Top Trending Pet Names in the UK

No single pattern dictates this eclectic group of names, but a few interesting similarities have popped up. Does your pet have a trendy name? What we name our pets is deeply personal—and also deeply impacted by the world around us. And like the world around us, pet names are definitely influenced by trends. From sports icons to blockbusters, current trends are a fun, always surprising source of new dog and cat names worldwide.

To find out what pet names are on the rise in 2025, Rover looked at their growing database of over a million dogs and cats to see what’s hot (and what’s not). This year, the focus is on trendsetting and trailblazing names. Let’s dig in!

Puppy and Kitten Top Trending Names

Here’s a brief look into what you’re calling your (furry) new arrivals.

Leading the way for male puppy names is Venom, up 468% year on year, followed by the slightly-less-terrifying Chestnut, up 418%. Next comes a two-way tie between Haggis and Marble, both up 251% this year, followed by Oatie (up 243%) and Opie (up 202%). Scottish pride is clearly seeing an uptick in 2025’s UK pet name trends.

After that, we’ve got Luigi (up 198%), with Bug, Ed, and Pepsi rounding out the top trending list, all up 193% this year.

We can’t leave out the girls! For female puppies, the top trending name is actually a three-way tie between Gloria, Marble (increasing in popularity for both sexes), and Rani, each up 469% this year. In second place is Gina, up 294%, with Hera (up 263%), Judy (up 259%), and Mae (up 252%) in close pursuit. Bee comes next, trending up 244% this year, followed by Birdie (up 219%) and, finally, Sienna, up 194% in popularity.

We’re seeing the return of a lot of warm, classic names for puppy girls. In a world of culture that moves blindingly fast, it’s no wonder that people are turning to nostalgic names like Gloria, Judy, Mae, and Hera. After all, it’s sometimes (but not always) risky to name a dog that’ll be with you for 10-17 years after the hot pop star or football player of the moment.

Let’s take a look at the most popular rising names for male kittens: taking the top spot is Kiko, up a remarkable 1,011% in popularity this year. This flying kitty leap isn’t easy to explain, but Lilo & Stitch (Disney’s popular Hawaii-based alien flick) exploded back into public consciousness this year. With “kiko” being Hawaiian for “cat,” this might be an apt explanation. Stitch (up 57%) also saw a smaller bump.

In second place is Bowie (iconic and up 287%), followed by Baby (up 278%), and a tie between Nugget and the possibly-Minecraft-inspired Steve, both up 245%. Close behind is Timmy, up 240% year on year, followed by Bubbles (up 186%), Mario (up 161%), Rory (up 145%), and finally Bandit, up 137% this year.

Now for the girls: the top trending female kitten name this year is Frida, up 414% year on year. Next comes Twix (up 248%), Ember (up 239%), and a two-way tie between Ginny and Jelly, both up 164%. After that, we’ve got Lilith (up 134%), followed by Flo (up 130%), Dotty (up 128%), and one last tie to wrap up the list: Billie and Jinx, each up 97% in popularity.

The top trending name for adult dogs and cats

While it might seem logical that new arrivals have the highest trending pet names, the grown-ups still like to join in!

For adult dogs, the top trending name is Augie, up 463%, and the name Tillie has skyrocketed for adult cats this year, climbing 1,209% from last year.

Augie (and related names like Augustus and Auggie) has become a more popular name for human babies, too, so it’s not a surprise to see pet names take shape in a similar way. And Tillie reflects the same increasing trend toward vintage names like Ginnie, Flo, and Dotty that we saw among kittens.

Emerging Trends in Pet Naming

From witches on broomsticks to footballing wizards, how did pet parents pick names in 2025?

Trending Names from Wicked

With Wicked’s box office dominance at the tail end of 2024 to be followed by Wicked: For Good this year, it’s no surprise that pet names inspired by characters from this epic movie musical have become… well, Popular. This will likely see a climb going into next as the tale concludes just in time for the holidays.

Some of the dog names defying gravity this year include:

• Elphie (from Elphaba, up 52%)
• Ozzi (38%) (inspired by Oz, although this could double up as a tribute to Pomeranian-loving heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, who passed this year)
• Nessa (24%) (inspired by Nessarose)
• Ruby (4%) (named after those slippers)

However, Munchkin has decreased in popularity by 15% as a cat name. And no Glinda appeared anywhere, though, although there was a slight increase in cats called Ariana (around 9%), after Ariana Grande, who played her. Maybe “The Good Witch” isn’t all that “popular” after all…

Trending Names from The Traitors

Your dogs might seem 100% faithful and part of your clique, but they could be planning to trade you in for the next bit of cheese they find. And cats are often on their own mission entirely. It makes sense, then, that pet parents would pick names from the televised social game sensation that’s been sweeping up viewer attention for several years: The Traitors.

This year’s pet-name Faithful includes:

• Cat (63% for dogs, 29% for cats) (Inspired by singer Cat Burns’ surprisingly funny turn on Celebrity Traitors)
• Paul (62% for dogs) (inspired by Paul Gorton’s villainous antics from UK Season 2)
• Alan (33% for cats) (Inspired by Alan Cumming, the host of The Traitors US, or Alan Carr, who’s just finished making a splash on the UK’s Celebrity Traitors)
• Wilf (21% for dogs, 95% for cats) (inspired by the iconic Traitors villain Wilfred “Wilf” Webster)
• Angus (14% for dogs, 42% for cats) (a Traitor from The Traitors Australia Season 1)
• Alex (20% for dogs) (after Alex Oleksy, a silly but underestimated addition to Season 3)
• Freddie (4% for dogs, 25% for cats)
• Harry (Up 4% for dogs, 9% for cats) (Named after the Season 2 winner)

Now, we’d never suggest your cat is out to get you. But we’ve crunched the numbers, and around 55% of cat names leaned towards Traitor tributes, while more dogs were named after members of The Faithful. (However, the most trending Traitors-themed dog’s name is Cat, so you could say that cats still found a way to win. Which is very The Traitors.)

You might need to keep that jar of catnip under lock and key.

The Top Trending Music Names

Pop stars, rock stars, rappers, and tributes to legends who crossed the Rainbow Bridge (or whatever colour Ozzy Osbourne’s bridge would be) occupy the most trending musical dog names in 2025.

• Sabrina (Sabrina Carpenter): 312%
• Noel (Noel Gallagher): 178%
• Chris (Chris Martin): 113%
• Stormzy: 79%
• Swifty (Taylor Swift): 63%
• Doja (Doja Cat): 46%
• Bee (Beabadoobee): 45%
• Liam (Liam Gallagher): 33%
• Gigi (Gigi Perez): 29%
• Swift (Taylor Swift): 13%
• Beyonce: 13%
• Cole (J. Cole): 13%
• Soda (Reference to K-pop Demon Hunters): 13%
• Ozzy (Ozzy Osbourne): 10%
• Ed (Ed Sheeran): 8%
• Gracie (Gracie Abrams): 8%
• Billie (Billie Eilish): 7%
• Sky (Sky Ferreira): 6%
• Bruno (Bruno Mars): 5%
• David (David Bowie): 2%
• Stevie (Stevie Wonder): 1%

Given her global omnipresence, it’s notable that “Swift” is trending the same as “Soda,” a nod to the song sung by K-pop Demon Hunters’  underworld boy-band rivals, and Beyonce. Swifty, however, ranks much higher, suggesting that her fan-focused approach to superstardom is reflected in the Swifties’ tendency to name their dogs after themselves more than Taylor.

Sabrina (312%) is very much dominating this year in terms of pop diva credentials and pet name prowess. Her tour and the release of her album “Man’s Best Friend” cemented her place in public awareness, as reflected by the spike in UK dogs named after her.

The use of Doja (of Doja Cat) as a dog instead of a cat name is bizarre, but 46% more people decided to do this in 2025 than in 2024. In fact, there were no new cats called Doja Cat in 2025 at all. And there were 113% more Chris’ this year, possibly as a tribute to Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who entered headlines after accidentally exposing a cheating CEO on a kiss-cam at a concert.

The tributes are rolling in for Ozzy Osbourne, with both dogs (10%) and cats (17%) called Ozzy seeing an increase. On the other end of the musical spectrum, it looks like it’s the year of the rising singer-songwriter, with Gigi Perez and Gracie Abrams getting a look-in for pet name popularity. Although Gracie saw an uptick in dogs, it became more popular as a cat name this year, with a spike of 31%.

Plenty has also been happening for UK musicians. Ed Sheeran dropped a new album this year, so it’s hardly surprising to see an 8% lift for Ed. And off the back of Oasis’ reunion tour that reshaped the UK’s live music scene, both Gallagher brothers’ names – Liam and Noel – have seen a 33% and 178% lift respectively. Legends like David Bowie and Stevie Wonder also have places in this year’s top 20.

Trending Dog Sports Names

Dogs are excellent for getting us out, about, and active, so choosing a name inspired by athletes seems to be a superb fit. And in the UK, we’ve had a lot to write home about, from the Euros to some big Formula 1 moments.

And here are the numbers:

• Lotte (Lotte Wubben-Moy, defender for the England women’s football squad): 75%
• Lando (Lando Norris, British McLaren driver who won the home race at Silverstone this year): 43%
• Kelly (Chloe Kelly, a forward for the England women’s football squad): 35%
• Carter (Jess Carter, England football defender): 30%
• Baz (Brendon “Baz” McCullum, coach for the England men’s cricket team and brains behind their new, aggressive “Bazball” approach): 29%
• Aggie (Agnes “Aggie” Beever-Jones, England forward): 26%
• Alex (Alex Yee, English Olympic triathlete who hit the news with a near-record London Marathon run this year): 21%
• Michelle (Michelle Agmeyang, England football forward and winner of Young Player of the Tournament at this year’s Euros): 13%
• Salah (Mohammed Salah, striker for the Liverpool men’s team): 13%
• Tiger (Tiger Woods, golfing legend): 8%
• Lucy (Lucy Bronze, defender for the England women’s football squad and scorer of one of their winning penalties in the Euros): 7%
• Lewis (Could be F1 legend Lewis Hamilton or boxing legend Lennox Lewis): 7%

The Lionesses’ Euros win clearly made an enormous splash for dog owners across the country: No fewer than six members of their squad of champions made it into the trending dog names for 2025. That’s over half an 11-a-side football team! Surprisingly, for a team so closely associated with Big Cats, none of them made it into the trending cat names this year.

Although the name Tiger didn’t have a huge lift, golf’s defining Open Championship happening at the UK’s Royal Portrush course this year (leading to a last-ditch Europe win) may have led to a slight pop in golf-related awareness that putted home the 8% increase in dogs named after this golfing legend. Although, again, no cats called Tiger. Pet parents seem to be missing a trick here.

New to the list of sporty dog names this year include English men’s footballer (Eberechi) Eze and rising women’s Premier League star Khiara (Keating), as well as Shelton, after US tennis impresario Ben Shelton.

Trending Celebrity Dog Names

And here’s how they’re trending:

• Bambi (Bambi Fury, daughter of Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague): 35%
• Cillian (Cillian Murphy, actor): 13%
• Margot (Margot Robbie, actor): 10%
• Pedro (Pedro Pascal, actor): 5%
• Harry (Harry Styles, actor and singer, or Prince Harry): 4%

Unlike the trends we’ve seen in sports and music, we seem to be looking overseas for celebrity dog name inspo, with long-established public figures like Margot Robbie (10%), Cillian Murphy (13%), and Pedro Pascal (5%, also trending up 20% for cats) serving as templates for “things we’re happy shouting at our dog across a park.”

(Harry, however, could refer to pop icon, actor, and recent sub-3-hour marathon runner Harry Styles. If it’s referring to the now-Stateside Prince Harry, that might still count as an imported name in 2025.)

The main exception this year’s most trending celebrity dog name – Bambi (35), taken from Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague’s sprog of the same name, which is also trending up for cats (13%).

It turns out that looking at celebrity patterns to name our own (fur) babies doesn’t stop here: the names Disney (the baby of influencers Aubree and Josh Jones) and Delilah (reality alumnus Claudia Fogharty and partner’s baby) are also trending up.

Top New Pet Names for 2025

With the sheer number of people who now have dogs, it wows us every year when people come up with entirely new names that didn’t appear in previous years of our data. New for this year include:

• Girl (10 new)
• Smoky (8 new)
• Scramble (8 new)
• Raf (8 new)
• Unagi (7 new)
• Santiago (7 new)
• Jesper (7 new)
• Freckle (7 new)
• Cherie (7 new)
• Zampa (6 new)
• Vinne (6 new)
• Tosha (6 new)
• Tofi (6 new)
• Snoops (6 new)
• Sketch (6 new)
• Raye (6 new)
• Phife (6 new)
• Peroni (6 new)
• Moriarty (6 new)
• Kyia (6 new)

No single pattern dictates this eclectic group of names, but a few interesting similarities have popped up. The leader of the pack is Girl, but this may be because people haven’t named their new puppies yet. That said, it adds extra weight to “Good girl!” when you say it, so it’s still an effective name.

