Here Are the Hottest Pet Names of 2023—Including Kelce, Wednesday, Este and More
The most popular pet names of 2023 took their cues from pop culture in a big way.
With inspiration from Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and Netflix's Wednesday, among others, dog and cat names are definitely following similar trends.
Meanwhile, the overall top 10 most popular dog names in the United States, according to Rover, were relatively standard fare, but with one big change: For the first time in a decade, Max isn't the most popular male dog name, being replaced with Charlie! The full list is in order below:
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Top 10 Most Popular Dog Names in the U.S.
Victor Grabarczyk via UnSplash
Luna
Bella
Charlie
Daisy
Max
Lucy
Cooper
Bailey
Milo
Coco
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The biggest trending dog name in the United States? Kelce, after Swift's boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason Kelce, center for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Upward trends in dog names also showed a particular affinity for '90s nostalgia, with Alanis (after, obviously, Alanis Morissette) up a whopping 547%, Drew Barrymore up 297% and Ginger Spice and Furby up 27 and 47%, respectively.
Rover reports that new additions to their dog name survey include Leonardo Dogcaprio (maybe for canines that only mate with other dogs under 25 in dog years), Shakira, Shania Twain and early 2000s-era Avril.
Other popular canine names included Wednesday Addams, Enid and Thing from Wednesday, as well as Bluey-inspired names like Bluey (obviously), Chilli, Bandit and Bingo becoming increasingly common.
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The top 10 most popular cat names were similar to the top 10 overall dog monikers, but with the addition of a beloved Marvel antihero.
Top 10 Most Popular Cat Names in the U.S.
Alicja Gancarz via UnSplash
Luna
Milo
Oliver
Leo
Bella
Charlie
Lily
Kitty
Lucy
Loki (Seriously, Season 2 was fire!)
Cat names that are rising in popularity are largely Swift-affiliated, including Swift (up 133% since last year), Este (after Swift BFF Este Haim, up 110% since last year), Karma (making "Karma is a cat" so very literal, up 31%) and Taylor (up 21%).
More cat names trending upwards are Barbie (up 23%), Barb (up 93%), Greta (maybe for Greta Gerwig, up 18%) and Allan, perhaps inspired by the blessed sidekick in Barbie, with an increase of 43% since 2022.
The top upward-trending cat names year-over-year, however, were mostly random, save for some inspiration from Snoop Dogg (and maybe one from Ice Spice).
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Top 10 Trending Cat Names in the U.S.
Norbert (156%)
Soju (131%)
Snoop (117%)
Choco (110%)
Fuzz (107%)
Tsuki (100%)
Knox (95%)
Munch (93%)
Luffy (89%)
Maizy (88%)
Other additions to trending cat names included Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Harriet Styles (obvs after Harry Styles), Martha Stewart and Pedro Pspspcal (after the Internet's zaddy Pedro Pascal).
Food-themed names have almost always been popular for both dogs and cats, but the 2023 report shows that the types of foods are different for each.
The delicious names for dogs rising most in popularity included Beer, Green Bean, Cheerios, Parsley, S'more, Twinkie, Little Debbie and Tiramisu. The highest-trending food names for felines, meanwhile, included Prosecco, Chive, Babybel, Starbucks and Seltzer.
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