Black Dog Names

  1. Stormi
    • Origin:

      Word name, variation of Stormy and Storm
    • Description:

      Stormi is like Sunni, with angst. If naming your child Storm or Stormy is asking for trouble, naming her Stormi -- as Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott did -- is asking for trouble of several different kinds. But we're sure she'll be adorable and as celebrity baby names go, this one is nearly normal.
  2. Burton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "fortified enclosure"
    • Description:

      Prissy, no matter how you spell it.
  3. Swan
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "swan"
    • Description:

      Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.
  4. Shade
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Description:

      Nice sound, but double meaning -- shady glen or shady character.
  5. Roald
    • Origin:

      Norwegian
    • Meaning:

      "famous ruler"
    • Description:

      This intriguing Scandinavian name is associated with Roald Dahl, author of the juvenile classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can honor an ancestral Ronald just by dropping that middle 'n'.
  6. Nimbus
    • Origin:

      Latin nature name
    • Meaning:

      "dark cloud"
    • Description:

      Nimbus is a word from nature for a type of cloud that has occasionally -- very occasionally -- been used for a human. But it's evocative and upbeat and certainly makes an intriguing and stylish nature name.
  7. Kuro
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "ninth son; black"
    • Description:

      Traditionally given to the ninth-born son, which is a rarity nowadays.
  8. Mocha
    • Origin:

      English, color and coffee name
    • Description:

      Save this for your next run to Starbucks.
  9. Cinder
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      More distinctive than Ella, if you're inspired by Cinderella.
  10. Night
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      An ubercool and mysterious name, brought to you by director M. Night Shyamalan.
  11. Tudor
    • Origin:

      Welsh and Romanian variation of Theodore, Teodor, or Theodoric
    • Meaning:

      "gift from God; ruler of the people"
    • Description:

      Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name feels both solemn and formidable, but with an intriguing "dark-academia" feel to it too. Currently in the Top 1000 in England and Wales, it is also used in Romania and Moldova.
  12. Equinox
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "equal night"
    • Description:

      A dramatic nature-inspired possibility for either sex.
  13. Quartz
    • Origin:

      Mineral name
    • Description:

      This may be a bit quirky to make it as a name, especially in first place. If you love it, you might try it in the middle.
  14. Cookie
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "cookie"
    • Description:

      Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.
  15. Berry
    • Origin:

      Nature name
    • Description:

      If not for Motown founder Berry Gordy, this name would now be totally in the girl group.
  16. Rooster
    • Origin:

      English animal name
    • Meaning:

      "roosting bird"
    • Description:

      A new addition to the menagerie of animal baby names — Rooster was given to five baby boys in 2019, but did not return to the charts in the following year. The word has American origins — the Puritans used it as an alternative to "cock," which developed its euphemistic meaning around the 1770s. Rooster comes from the verb "to roost," as the birds are known to do.
  17. Shelley
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "clearing on a bank"
    • Description:

      The Shirley of the 1950s. Shelley Winters was born a Shirley.
  18. Theda
    • Origin:

      Short form of Theodora or Theodosia, Greek
    • Meaning:

      "gift of God"
    • Description:

      Theda is most famous as the name of silent film vamp Theda Bara. Today most fashionable little Theodoras and Theodosias are called Thea, but Theda makes an intriguing change.
  19. Hazen
    • Origin:

      Dutch surname from German
    • Meaning:

      "gray, black; hare"
    • Description:

      Hazen is a variation of the Dutch surname Hasin, which has two separate origins. The first is as a nickname for Haso, a Germanic given name derived from haswa, meaning "gray" or "black." Hasin was also a variation of Haas, a Dutch and German surname meaning "hare."
  20. Poe
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "peacock"
    • Description:

      Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe.