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Dog names can be tricky. They can also be one of the hardest things to decide on when you get a new dog or puppy. Well, at least they are for me.
With all of our dogs, I’ve usually let everyone else in the family decide on the best name for our new family member. That is until we were waiting on Miss Annabelle to arrive. Then, I fretted. I made a nuisance of myself by asking everyone I came in contact with about what they thought of this dog name and that name for our new puppy. Weeks and weeks went by before we were even to pick her up, but my constant conversation was about dog names. I think my friends and family grew weary of me. What am I saying? I grew weary of myself.
Finally, I just had to make a list of every name I thought of and then begin crossing off names for one reason or another until we all finally settled on and agreed on a name. Now, my names tend to be more on the side of working for a person as well as a dog. I like names like that.
My father always said that dog names should only be one syllable. That was largely due to his experiences as a hunter taking his dogs with him as he would hunt quail, duck and pheasant. He was famous around our parts for his girl hunting dogs named Gal and Sue. They were his favorites. Since I knew our puppy wouldn’t be working as a hunting dog, I took liberty with the number of syllables in her name.
So, I thought I’d share with you a few favorites that made my list for female dog names. Hopefully, if you get a new puppy, it might help you, too!
My Favorite Female Dog Names
Abigail (Abby) – I’ve always loved the name Abigail. Such a great name for all ages.
Alice – Such a beautiful name. Definitely feminine and always makes me think of Alice in Wonderland.
Ann – Ann is an all-time favorite name of mine. A family name for many generations, it makes the perfect one syllable name for a dog as well. The name means gracious and merciful and I can’t think of an Ann that is not.
Annabelle – My parents loved to listen to Harry Belafonte when I was growing up and his song, Annabelle Lee, was a favorite. My friend, Amy reminded me of this great name when I asked her for name input for the zillionth time.
Ava – Another great name, Â Ava is such a regal name to me.
Artemis – Apollo’s twin in Greek mythology, Artemis was the Goddess of the Moon and Hunt. A great name for a female dog!
Bella – What’s not to love about the name Bella? I think this name was even popular before all of the Twilight craze. Right?
Bess – A favorite name of mine for any female! A nickname for Elizabeth, it is such a classic!
Betsy – Another great nickname for the name Elizabeth. So pretty!
Bonnie – I always want to hum, “My Bonnie flew over the ocean. My Bonnie flew over the sea…” One of the first songs I mastered on the piano as a child.
Buffy – Yet another great nickname for Elizabeth and one that works great for a fawn colored puppy.
Charlotte – Since I love Charlotte Bronte so much, you can imagine how much I adore this name for a girl – puppy or otherwise.
Claire – The French form of Clara, Claire is such a gorgeous, feminine name!
Clara – I’ve always loved the name Clara. When it is spoken it just makes me happy.
Cora – Classic. Beautiful. And oh yes, perfect for the Downton Abbey fans as well.
Daisy – One of the most popular names for female dogs, Daisy is just a great all around name!
Dixie – Perfect for a Southern pooch!
Emma – Ok, this name was high, high, high on my list. Such a beauty of a name. Literature and Jane Austin lovers will definitely love the name.
Eleanor (Ella) – Such a gorgeous name! If your puppy has First Lady status, then wouldn’t this be a great name?
Ginger – A great name for a darker golden retriever. My sister-in-law’s name and one that I love dearly.
Grace – Just one of the most perfect names for a female.
Hazel – One of my son’s favorite names for a female dog. Hazel is definitely a more traditional name and one that seems to be coming back with some popularity for little girls.
Honey – My sister-in-law named her dog honey and I’ve loved the name for a dog ever since.
Kate – Kate is such a lovely name for a female puppy. Easy to say, quick, and meets the one syllable rule my Daddy always had. Oh yeah, a pretty royal nod as well.
Lola – Don’t you just love how the names twirls on your tongue when you say it? Such a great name!
Lucy – Oh how I love Lucy! (Sorry, I had to!) Lucy really is one of the greatest names ever.
Lulu – My niece’s nickname and one of the cutest names for puppy!
Lulu Belle – My very favorite aunt is named Lulu Belle and think it is one of the most unique names for a girl – human or of the dog persuasion.
Mabel – The other of my son’s favorite names for a female dog. He pleaded for this name until two days after we’d gotten Annabelle home. He was determined. A great traditional name.
Margaret (Maggie) – Such a great classic, traditional name!
Martha – If we were to have a daughter, this would have to be her name. So, it was hard for me to include on a list for puppies, but you know, it sure is a perfect name!