It appears that the UK has looked to Europe for inspiration, with Italian beer (Peroni), the Italian word for “paw” (Zampa), and the French word for “dear” (Cherie) all emerging as popular new names. More Nordic-derived names, like Jesper (Persian in origin but popular in Scandinavia) and Vinne, also entered circulation this year.

New names like Santiago (Chilean-inspired but also taken from Barcelona FC’s football stadium) and Unagi (a Japanese concept popularised by Ross from Friends) might show a new international backdrop for more exciting names.

People are also looking to music in new ways: Last year, several dogs called Snoop emerged. This year, we have several with the name Snoops, which could also be Snoop-inspired but more pet-like. (Fun fact: His mum gave him the name “Snoop Doggy Dogg” on the grounds that she thought he looked like Snoopy, so these names are all Snoopy-derived anyway. Everything always comes back to dogs.)

Another canine-related rapper, Phife Dawg, inspired several pet namings this year. And the name Raye likely takes its lead from the UK-based R’n’B singer/rapper whose star ascended in 2025.

Interestingly, two new names on this year’s list—the aforementioned Snoops and Tosha—were minor characters from the timeless HBO classic The Wire.

Cat parents have found an entirely different list of trending names this year:

• Saka (10 new)
• Natasha (8 new)
• Moggie (7 new)
• Quaver (7 new)
• Stormie (7 new)
• Tips (7 new)
• Amelie (6 new)
• Balu (6 new)
• Edna (6 new)
• Fawkes (6 new)
• Hex (6 new)
• Icarus (6 new)
• Lilli (6 new)
• Mist (6 new)
• Mono (6 new)
• Nismo (6 new)
• Omar (6 new)
• Pixi (6 new)
• Trix (6 new)

These are, just like the dog names, highly varied, taking inspiration from sports (Saka, after England footballer Bukayo Saka), magic, mythology, and mystery themes (Hex, Icarus, and Mist), classic TV (different characters from The Wire to the dog’s list – the dogs have Snoops and Tosha, the cats have Omar) and human names (Natasha, Edna, and Amelie).

There’s an interesting lean towards certain sounds in cat names this year, too – Nismo and Mono, although not necessarily linked to any specific 2025 trends, both end in similar sounds, and Pixi, Hex, and Trix are very short and have the “x” doing a lot of heavy lifting. (Even “Fawkes” makes the same sound despite having a different spelling.)

There are more names here potentially related to cat characteristics or appearances (although, obviously, we don’t have the privilege of seeing all of your cat pics). Tips could refer to a cat having a different colour at the end of their tail or toes, and Moggie is simply another name for a mixed-breed or non-pedigree cat.

Trending Human Names for Pets

Our pets are part of the family, so some people give them names to match! Plenty of the names you’ve seen so far, like those inspired by celebrities, musicians, or movie stars, have human names.

But plenty of others have seen an impressive climb in 2025. (We’ve also accounted for spelling in this top 20: just like human names, people have different ways of writing them down.)

The numbers for the top 20 include:

• Augie (463%)
• Dougall (413%)
• Pia (288%)
• Raymond (288%)
• Maizy (or Maisie) (9%)
• Hal (246%)
• Myra (246%)
• Nessy/Nessie (246%)
• Tod (246%)
• Davey (237%)
• Reba (238%)
• Ronny (213%)
• Scott (213%)
• Arwen (200%)
• Gina (195%)
• Diana (188%)
• Lotti/Lottie (163%)
• Iona (163%)
• Niamh (163%)
• Tobey (163%)

Plenty of inspiration in the top climbers comes from Ireland (Niamh), Wales (Arwen), and Scotland (Dougall, Iona, Lottie, Nessie, Tod).

It appears that lyrical-sounding, heritage-driven names are experiencing a surge this year. Our dogs are a huge comfort, blissfully unaware of the wider world, and it might be that people are giving them names that bring them closer to home.

