5 Most Popular Dog Names In California For 2024

CALIFORNIA—Naming a puppy is a challenging proposition, but in California, we can guess what might be in your top five puppy names. For the third consecutive year, Luna dominates as the nation's top dog name. It's no coincidence that Luna is also the top dog name for California pet owners, according to the annual list of dog names compiled by Camp Bow Wow.

The list, released in honor of National Puppy Day—held annually on March 23—is based on the doggy daycare and boarding franchise's database of over 300,000 four-legged Campers who visited in the past year.

The top 5 dog names for California include:

1. Luna
2. Charlie
3. Cooper
4. Lucy
5. Max

When it comes to naming their pooch, dog owners look to food, pop culture, and personality. Some names follow convention, and others are more unique. Patch editor Rachel Barnes shared her dog Chewbacca, a beloved pop culture reference to the Star Wars Wookie.

Another Patch employee, AJ, shared that their Golden Retriever was named after another pop culture icon, Rocky.

Last year, Maverick had the highest year-over-year increase, and Goose came in third. These names could be paying homage to the 2022 blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick."

Poppy saw the second largest year-over-year increase, likely inspired by Anna Kendrick's character, Poppy, in the 2023 film "Trolls Band Together."

Gigi and Millie also increased year over year, possibly attributed to model Gigi Hadid and actress Millie Bobby Brown.

There has also recently been a surge of cats and kittens named Karma, but that is another story.

According to the report, other sources of name inspiration include food matched with a puppy's coloring.

"Food mixed with pup-matching hues inspire names like Peanut, Olive, and Biscuit," they said.

Then, some think outside the box, like Patch Editor Deb Belt and her beloved beagle Baily.

"Some of our favorite outside-the-box names Camp Bow Wow has seen with recent new Campers include 'Maxilicious BerryCrunch Master Cylinder III,' 'Nyx the Primordial Goddess of the Night,' and 'Miss California Pumpkin, AKA Callie.'"

Last, but not least, there is no cuter duo with outside-the-box names than Patch editor Paige Austin.

Her pooches go by the names "Monkey" and "Monster."

Both are pugs, which she considers "the comedians of the animal kingdom."

The nationwide top dog name list for 2024 is:

1. Luna
2. Charlie
3. Bella
4. Lucy
5. Cooper
6. Daisy
7. Max
8. Milo
9. Bailey
10. Sadie

The top breeds with the name Luna were Labrador Retriever, Goldendoodle, German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, and Siberian Husky.

"Luna ruled in 27 states, mainly on the East and West Coasts and in the Southwest and northern Midwest," a spokesperson for Camp Bow Wow said. Coming in second, Charlie ruled in Minnesota, Alabama, and Tennessee. Third-place Bella led in Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, according to the Camp Bow Wow list.

Whatever you decide to name your dog, scratch their ears for us!