Funny Dog Names

Several animal names, from Fox to Wolf and even to Tiger, ccan work, but Cougar should stay in its cage. Even John Mellencamp has dropped it.

This upbeat, friendly surname name has appeared on television's Battlestar Galactica a handful of cartoons, and on a literary note, a character in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Sports fans might think of Boomer Esiason, the NFL quarterback turned color commentator. He's not the only athlete to answer to the upbeat nickname.

Your teenager will either love you or hate you for choosing this name. Better: Fox.

Even if you're hoping for a fiery child, this seems like playing with fire. One celebrity--Steve Vai--was bold enough to use it for his son.

Tsunami is a Japanese word, derived from the elements tsu meaning "harbor," and nami, "wave." It was first used as a name in 2004 and 2005, then left the charts and reemerged in 2020. At the very least, it makes an interesting way to get to the nickname Sue or Susie (or would that be Tsu/Tsusi?)

Along with Shem and Japheth, a son of Noah with a name that's almost never used -- for more obvious reasons than those of his brothers.

One celebrity baby Pilot put this occupational choice into the pool -- together with the middle name Inspektor, something we wouldn't advise following.

While we don't see many parents adopting Otter as a name for their own babies, Zooey Deschanel put this one in the lexicon when she used it as a middle name for her adorably-named daughter Elsie Otter. Even in the celebrisphere, Otter is one of the most unique baby names we've heard.

Friendly but flimsy.

A strong modern word name with both spiritual and secular significance.

Has too many slangy connotations to be considered.

Lithe and leonine name chosen for her daughter by singer Erykah Badu -- whose other child has the number name Seven.

Dodo is one of the few names of the cute repeating-sounds genre that is not alas so cute, being a slang word for someone brainless as well as the name of the infamous extinct bird. Dot, Dottie, Dory, or Thea are all preferable.

For basketball fans, in honor of Magic Johnson. Or anyone who believes in magic.

The jazziest nickname for Charles.

You know what — Lucifer would actually be the better choice here.

Sweeping, romantic overtones.

Slash is here because model Amber Rose and Def Jam Records exec Alexander AE Edwards named their baby boy Slash Electric Alexander. Is it cool? Or is it violent and terrifying? Or is it both? We're going to go with Door Number 2 and place it in the same category as names like Dagger and Pistol, but we are not models or record execs.

It sounds like a modern nature name, but Leafy was coined as a Puritan nickname for the girls' name Relief, which referred to the relief of Christ.