its 2025 list places it eighth overall. Nameberry lists it with Max, Milo, and Teddy as popular male dog names that are also human names. It is a good example of a surname-style name that has moved from the baby aisle to the dog park.
Molly
The final spot goes to a name that shows how much local taste matters. Molly ranks 15th in the U.S. News list and 31st in Rover’s 2025 top 100, and Time Out reported that in Australia it dropped out of the female top ten, replaced by Willow. A name can be a top-15 favorite in one place and a slipping classic in another.
Conclusion
Look at the full picture and a few themes stand out. Owners like short, warm names with two syllables. They borrow from movies, books, and baby name charts, and they increasingly treat pets like children.
The wider top 100 also includes Greek mythology names such as Zeus, Lion King characters such as Nala, and even a few state surprises, with Koa leading in Hawaii and Barron in Montana. Whatever the ranking says, the most important test is simple. If a name sounds right when you call it across the yard, it is probably the right one.
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