Curious about the most popular names for medium-size dog breeds? You’re not the only one! We’ve already shared the top names for large dog breeds, and now we have data for medium dogs, too!
Top Female Names: Molly, Maggie, Sadie Top Male Names: Buddy, Max, Jake
No. 9: Cocker Spaniel
Top Female Names: Lady, Molly, Buffy Top Male Names: Buddy, Max, Charlie
No. 8: English Springer Spaniel
Top Female Names: Molly, Maggie, Lady Top Male Names*: Max, Duke
No. 7: Brittany
Top Female Names: Molly, Maggie, Brittany Top Male Names: Jake, Buddy, Rusty
No. 6: Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Top Female Names: Maggie, Molly, Lucy Top Male Names: Buddy, Max, Toby
No. 5: Shetland Sheepdog
Top Female Names: Lady, Shelby, Sadie Top Male Names: Buddy, Max, Cody
No. 4: Dachshund (Standard)
Top Female Names: Daisy, Lucy, Molly Top Male Names: Oscar, Max, Buddy
No. 3: French Bulldog
Top Female Names: Lola, Bella, Lucy Top Male Names: Louie, Max, Winston
No. 2: Beagle
Top Female Names: Daisy, Molly, Lucy Top Male Names: Buddy, Max, Buster
No. 1: Bulldog
Top Female Names: Bella, Daisy, Lola Top Male Names: Tank, Max, Winston
Common Names
Molly and Maggie, two female names that were enormously popular for large breeds, were also common among medium ones: Molly had seven top-three appearances, and Maggie had four (alongside Molly each time). Lucy also made the top three for four breeds.
When it comes to male names for medium-size breeds, it’s all about Buddy and Max. Buddy made the top three for seven breeds (with an impressive No. 1 spot for five of them). Though Max claimed only one No. 1 spot, he was the No. 2 pick for eight of our top 10 medium breeds. Every other top-three name ranked that highly for only one or two breeds.
Though several names appeared within the top 10 for nine breeds (like Molly, Maggie and Lucy), only one name nabbed a top-10 spot for all 10 medium breeds: Max, which just so happened to be the most popular male puppy name of 2014. Bella, the most popular female puppy name last year, didn’t fare quite as well on this list, claiming a top-10 spot for just six breeds.
Fitting and Far Between
Some of the most interesting results came from the Bulldog — both the regular and the French varieties. Winston was a top-three name for both the Bulldog and the French Bulldog (but did not make the top 10 for any other medium breed), thanks to Winston Churchill’s nickname, "The British Bulldog." These two breeds offered more than just Winston though — Tank was another name that the breeds shared with only each other (No. 1 for Bulldogs and No. 5 for Frenchies). And the Frenchie had one more exclusive moniker: Louie, likely referring to the infamous French king of the same name. (Fun fact: French Bulldogs were popularized in France but actually originated in England.)
The only female name that claimed a top spot for just one breed was Brittany, which was the No. 3 name for — you guessed it — the Brittany.
Perhaps the most fitting name of all went to the Dachshund, which had the top name of Oscar, a name not seen on any other breed’s top-10 list. Perfect for a wiener dog, wouldn’t you say?
Housekeeping Details*
One anomaly we’re compelled to call out is the English Springer Spaniel. Due to the method of collection, this data set had substantially fewer entries than other breeds did. This resulted in an unusual five-way tie for the No. 3 male name, which did not seem true to the nature of the data, and, therefore, we elected to include just the top two male names for that breed.
