Best Dog Names – Most Popular Names for Female Dogs in 2009

Dec 18, 2010
Thomas Alan Gray

Bella is a Favorite Dog Name - Photo de Agnes CARTIER MILLON

Want a good name for a female puppy? For dogs big and small, here are the top ten favorite dogs names from 2009 to help you pick a cool dog name.

It seems that Lassie's gone home. These days, the coolest dog names for female dogs come from singers, actresses, and fictional movie heroines.

Each year, Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) reviews data from their 475,000 insured pets to find the most popular names. “The same ten names appeared on 2009 and 2008’s list of Top Ten Dog Names, with only the positioning of each name changing slightly,” said Curtis Steinhoff, senior director of corporate communications for VPI, in a media release (January 4, 2009).

For close to a decade, the most popular name was for a male dog: Max. In 2009, a surprise switch saw "Bella" rise to the top as the most popular dog name of 2009, according to VPI. Even so, it was a tight race – Bella beat out Max by just over 400 dogs.

Top Names for Female Dogs in 2009

According to VPI, the top ten names for female dogs is about the same as 2008, in a slightly different order.

Bella – It means pretty, but that's beside the point. “I can only wonder if Max’s dethroning has something to do with Bella being the name of the heroine in a certain vampire book/film series that’s pretty popular these days,” speculated Steinhoff.
Bailey – An equally good dog name for male or female, it means “Law enforcer” (bailiff)
Lucy – Most baby name books track this back to “Lucia” and give the meaning “Light”, but it's as likely to come from the old TV show “I Love Lucy” or the cartoon character in “Peanuts”.
Molly – “Good golly, Miss Molly!” as Little Richard sang back in 1958. Maybe from the 1999 movie of that name? Or from the CBS Comedy “Mike & Molly” or even the movie Pokemon 3. Certainly a popular name in North American culture.
Maggie – Best guess is Maggie Q, action star of Nakita but for people it's long been a diminutive of Margaret.
Daisy – Maybe Daisy Duke in Dukes of Hazard. Maybe Daisy Mae from Li'l Abner. Maybe Daisy Duck from Walt Disney. Maybe Driving Miss Daisy. Lots of choices.
Chloe – Likely popular due to the character in Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Also a well-known brand and a popular girls name in Great Britain.
Sophie – From the Greek for "wisdom", the name is holding steady as a dog name but is increasing in popularity among young women. Good to know.
Lola – "Her name was Lola, she was a show girl" in Barry Manilow's Copacabana. Lola Montez (still a well-known name?). Brand of cosmetics.
Sadie – Biblically, a diminutive of Sarah. Sadie Hawkins Day, popularized by US cartoonist Al Capp, was when a woman could ask a man to marry her. Heck, who needs special day?

Comparing Dog Names With Girl Names

Now, those are also girls' names. Not only girl dogs, but girl people.

For girls, some names, such as Chloe, Bailey, Daisy, and Molly have been becoming increasingly popular over the past 10 years according to data at NameTracker.
Bella, as noted, has shot up as vampires gain popularity.
Some names, such as Lucy and Lola, have been dropping since the 1930s.
The remainder, Sophie, Sadie, and Maggie, declined in popularity during 1950-1970 but are again on the upswing.

With dogs sharing the ladies' names, things might get confusing. At the dog park, calling “Here, Sophie!” may cause both tails to wag and heads to turn.