Dog Names That Mean Dog

This common Jewish surname — originally spelled Volfson — works as a modern and on-trend segue to the cool nickname Wolf, if Wolfgang or Wolfric feel a bit too heavy. With animal names like Wolf (along with Bear and Fox) shooting up the charts in recent years, Wolfson has plenty of undiscovered potential. A famous bearer of the surname is British politician David Wolfson, who was knighted Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale.

Kennelly could be an upbeat modern namesake for a Grandpa Kenneth; it can also be spelled Kenneally.

Connolly, an alternate spelling of Connelly, could make a livelier and less common substitute for Connor.

Romanticizes Rudolph and distances the name from the red-nosed reindeer. After remaining steadily in the US Top 500 for much of the twentieth century, Rodolfo has been slipping of late.

Waya pays homage to the wolf — one of the most respected creatures in Native American culture.

An interesting possibility if you're looking for a highly unusual animal name.

Perfect name for the child of dog enthusiasts, and much more distinctive than the trendy Connor.

Shakespeare's classic drunken fool. In fact, this name, carried to Britain by the Normans, was quite popular until it was brought into disrepute by the low-life character who haunts taverns with Falstaff in Shakespeare's history plays.

One of the top Icelandic girl names. It's very pretty — if you know how to pronounce it.

A fiery-sounding Breton name with a fierce animal meaning. Bleiz has also been used in honor of the Catholic Saint Blaise, due to its similar sound.

Like Papa name Rudolf, Rolf never quite emigrated from the Bavarian Alps. You might want to move on to Rollo or Wolf.

In Cherokee, TS is pronounced like a J, which may lead to some pronunciation confusion. Nevertheless, Tsula is an appealing choice.

Diminutive form of Tholf

Ubbe or Ubba was a 9th-century Viking and one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in the 9th century.

A variant of Madden or Madigan, cool surnames which ultimately derive from the Irish Gaelic word for "dog".

Lupin is an unusual flower name with roots in Old French, from the Latin lupinus, meaning "pertaining to the wolf". In the literary world, it's the surname of Remus Lupin, a popular character in the Harry Potter franchise and a werewolf.

Perky Cherokee boy name with a great meaning. Foxes symbolize cleverness and playfulness in Cherokee culture.

Old dialectal form of Tholf

The spelling Woolf inevitably conjures writer Virginia. If you're a fan of Mrs. Dalloway and the Bloomsbury group, Woolf might be a creative way to combine a trendy animal name with an original honor name. Woolf was the surname of Virginia's husband, Leonard.