This dog name is the most popular, US report finds. Which others made the list?

Simone Jasper
·2 min read
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Dog owners can’t get enough of one name, and now it ranks as the most popular in the country.

Bella ranks No. 1 and Luna No. 2 on a list of top names given to pups, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 360 Reviews, which focuses on consumer research.

“It turns out we love a lot of the same dog names — and Fido nor Spot nor Rover even made the top 100 list,” Scott Nyerges, senior editor of 360 Reviews, wrote in a Nov. 6 news release. “Instead, Americans in 2023 are big fans of name references from books in modern pop culture and ancient mythology.”

So, which other names for furry friends rank among the nation’s most common? Rounding out the top five were:

  • Max at No. 3

  • Daisy at No. 4

  • Charlie at No. 5

To create its list, U.S. News told McClatchy News it partnered with Compare Pet Insurance Services, Inc., which runs an online comparison tool at petinsurer.com. Using data from more than 800,000 pets, the website studied the most common names for dogs in each state and across the country.

The website mentions in its report that Bella is the name of the main character in the “Twilight” series of books and films. “Luna is also a character in the ‘Harry Potter’ world, but the name is rooted in Roman mythology as the divine personification of the moon.”

Nationwide, about 5% of dogs are named Bella. In addition to reigning supreme on a national scale, Bella was the top name in 37 states and Luna was the most popular in eight. But some other states bucked the trend.

“Copper is the top dog name in Alaska, while Boo is most popular in Hawaii,” U.S. News wrote in its report. “Lucy is the top favorite in Iowa, and Charlie is most popular in Nebraska and North Dakota.”

The nationwide results might not be a big surprise, as Luna, Max, Bella and Charlie ranked as the top dog names in a similar report that the online pet-care resource Rover.com published in November 2022.

On the more recent U.S. News list, the other names in the top 10 were:

  • Coco at No. 6

  • Buddy at No. 7

  • Lucy at No. 8

  • Milo at No. 9

  • Bailey at No. 10

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