The most popular dog names of 2017

Naming a pet is hard. Maybe that’s why most owners chose people names? Dog O’Day presents, with etymology, the top ten most popular dog names of 2017 for both male and female dogs ahead of National Dog Day.

So you just got a dog. That’s great! But…what are you going to name him/her?

The folks at Rover.com collected the most popular dog names of 2017 (the most recent year statistics are available) and broke them down into a handy graphic.

But what good is a graphic if you don’t dive into the etymology and origins of a name? That’s where Dog O’Day comes in.

Max is the No. 1 most popular male name, while Bella is the most popular female name. According to Bruce Lansky’s 1998 Very Best Baby Name Book in the Whole Wide World, Max is short for either Maximilian, which is Latin for “greatest,” or Maxwell, which is of English origin and means “great spring.” Bella is short for Isabella, which is a Spanish derivative of Elizabeth, meaning “consecrated to God.”

At No. 2 we have Charlie and Lucy, who are, of course, two of the cast of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts. Charlie is short for Charles, by the way, which means either “farmer” (German)  or “strong and manly” (English). Lucy comes from Latin, meaning “light” or “bringer of light.”

Cooper and Daisy are No. 3, and are both fairly self-explanatory – a cooper makes barrels, and a daisy is a wildflower.

Buddy and Luna are No. 4, and there’s another Latin origin of a name – Luna comes from the word for “moon.” (Hopefully your Luna is not a lunatic.) Buddy gets a great boost from the lead character of the Air Bud film franchise about an athletic Golden Retriever.

Jack and Lola are No. 5, Jack being a derivative of John, which comes from Hebrew meaning “God is gracious.” Lola is Spanish, a shortened form of Dorlores, Carlotta or Louise.

At No. 6 we find Rocky and Sadie, and while these names have been popular for dogs for what seems like forever, to modern ears they get a pop-cultural boost from Rocky Balboa and Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson.

At No. 7 we come across Oliver and Molly, Oliver coming either from Latin with a straightforward meaning – “olive tree” – or of Scandinavian origin meaning “kind and affectionate.” Molly is of Irish descent, a form of the Hebrew Mary, which according to Lasky means “bitter.”

Bear and Maggie are ranked No. 8. Some large breeds can look like bears if you aren’t paying attention, and there is also legendary Texas A&M/Alabama football coach Bear Bryant and TV personality Bear Grylls if you hope to inspire a sense of greatness and/or adventure in your pup. Maggie is a more common version of the Greek Magdalen, meaning “high tower,” and can often be a shortened form of Margaret.

Duke and Bailey are No. 9 – A duke is, of course, a form of royalty, and John Wayne’s nickname, in addition to potentially being a reference to the North Carolina university. Bailey is a unisex name, though I tend to see it as more feminine. It’s French in origin and means “steward.”

Closing out the Top 10 are Tucker and Sophie. Tucker is Old English of rather uncertain meaning, though the best I can figure out means, “one who pleats cloth,” so it would be a tailoring term. It might also refer to blacksmithing and the production of weapons. Sophie is a common nickname for Sophia, which is Greek in origin and means “wise.”

Also of interest: the first non-human female name is Pepper at No. 33, while Lady is all the way down in No. 38, while for the boys, Snoopy didn’t even crack the Top 100.

Fans of mythology also put Athena, Apollo, Thor, Loki and Odin inside the Top 100.

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