The Top 10 American Dog Names of 2018
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There are trends in dog names that come and go in much the same manner as trends in human names. As a result, it can be a lot of fun to look through them, which explains why there is enough interest for people to draw up lists of the most used dog names in particular years. Here are the top 5 names used for both male and female American dogs in 2018:
5. Jack and Lola
Jack has been a very common name for a very long time. For those who are curious, it started up as a nickname for John in the Middle Age, though the path by which this happened is rather convoluted. In short, John produced Johnkin, which turned into Jankin and then Jackin and then Jack. At some point along the way, Jack became so common that it turned into a slang word meaning “man,” which makes it no wonder that people now see it as an independent name in its own right.
Meanwhile, Lola might sound fun, but its meaning isn’t. This is because Lola comes from the Spanish Dolores, which means “sorrows.” As for why anyone would want to name someone Dolores, well, it is important to note that it came from the title María de los Dolores, meaning “Mary of Sorrows.” Due to this, it was common for Spanish people to have either María Dolores or even the full María de los Dolores included in their personal names.
4. Buddy and Daisy
Buddy means, well, exactly what it sounds like. As a result, there can be no better name than for man’s best friend, which is why Buddy has seen use for so many dogs from so many backgrounds.
Amusingly, Daisy has very positive connotations as well, seeing as how it was once used as a slang word for something that people considered to be either “best” or “wonderful.” On top of this, it should be noted that the flower represented everything from purity and innocence to true love, which makes it a natural choice for dogs.
3. Cooper and Luna
Cooper started out as an occupational family name. For those who are unfamiliar, coopers are people who make barrels, which involved a fair amount of expertise and experience because even small mistakes could lead to a poorly-made barrel that can’t hold what it is supposed to. Nowadays, coopers aren’t particularly common because we have better ways of making containers, but their influence lives on in the form of people carrying the name.
In contrast, Luna means “moon” in Latin. Furthermore, Luna was a representation of the moon in Roman mythology, though there was sufficient mixing that it can be rather difficult to untangle the Roman Luna from the Roman Diana. Regardless, Luna is a beautiful name, which is why it is seeing increased use for both dogs and humans.
2. Charlie and Lucy
Often times, Charlie is used as a nickname for Charles. However, it is important to note that Charlie and Charles can have very different meanings because while the two come from related sources, there was sufficient divergence in those sources to produce important differences in meaning. In short, Charlie means “free man” whereas Charles means “man.” Amusingly, Charlie has transformed into a unisex name in modern times, which is why it actually sees more use for baby girls than baby boys in the United States. So far, dog naming hasn’t seen the same transformation, but it will be interested to see what happens in the future.
Lucy is another name with a long, distinguished history. After all, it is a particularly affectionate version of an entire collection of names that mean “light,” with examples including but not limited to Lucia, Lucille, Lucius, and Lucian. Nowadays, Lucy can stand on its own, but there are cases when it gets used as a nickname for something similar but not quite the same.
1. Max and Bella
Max might sound simple and down to earth, but in Roman times, it wouldn’t be pretty pretentious for anyone other than the Fabii Maximi to use the name. This is because Max comes from Maximus, meaning “greatest.” With that said, while Maximus might be a bit pretentious for humans, it and its derivatives are perfect for dogs because they are some of the greatest friends that we can ever have.
Bella literally means “beautiful.” However, there is a good chance that people are naming their dogs Bella not just because of its meaning but also because of the success of the Twilight series, which produced a notable upswing in the use of the name because Bella Swann was its protagonist.
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