The Most Trendy Puppy Names
Published on January 11, 2016
Trendy puppy names alert. We love having our finger on the pulse of the hottest pet name data, and while keeping tabs on the most popular puppy and kitten names of the year is certainly a good start, we like to take it a step further each year and look into which names are the trendiest.
What’s the difference between a popular puppy name and a trendy one, you ask? Simple. We determine the most popular puppy names by looking at the number of pups born in a single year and the names they were given.
To calculate the trendiest names, we take a longer view and look at pet names over the space of ten years to see which ones have increased in popularity.
To do this, we worked with Nationwide Pet Insurance, who provided us with the most popular male and female puppy names of 2005. Then, we compared the dog names on the 2005 list to our 2015 popular puppy name list to see which names were on the rise. Those that climbed the most ranked as the trendiest names of the year!
Trendy Puppy Names — and Why People Love Them
As we examined our list of trending names, we noticed a few… well, trends among them.
Celebrities, Characters and Pop Culture: Many of the names that are increasing in popularity can be found in books, movies and TV shows. Luna Lovegood is a character in the Harry Potter books and movies; a main character in Orange Is the New Black goes by Piper; and Jax was the name of a main character in the hit TV show Sons of Anarchy. The adorable Frenchie on Modern Family is named Stella; you most likely recognize Thor and Loki as characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and Penny is a beloved main character on the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Bruno’s rise in popularity may have something to do with Bruno Mars’ hand in one of the year’s biggest musical hits, Uptown Funk; Bo is almost definitely tied to the name of the first family’s first dog; and, of course, there’s Elsa, the ice queen of Frozen herself!
Masculine and Feminine Tones: With a few exceptions (like Piper, Willow, Blue and Lucky), the trendiest names tend to be strongly masculine or feminine. Zeus, Thor, Gunner, Diesel, Tank, Bruno and Ace are all fairly macho monikers, and Luna, Stella, Dixie, Penny, Zoey, Ellie, Mia or Ella are traditionally female names.
Have you seen an uptick in any of these names in your area? Be sure to come back in a few days when we share the puppy names on a downward trend!
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- What’s Hot in 2016? Our Pet Name Predictions
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