You might think that most dogs are called Fido and the majority of cats out there go by Fluffy, but turns out, you’d be wrong. Similar to their human pals, pet names are subject to trends, which is why your local dog park could sound an awful lot like a live reading of Twilight these days, depending on where you are in the United States.
The pet-sitting platform TrustedHousesitters (a group with access to a treasure trove of pet name data if ever there was one) recently surveyed over 50,000 appellations listed on their platform to determine the most popular pet names for 2023 in each U.S. state. They broke down the results along dog and cat lines, as well as gender. They even looked at the inspirations behind certain names.
“One of the most interesting finds is how pet name trends vary not only on a state level but a city level, with trends uniquely representing the culture and famous characteristics of each city,” Angela Laws, head of community at TrustedHousesitters, said in a statement. As we’ll see, while some favorites overlap in various states, local culture comes into play, too.
Researchers found that nationwide, Charlie is the most common boy pet name and Luna is the most-loved girl pet name, but the results get a little more specific when you look at dogs and cats, respectively.
Instead of Fido, the top five picks for male dogs across the U.S. include Charlie, Max, Cooper, Buddy, and Jack; for females, it’s Lucy, Bella, Luna, Daisy, and Lola. Over on the feline list, Fluffy is nowhere to be found, either—rather, monikers like Charlie, Leo, Max, Milo, and Jack take the top five spots for boys. When it comes to girl cats, Luna, Lucy, Bella, Sophie, and Stella are the most favored among pet parents.
TrustedHousesitters also found that roughly 13 percent of cats are named after food or drinks, with culinary-inspired choices like Pepper, Ginger, Honey, Cookie, and Peanut among the most used. Fictional characters, of course, prompt namesakes too: Tigger, Gizmo, Thor, Zelda, and Simba have all lent their appellatives to households around the country.
Regionality, as we mentioned, comes into play, too. Texas is full of pet names like Paco, Pinto, and Banjo, which all reflect the Lone Star State’s unique culture, whereas in a city like New Orleans, you might run across more than a few pups called Beignet and cats known as Voodoo. Because stargazing is big in Alaska, you’re likely to meet a lot of pooches named Cosmo, Star, or Jupiter. And in the Rocky Mountain State of Colorado, Rocky, Moose, and Bear are popular picks.
Speaking of Colorado, Aspen checks in as the most popular dog name based on a U.S. city. Salem is the most-used option for cats, presumably for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch-related reasons. But with all that said, some names, like Bella and Luna, are so widely loved that they have the ability to ring out from Arkansas to Oregon.
Is your pet’s name on the leaderboard for your state? Check out the list below to find out, or maybe get some ideas for your next furry friend:
This article was originally published on www.mentalfloss.com as The Most Popular Pet Names of 2023 in Each U.S. State.
