Lockdown’s most popular pet names
Over the last year we’ve written a lot about caring for your pets in lockdown – and the fact that more people than ever have decided to get a cat or a dog in order to keep themselves company during long boring days at home. New research by insurance company Go Compare has revealed that they conducted more than 97,700 insurance quote for puppies alone, during 2020.
With so much access to pet data, the insurers were also able to reveal some of the most popular pet name choices over the past year as well. So if you’re thinking of getting yourself a dog or cat these might inspire you; whether you want to run with the herd and pick something from the top ten - or are looking for names to avoid so that you’re not all calling out ‘Luna!’ in the park and seeing how many dogs (or cats) come back!
Why Luna? Because it was the most popular name for cats and dogs last year.
Speaking about their findings, GoCompare's Pet Expert, Sally Jaques said:
"Since spending more time at home in lockdown, the demand for pets has skyrocketed. While people have more time to spend with their pets at the moment, you also have to consider the long-term commitments of being a pet owner. For example, working from home will allow you to tend to your pets with more flexibility, but there will inevitably be more time constraints in a post-lockdown world, especially if you will be returning back to work outside the home."
Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash
Choosing a name for your dog
When choosing a name for your dog, it’s a good idea to choose something short and snappy or something that can easily be shortened so that it is easy to call them or get their attention using their name. Also bear in mind that your puppy is going to grow into a full-sized dog fairly rapidly and depending on their breed you need to choose a name that will suit them when they are fully grown rather than when they are a pup. So something like Mr Fluffykins might not be appropriate for a full-sized golden retriever even if they are just an adorable ball of fluff when they are small.
Also try to choose names that won’t offend – and names that will stand the test of time, not something that is based on a TikTok fad or someone who might not be around in 10 or 15 years. A similar study by Pets at Home last year revealed that many people were calling their cats and dogs Boris after our current prime minister, although unsurprisingly, there weren’t many being named Donald.
Photo by Alecsander Alves on Unsplash
Top 10 dogs names in lockdown
- Luna
- Bella
- Milo
- Teddy
- Buddy
- Lola
- Coco
- Bailey
- Reggie
- Charlie
Photo by José Ignacio Pompé on Unsplash
Choosing a name for your cat
Choosing a name for your cat should hopefully be less of a minefield that choosing a dog name as you are less likely to be shouting it out down the park. The neighbours might hear you shouting it when you’re calling them in for their tea though – although most cats answer to ‘Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!’ so you should be OK.
We’ve noticed a bit of a trend for naming male cats with traditional boy’s names, for instance Grayson Perry owns a rather rambunctious cat called Kevin. You can check out his Instagram account detailing his adventures and casual indifference. Novelist Judy Leigh owns a cat named Colin and we know of more than one cats called Gary, Dave and Alan – but sadly none of these made the list! Most of them seem to be sharing their names with the dogs:
Photo by Lisa Algra on Unsplash
Top 10 cats names in lockdown
- Luna
- Milo
- Simba
- Nala
- Loki
- Charlie
- Bella
- Leo
- Willow
- Coco
Did your cat or dog make the top ten this year? Maybe you’ve named them something unique? As always, we’d love to hear about it so let us know in the comments section below.
Photo by Samson Katt on Pexels