Puppy Names

Updated on October 04, 2010
C.L. asks from Saint Paul, MN
19 answers

I know in the greater scheme of things this is an insignificant problem, but my family is getting a puppy in about a week and we are struggling to agree on a name for him. We've known about this puppy for almost two months now and have a list of names, but the four of us can't agree on anything. So, I am soliciting additional suggestions for our list. It is a male, Miniature Poodle (approx. 15-20 lbs. full grown) and cream colored. FYI, Poodles are German in origin (not French as often assumed) and were originally bred to be water dogs. His mother is an agility dog so he is expected to be athletic. I like names that are a little bit unique and not too trendy (e.g. my youngest son suggested "Yoshi" from the Mario video games, but I consider that trendy). It needs to be fairly simple; I'd like to keep it to one or two syllables. We had a dog that died in June at age 17, and his name was "Loki," the Norse God of mischief. He was a Jack Russell terrier and very mischevious in his younger days so the name suit him perfectly. We are struggling to compete with that! Thank you!

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So What Happened?

Our puppy is home now and we are probably going to name him "Remy." It is a name that wasn't even on our original list and has no particular significance or meaning except that I liked it, it seemed to fit him and 3 out of 4 family members agree on it. I like that it is short and simple too. I was reminded of the Ratatouille movie character and that's not why I picked it, but I'm o.k. with that connection. Turns out his breeder has had a Remy in the past. I didn't want to pursue the French connection (it is a French name) since poodles are German in origin, but French names do seem to fit them very well. Our younger son calls him "Furball" and is the only family member not completely on board with Remy so to appease him, the puppy's official name on his AKC registration papers will probably be "Furball Remy." He is going to be neutered and won't be a show or breeding dog so the official name doesn't really matter, except to us!

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D.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have a pompoo puppy and we named him Winston . . . the girls call him Winnie - short for Winnie the pompoo.

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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Maybe a movie or a character from a movie that you all enjoy. I have a Chihuahua named Sheriff. His name came from the Toy Story movie (part I). My roommates little boy loved the movie and wanted me to name my dog Sheriff Woody. I was not crazy about Sheriff Woody but I did like Sheriff and it stuck. Maybe try the movie route and see what you come up with. I agree that you should also wait and spend some time with the dog before naming it, his personality may speak to you. I love the idea of Yoshi that is creative. :)

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K.I.

answers from Seattle on

I think you should wait till the puppy comes home and see what fits!

When we got our dog I had a couple names picked out and we got him home and waited to see what fit. We have a Catahoula Leopard Dog/Rott mix...he is a big dog and we got him for the express purpose of having a guard dog...(thanks to being robbed)...so I picked names that would fit his breed and his purpose. My list included: The Major (from Green Street Hooligans), Master Chief (From Halo, our whole family loves that game and the Master chief is awesome) and Brooks (from Shawshank Redemption)...after assessing his personality, he is a big softy and is a very good and MELLOW dog I went with Brooks, because it fit! If you haven't seen the movie Brooks was the name of a old man who was an animal lover in the film.

I like 2 syllable names for dogs...even though Brooks is 1 syllable we call him "Brooksy" :)

Enjoy your new puppy...I LOVE my big dog, our family just wouldn't be the same without him!

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K.S.

answers from Washington DC on

Cindy,
Tonight at the dinner table my boys asked why we selected their names and what were the alternates. My oldest said he remembered wanting his youngest brother to be named after a dragonball z character, Goku. Eight years later, he still says it's his favorite name. So maybe your son's onto something.

Good luck and congratulations on the new addition to your family.

~K.

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

The thing about dog names is they can be anything from human to anything else. We had a dog named Tootsie because he was shaped like a tootsie roll.
Spend some time with your puppy and then decide. I also like the idea of places the names in the hat if you can't agree.
No matter what we name our animals, they always have nick names anyway that usually don't have anything to do with the actual name.

You'll come up with the right thing eventually.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

Take your list of names and everyone in the family gets to pick one favorite. Put your favorites in a hat and pull : ) Good luck!

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M.F.

answers from Minneapolis on

Since he's got the athletic trait in him, name him after a favorite sports celebrity. Or go even further yet with a German sports guy name, like one of their soccer players. Or how bout naming him after a character on a fav tv show the whole family likes?

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C.C.

answers from Fresno on

I'm a fan of theme names. Both of my daughters have French names, and both of our cats have flower names. So. In my book, you should name the dog Hermes or Mercury - after the Greek/Roman god with wings on his feet. Good for an agility dog. Of course, I've known poodles for whom Ares would have been a good name...

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L.S.

answers from Spokane on

I say you actually live with the puppy for a couple of days before you name him. Who knows? One of you may just randomly call him something and it will stick!

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T.F.

answers from San Francisco on

Emo which means serious. I got this off of fundognames.com. We have a dog named Bentley, had a dog Sparky, know of dogs named Cosmo, Bear, Indy, Yogi, Good Luck!

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C.W.

answers from Santa Barbara on

This probably won't be much help but we name after human names, although they always end up getting a ton of nicknames. We currently have Kaycie and Jill for our dogs and Max, Emma and Baby for the cats (the last one is just so small that "Baby" stuck. Good luck picking the right name and many years of companionship with your little guy!

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E.M.

answers from Chicago on

Watching a terrible football game & decided to do some online research for you! How about these:

Baltic (sea that borders Germany)
Saxon (member of the ancient Germanic tribe)
Triton (Mythology -- messenger of the sea, also name of one of Neptune's moons)

Post again with your family's decision!

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

One of my granddogs - a Norwegian Elkhound - is named Loki. He has an Elkhound brother named Odin.

If this fellow is athletic, can you name him after a favorite athlete of the family? (That'll be funny if this dog turns out to be a couch potato).

Or you can do what I did with a cat - the family couldn't agree on a name, so I christened him Anonymous (Nonny for short). Of course, then the next two kitties that showed up (our cats come to us) ended up being Miscellaneous (Missy) and Et Cetera (Cetty).

Then there's the old story about the lady with the two little dogs named "Hey You!" and Who, Me?"

Have fun!

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L.H.

answers from Milwaukee on

Have you met the puppy yet? Have you seen how he acts? You may want to bring him home and play with him for a little while. My brother-in-law had a dog he named tripper because he tripped over his huge feet when he was a puppy. He did grow into his feet by the way.
Name him Hermes. I don't think I have heard of a dog names that.
Honestly I think you should wait and see what his personality is like.

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M.B.

answers from St. Louis on

Our dogs name is Bailey. I used to have a little dog name Dinky..lol

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Well I have Huckle--cat Berry--cat Finn--dog
THen we have Becky--dog Sugar--dog Spice--cat
And Manny--Praying mantis
Friends of mine had Darth--cat and Vader--dog both black
Go to your favorite author or book as a teen.
Another friend Bronte--dog

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L.M.

answers from Seattle on

Some thing to do with water? U said they are a water dog.. I see u live in mn maybe after your favorite lake.. or polo or sailor...
Best of luck :)

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S.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

Our bishon we called Napolean for his big personality and small size and outgoingness. Our new dog is MaltiPoo and we called his Leonardo D.
But later thought of Leo the Lion. He is a small dog up to 10 lbs.
And much like a poodle than a maltese.

Good luck with naming him!

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K.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

ya know its kinda best to wait until you get him home an see what his personality is-ive got 3 rescues 2 dogs 1 cat...i had to rename them-then my min pin had puppys on 4th of july-of course i had to keep one..she was the fattest of all-her name is tubby...
congrats on the new family member...good luck

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