Comfort is a key factor in the number of vintage names, like Dougal, Raymond, and Reba, also appearing in the top 20. Nostalgia is a powerful, soothing force, and we all eventually watch our dogs grow into little old ladies and gentlemen. Retro names are becoming more popular in this regard.

As we see with other dog names, even when choosing human-like names, soft consonants, vowel-based endings, and friendly sounds are still the order of the day. Augie, Maizy, Tobey, Lotti, Nessie, Davey, and Ronny all fit this pattern.

K-pop-inspired Dog Names

K-pop is the new cultural institution. With sprawling fan armies dedicating countless hours to social media tributes, fan art, and standom, it’s no surprise that K-pop-inspired names are starting to enter the arena of UK dog parenting.

These include:

• Lisa (from Blackpink) (48%)
• Mochi (from BTS) (25%)
• Momo (from Twice) (15%)

Both girls and boys are represented here. Although these names are getting more popular in dogs, there’s about the same number of cats called Momo and fewer cats called Mochi this year (down 13%).

This category is worth a mention as one to watch: while these numbers are Sabrina-Carpenter-stratospheric, Korean media took over our screens (and filled our brains with earworms) in Netflix’s K-pop Demon Hunters. Plus, around 17% of the non-US-produced shows on Netflix this year were Korean, surpassing even the UK. The name Squid, possibly Squid-Games-inspired, is also up 3% in dogs after the series’ 2025 finale aired.

You can expect to see this corner of the cultural zeitgeist filter down to pet names like Rumi and Mira in the coming years. Especially for Golden Retrievers, Golden Doodles, and cats befitting of the name Derpy.

2026 Predictions

So, what’s going to shape new pet monikers in 2026?

Well, some big concerts and reunions are going down. Just as the massive Oasis tour saw a glut of Noels and Liams, The Streets, Robbie Williams, and Take That are coming back to UK stages. That might prompt more dogs called Mike or cats called Robbie and Gary. Sigrid and Tori Amos are also on tour, and Sigrid and Tori both make for excellent pet names.

Movie-wise, huge franchises are either returning or continuing. Marvel sees the long-anticipated arrival of Doctor Doom into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday, so we might see a spike in Victor (von Doom). (Someone might even be brave enough to flat-out call a tiny Yorkie Doctor Doom, so please send photos our way if you do.)

There are also two big video-game movies landing: Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. By definition, these include huge rosters of outlandish names to inspire. So you could name two kittens Ryu and Ken, or a particularly floofy dog Blanka. Vega, Cammy, Jax, Jonny, Sonya, Honda, Chun-Li, Akuma, Raiden, Smoke, Nitara… you get the picture. There’s a surprising number of ideas in these two movies alone.

Toy Story 5 and Shrek 5 are also landing, with a host of familiar, family-friendly characters to dip into, like Woody, Buzz, Rex, Mr Potato Head, Fiona, and Donkey. (Someone might even be brave enough to call a tiny Yorkie Shrek, so please send photos our way if you do.) Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is also landing, so there might be more classical Greek-inspired names like Odysseus, Circe, Scylla, and Cyclops.

You can also look to football’s World Cup, the Winter Olympics, and the Commonwealth Games for a spark. Athletics and particularly international football tournaments always seem to drive pet-naming trends for the rest of the year, so keep an eye out for top scorers, match winners, and national champions. The closer Football gets to Coming Home, the more names you’ll see in the top ten trending names.

In terms of TV, The Traitors is back in the UK. The last three seasons captured pet parents’ imaginations, so we might see another boom in Traitors-themed names. Plus, more internationally, Harry Potter will be back on our screens. It remains to be seen how successful the series will be, but expect to see even more dogs called Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Dobby, and Hagrid when you turn up to doggy day care.

(Someone might even be brave enough to… Oh, you get the picture. Just call your tiny Yorkie Voldemort.)

Plus, House of the Dragon is back, so expect to see plenty more Targaryen-inspired names starting with or containing “Ae”. (Aegon is already on the list this year.)

The Top Pet Names 2025 report was developed by Rover between September and October 2025. Results are based on an analysis of millions of user-submitted pet names provided by owners on Rover.com. This report is not endorsed or sponsored by any of the brands, celebrities, or businesses mentioned.

Inspired by these categories? Using the millions of names in our dataset, we’ve pulled more name examples and inspirations for you to peruse. These names are listed by order of popularity so you can get a sense of how common a name may be.

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