The most popular pet names and naming trends of 2023 are revealed

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Rover.com, an online marketplace for pet care, has released the 11th annual Top Pet Names Report. The report analyzes millions of user-submitted pet names that were provided on Rover.com by pet owners and breaks down the most influential trends of 2023.

According to the organizational release, this year's list highlights multiple pop culture moments that occurred in 2023 with pet owners naming their pets after athletes, movies, food, and millennial nostalgia. For example,¹ Taylor Swift-related pet names soared in 2023 with the name Taylor increasing 21%, Swift trending up 133% for cats, and Swiftie make its' list debut for dogs.

“The names we give to our pets reflect what’s happening in the world around us—from trending TV shows, important public figures, and even social media trends—and 11 years into the campaign, this trend is still going strong,” said Kate Jaffe, trend expert at Rover, in the release.¹ “A lot happened in 2023 and the names we lovingly chose for our pets reflect the most memorable moments. From strong female leads, to blockbuster hits, our favorite comfort foods and nostalgic pop culture icons, this year’s list suggests we’re all after a little extra comfort right now.”

Rover.com shared that the number most popular dog name is Charlie, which beat the name Max for the first time since the report began. Luna remained the number one name for female dogs and cats while Oliver took home the title of top male cat name in 2023.

The data also showed a lot of owners named their pets after professional athletes. The top trending dog name in the United States, up 135%, is Kelce, which is likely inspired by brothers Jason and Travis Kelce,² both professional football players in the NFL with one of them, Travis, having a budding relationship with Taylor Swift. Players on the United States Women’s National Soccer team had multiple names trending, including Dunn—honoring Crystal Dunn—and Megan—in recognition of Megan Rapinoe. Sue Bird, a player in the Women’s National Basketball Association, and her wife, Rapinoe, also made the list for the first time.

Other pop culture events influenced pet names such as Wednesday Addams, which was trending up 297%, Barbie is up 23% for cats, Ken is trending almost 80% for dogs, and Mattel made its first appearance on the dog’s name list. Other pet owners paid tribute to more nostalgic times with Drew Barrymore trending at 297% for dogs, Furby up 27%, and the names Shania Twain, Richard Gere, Fergie, Shakira, Avril, and Leonardo Dogcaprio all made the list for the first time.

Pet owners in 2023 also named their pets after food items with Beer trending up 330% for dogs, Green Bean trending 217%, and Cheerios up 198%. There were first for food-related pet names with Prosecco, Gogurt, Pudding Pop, Chili Cheese, Eggys Benedict, Pastrami, Boursin, and Everything Bagel making their debut on the list.

To uncover the top names, the report was created by Rover between September and October 2023 with results based on an analysis of millions of names submitted by pet parents using Rover.com. Rover also complied Top Pet names for Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.

Reference

Rover Reveals Most Popular Pet Names and Trends of 2023. News release. Rover.com. November 14, 2023. Accessed December 21, 2023. https://www.rover.com/blog/press-release/top-pet-names-2023/