Choosing your puppy’s name is a crucial decision, considering it is a name that you and your new pet will be living with for a long time. Therefore, it deserves some contemplation. An excellent puppy name can actually enhance your dog’s responsiveness and improve communication between you over its lifetime. We have compiled the top 100+ most popular puppy names from American Kennel Club’s purebred registration and mixed-breed enrollment data for 2022 to assist you in gaining inspiration.
Trending Puppy Names
Just like baby names, puppy names also have their popularity rising and falling. The number of dogs named after “Frozen” characters rose 900 percent the year after that movie was released, so it’s possible that for a while you probably met more than one “Olaf” at the doggy daycare.
Names from books and television shows are always popular. Some of the top picks include:
Ghost (from “Game of Thrones”)
Loki (from the Disney universe of characters)
Thor (from Disney)
Kylo (from Disney)
Simba (from Disney)
Rip (from “Yellowstone”)
Maverick (from “Top Gun: Maverick”)
Goose (from “Top Gun: Maverick”)
Food and drink are also popular themes. On your daily walks, you may come across a dog named “Whiskey”, “Mochi”, or “Oreo”. Furthermore, at least 20% of dogs are given traditionally human names such as “Max”, “Cooper”, or “Charlie”, which rank high on our list. Music icons sometimes influence dog names as well, with “Bowie”, “Ziggy”, “Ozzy”, and “Prince” all making an appearance.
Sports figures are a perennial favorite (the year Derek Jeter retired from the New York Yankees, “Jeter” was in the top 10 male dog names), so it’s not surprising to see “Brady” make the list. Outdoor activity-inspired names such as “Ruger” or “Blaze” are another popular theme.
How to Choose the Right Male Dog Name
Dogs have an easier time hearing hard consonants and long vowels, making it easier for them to distinguish a name like “Lucky” or “Benny” from other sounds. Most dog training experts recommend a one- or two-syllable name that can be quickly pronounced. It is also commonly recommended to avoid male dog names that sound like commands, for example, “Kit”, which sounds like “sit”, or “Bo”, which sounds like “no”.
Choose a name for your male dog that you like to say (and that you won’t be embarrassed to yell across the park or put on a dog ID tag). You will be saying your male puppy’s name often over time, whether as a quick attention grabber or as part of their overall training and socialization.
Most Popular Boy Dog Names
| Max | Copper | Auggie |
| Milo | Dexter | Bubba |
| Cooper | Goose | Cosmo |
| Charlie | Gunner | Eddie |
| Teddy | Ozzy | Flynn |
| Tucker | Sam | Frank |
| Buddy | Cody | Lucas |
| Bear | Kobe | Zuko |
| Rocky | Shadow | Bowie |
| Leo | Ziggy | Captain |
| Loki | Atlas | Champ |
| Jack | Baxter | Dash |
| Koda | Prince | Frankie |
| Murphy | Gizmo | Luke |
| Oliver | Jackson | Niko |
| Ollie | Mac | Quinn |
| Bentley | Chance | Sammy |
| Zeus | Enzo | Stanley |
| Finn | Jake | Titan |
| Jax | Kai | Blu |
| Winston | Levi | Bodhi |
| Bruno | Riley | Brady |
| Archie | Walter | Brody |
| Louie | Bo | Chip |
| Duke | Lucky | Clyde |
| Blue | Rip | Doc |
| Jasper | Rocco | Duncan |
| Moose | Harley | Dutch |
| Beau | Kane | Eli |
| Apollo | Rusty | Huck |
| Ace | Boone | Louis |
| Benny | Buster | Mack |
| Hank | Coco | Parker |
| Maverick | River | Samson |
| Ranger | Roscoe | Sarge |
| Gus | Tyson | Scooby |
| King | Zeke | Simon |
| Toby | Chief | Sparky |
| Oakley | Ghost | Sunny |
| Scout | Marley | Taz |
| Ruger | Reggie | Asher |
| Bailey | Astro | Bernie |
| Simba | Boomer | Brutus |
| Chase | Elvis | Buzz |
| Odin | Kash | Chester |
| Otis | Lincoln | Dozer |
| Remi | Luca | Hudson |
| Bandit | Oreo | Kevin |
| Cash | Rex | Kylo |
| Henry | Sully | Mochi |
| Remy | Tank | Nash |
| Diesel | Wally | Nico |
| Theo | Axel | Oscar |
| Thor | Blaze | Otto |
| Whiskey | Finley | Ozzie |
| Arlo | Hunter | Rio |
| Benji | Maui | Rudy |
| Bruce | Obi | Rufus |
| George | Ryder | Stitch |
| Wyatt | Ted | |
| Watson | ||
| Willie |