Every year the leaderboard shuffles a little. This year the classics held on at the top, while a handful of dragons, witches and snacks shot up from nowhere. Here's what the published data actually shows, and where each number comes from. For the full ranked lists and every source, see our trending pet names page.
The names still on top
Some names just don't move. U.S. News's July 2026 dog list, built from more than 500,000 pet-insurance records going back to 2022, has Bella at #1, followed by Luna, Max, Coco and Daisy. For cats, Luna is #1 for the third year running, ahead of Milo, Bella, Leo and Kitty.
They work because they're short, easy to call across a yard, and don't sound like a command you'd also yell at your dog. If you want a name that's popular for a reason rather than just familiar, they're a safe, proven starting point. You can generate fresh variations with the dog name generator or cat name generator.
Why is it Luna in one list and Bella in another?
Depending on which list you read, the top dog name is either Bella or Luna. Neither is wrong. U.S. News counts every registered dog over several years, so long-standing favorites stay on top. Embrace Pet Insurance's 2025 recap (1.09 million insurance claims) and Trupanion's 2026 list (130,000+ newly enrolled puppies and kittens) look at a single recent year, and there Luna comes out on top: #1 for dogs at Embrace and for girl puppies at Trupanion.
Old favorites win the all-time count. New arrivals show where naming is heading.
Fast risers: dragons and witches
Pop culture drove the biggest jumps by far. In Chewy's Year in Pets data, Andarna, the young dragon from Fourth Wing, rose 600%, and Meleys from House of the Dragon rose 300%. Wicked did the same for witches: Rover saw Elphie climb 244% among female puppies in the US, and Chewy had Glinda up 175%. Toothless (+36%) rode the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, and Lilo (+22%) the live-action Lilo & Stitch.
Pop-culture names tend to age in bursts tied to whatever's on screen. If you want staying power, pick one that also works on its own: Elphie is just as easy to shout at the dog park as Ellie. The Disney dog names and Disney cat names generators are a good place to riff on the idea without copying a character outright.
Fast risers: food and treats
Food names went properly mainstream. Rover saw Tater rise 92% among US kittens, and Chewy had Brisket up 68% and Cheeto up 27%. Embrace's fastest climbers read like a cozy dinner menu: Miso (+24.7%), Cinnamon (+19.2%) and Tofu (+18.5%). Embrace also reported Mochi and Pepper entering its cat top 10 for the first time.
There's no rule saying a Great Dane can't be named Brisket. If food names are your vibe, the food dog names and food cat names generators are built exactly for this.
Pets with people names
Human names keep spreading to pets. Chewy recorded Olivia up 63%, and the top-10 lists are full of names you'd hear in a classroom: Trupanion's boy puppies are led by Charlie, Milo and Teddy, with Oliver and Winston close behind. If you like a name that sounds like a person, try the classic dog names or vintage cat names generators.
Nature names are holding their own too. Willow is #2 for girl kittens and #5 for girl puppies in Trupanion's 2026 list. Browse a full batch in 50 Unique Nature-Inspired Cat Names.
Picking from the trend list
A trending name is a starting point, not an obligation. Rover's 2025 survey found only a third of owners had a name picked before their pet came home, and 45% named their pet after its personality or looks. In other words: most people meet the pet first, then decide.
If you've already got a shortlist, run each one through the name vibe checker to see how it reads before you commit. And if you'd rather have something nobody else at the dog park is using, the generator writes fresh names every time.
