The UK’s favourite dog names have been revealed in a new poll, which suggests that while some remain eternally popular, a new wave of coronavirus-related monikers have entered the charts.
Conducted by pet insurer Agria, the research found that, for male dogs, “Teddy”, “Milo”, and “Buddy” remain the most popular names.
These were followed by “Puppy”, “Reggie”, “Cooper”, “Loki”, “Max”, “Charlie”, and “Bailey”.
As for females, topping the list was “Bella”, “Willow”, and “Daisy”.
These were followed by “Ruby”, Poppy”, “Rosie”, “Mabel”, “Bonnie”, and “Nala”.
Agria stated that the majority of these top names have maintained their popularity for years.
However, some names that had been popular for a long time have since fallen out of favour, with “Roxi”, “Libby” and “Peach” dropping to the least popular end of the spectrum for girls, along with “Spike”, “Nacho”, and “Alan” for boys.
Meanwhile, Agria noted that various space-themed names have made a comeback, with the number of people calling their dogs “Rover” increasing by 60 per cent in a year, a rise thought to be linked to Nasa landers.
The company also noted a drop in the number of people calling their dogs “Boris”, with the name rising in popularity when Boris Johnson became MP in 2015, and again in 2019 in the year after the general election, with 313 puppies named as such.
However, last year this figure dropped as just 123 chose to name their pets after the prime minister.
Additionally, Agria noted how some dog-owners chose last year to name their pets after certain vaccines, with Pfizer and Zeneca rising in the charts.
Tom Vaughan, the head of marketing at Agria, told The Times: “It’s fascinating to see the shift in pet names each year and the impact popular culture and everyday life can have on the names we give to our family pets.
“Like we often see with baby names, there will always be ‘classic’ big names that appear on the list, but the pandemic appears to have had a significant role to play in this all-important decision over the last few years — as we can see with not just virus or vaccination-themed names, but through people that have made a lasting impression on society, too.”
