Popular pet names

The importance of pet names

When someone enquires about commissioning me for a pet portrait, I always love to ask the name of the pet. Whether it's a dog, cat, horse, or any other animal, pet names serve a purpose beyond mere labels. They are a reflection of the unique relationship we share with our pets and play a significant role in strengthening the bond between us.

A name often expresses the love and affection we have for our pets and are a key part of how we establish a personal connection with them. The names we choose can embody the unique qualities and characteristics we love about our them, from “Fluffy” to “Fred” or “Felix,” these names become an integral part of our daily interactions reinforcing the emotional bond we share.

From the pet’s side of things, names help them connect and respond to us too. It’s more noticeable with dogs than cats of course, but they usually learn to distinguish their names from the rest of our speech, even if they choose to ignore it at times!

Many of my clients commission me to draw pets that have sadly passed away. Their names have come to hold cherished memories, serving as a reminder of the love, joy, and companionship they brought into our lives. I am occasionally asked to write the name of a pet under their portrait along with their dates to help commemorate their legacy. It’s a very special moment when I complete a portrait in this way.

As I have now been commissioned for almost 100 pet portraits, I thought it would be interesting to look back at all their names, see if there are any particularly popular or unusual ones among them and pick out a few personal favourites.

Favourite dog names

Of the 60 or so dogs that I’ve been asked to draw, the most popular name has been Charlie. I have drawn three Charlies with another one coming up. That’s actually not that surprising as this cute name is one of the most popular and usually appears high up in lots of dog name charts. You can see my most recent Charlie below. The next most popular dog names among my clients are Bailey, Poppy and Buddy. I have had the pleasure of drawing two of each of these.

There have been some unusual dog names too, like Calliope. In Greek methodology Calliope is the daughter of Zeus, and is the goddess of music, song, and dance. Apparently the word means “beautiful voiced.” Another one I hadn't heard before was Paloma. It means “dove” and in Greek mythology these birds symbolise grace and serenity. (It is also a cocktail — 1 part Tequila three parts grapefruit soda!)

If I had to choose, my favourite dog names so far (in no particular order) would be Hope, Coconut and Daisy. Hope is such a positive name, capturing something of how dogs can be such comforting and encouraging companions in difficult times. Coconut is just a wonderfully cute name, but it also fitted the dog really well as it was so white and fluffy. You can see Coconut below. Daisy has always been one of my favourite names, and when I was a child I used to have a soft toy dog called Daisy.

If you wanted to search for popular pet names for different breads, you can do so at FidoAlert using their data base of over 1.3 million pets.

Favourite cat names

Interestingly, out of almost 30 cats there are no duplicate name so far, but there are some wonderfully unique and creative ones. You can see Megatron below, named after the transformer who says in one of the comic books that his name means something like “great bomb” (mega-[neu]tron [bomb]). I’ve drawn lots other cats whose names were full of character such are Spider, Pooter-bum, Forest, Candy and Iris. They are all such lovely names but if I had to pick out three favourites they would be Rizzle, Pickle and Tiger. Rizzle is such a fun mischievous sounding name. I like Pickle because cats often get into a bit of a pickle, and Tiger reminds me of a neighbour’s cat who went by that name and who made friends with us before we had our own cat.

Conclusion

Apart from lots of cats and dogs, I’ve had the pleasure of drawing a couple of rabbits called Sonny and Vito, and a horse called Maddie. I’m really looking forward to hearing more of your pets’ names and capturing their unique personalities for you on paper, so please do get in touch and let me know who you’d like me to draw next!