What are the Southeastern Guide Dogs most popular dog names?
Here at Dog O’Day, we know the pawfect name is one of the most fun and (impawtant) parts of getting a new puppy. So it’s fun to dig into the Southeastern Guide Dogs most popular dog names list and look into the etymology, which will come from Bruce Lansky’s 1998 book The Very Best Baby Name Book in the Whole Wide World, because it really is the best.
No. 10 – Penny
A penny is, of course, one cent, in addition to being a nickname for “Penelope,” who is a character from Greek mythology (Odysseus’s wife).
Famous Dog Twitter celebrities with the name Penny include historian Canadian Penny and Penny Lane (of lawn potato fame), and Brain’s owner, the niece of Riverton policeman John Brown, is also named Penny in the Inspector Gadget movies (Penny was played by Michelle Trachtenberg and Caitlin Wachs).
No. 9 – Angel
Angels are typically thought of as comforting, soft guardians, though they are depicted in scriptures as fearsome warriors. A guide dog ideally will be a combination of the two, though as big fans of Joss Whedon works, we like to think of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer character played by David Boreanaz who got his own spinoff detective show.
No. 8 – Faith
Faith is, by definition, “trust or confidence in someone or something,” so it is a good name for a guide dog to possess.
Faith is also the name of Eliza Dushku’s Buffy/Angel character, and the name of an important character in the late Anne of Green Gables books, in addition to being a fairly popular human name.
No. 7 – Lucy
According to Lansky, “Lucy” comes from Latin for “light” or “bringer of light,” which honestly makes a lot of sense in this context.
Famous Lucys throughout history and pop culture include Lucille Ball, Lucy Lawless, Lucy Hale, Lucy Van Pelt from Peanuts and Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Narnia.
No. 6 – Annie
Anne (also spelled Ann) comes from either “Anna,” which is either English or Latin for “gracious,” or “Hannah,” which comes from Hebrew and means the same thing.
Annie just radiates friendliness and good cheer; it’s hard to imagine an Annie not helping someone if they needed it, so it’s no wonder that it’s a popular guide dog name.
Famous Annies (or close to it) include novelist Anne Bronte, children’s novelist Anne Marrow Lindbergh, much royalty throughout history, and teacher Anne Sullivan.
Other famous fictional Annies include the lead character from the musical of the same name (which Sir Winston Da Doodle starred in during a local production last summer), Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables series of novels, Catherine Hicks’ matriarch in the 90s drama 7th Heaven, Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s role as Annie Banks in the Father of the Bride movies, and Rashida Jones’ character of Ann Perkins from Parks and Rec.