Mary – Short, sweet, classic, and lovely.
Meg – A great nickname for the name Margaret and again, a great name for classic literature fans.
Molly – One of the classic female dog names.
Miss – Now this name just works. We actually tacked it onto the front of Annabelle for our puppies “real” name. I just love it.
Olivia – Oh how I love this name. A friend recently named her daughter Olivia so I had to remove it from my puppy name list.
Pearl – Great for a white or light cream colored dog!
Rose – A perfect name for a little golden girl!
Scarlett – You would know this name would show up on a Southern girl’s list, wouldn’t ya?
Scout – To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books of all time and the name Scout has always been a favorite of mine. A great name for a sweet, curious, and determined breed.
Sophie – The French derivative of the name Sophia and just so lovely.
Tallulah – Tallulah Falls is a gorgeous waterfall in Georgia and the name Tallulah has always had a great ring to it to me.
 Do you like any of these dog names? What are favorites you’d add?
I like the names Sasha & Zoe. I’ve had two incredible, sweet cockers by those names! Our Sasha was a gentle, girlie girl and the name fit her. Zoe had some spunk to her!
We named our newest addition to our dog family Kahlua (just like the drink) My husband and I went over countless names before deciding on that one. Kahlua is the runt of a litter of four Chihuahuas. She is all black except for some white on her chest and the tips of her back paws are white. right now she is three months old and can fit in your purse. She is a handful. Try an catch her at bedtime is something else. Our other two dogs Bullet (French Bulldog) and Rascal (Pug)all play with Kahlua and surprisingly enough all get along with each other.
My precious rottweiler’s name is Trudy – short for Gertrude. It’s German and it fits her so well. My daughter’s Australian shepherd mix is named Reesie which she came up with on her own. I always say that they’re named after Saint Gertrude and Saint Teresa!
Great names! I have a Dixie and a Suzie, both Dachshunds. If we get another she will be Chloe or Zoey 🙂
It’s crazy to think how much time we spent on this too! I love 1 syllable nicknames for a dog. We ended up picking Harper for our 8 month old goldendoodle. We call her “Harp” 99% of the time though!! Looking forward to seeing your final pick!
my original Westie was called Kate/Katie registered name Katherine – wow, do we miss her. then we had a mating pair named Ziggy and Lizzie. Will hopefully have anothter Westie some day. One of my sons his family’s golden retriever, ‘Shadow’, who passed away last year; just replaced him with a lovely 4 month old Flat-Coated Retriever, ‘Sadie’!
Our last name is Irish so we wanted Irish names, we named our boy Murphy and the girl McKenzie (Kenzie). Scout is a name I have on our list as well. Loved To Kill a Mockingbird, I also love Jane Austen’s books and want to use the names Darcy, Knightley, and Willoughby, though the family will most likely veto it.
MacKenzie is actually a Scottish surname.
My SharPei is Sadie Yasmine. We figured since she was a member of the family she should have a middle name too.
We have a morkie poo – maltese/yorkie/poodle. She’s 3 yrs old and just as sweet as can be. Her name is Maya and I love to call her MayaBelle. Love her!
We have a Maggie. She’s a Rat Terrier (or sometimes I call her a Rat Terror) who we occasionally call Sister Mary Margaret and often Mags. She’s often ‘overshadowed’ by our Alaskan Malamute named Shadow. Shadow is almost always called Shaddie or Shad. So we have Shad and Mags.
I have a West Highland White Terrier (Westy) I named her Lily of the Valley because she looked like a small white flower as a puppy. We now call her Lily…love my girl
I am surprised Lacy did not make the cut..we had a shepard husky named Lacy, she was so smart, and so dainty too, use to eat in little dainty bites, and pranced when she walked! Her name really fit her!
I had a Beautiful Schnauzer named Lacy. Samantha (Sam), Ollie (by Dolly), Little Bit (Lily) and Friday we pick up our latest girl and thinking of Martina (Marty) can’t wait to get her. Hope the name fits!
I usually try to get girl puppies (they are smarter LOL). I have had Kate, Liza, Kelly, Rosemary, and Weezie. However, we just got a new addition…a boy. His name is Sawyer. He is too precious!
My sweet little SharPei is Cinnamon we couldn’t have picked a more perfect name for her.
Our dog is Maya, also!
What is awkward is when you are introduced to someone with the same
name as your dog…it is so hard not to say, “that’s our dog’s name!”
Haha..it has happned to me before when we had a “Cheyenne”.
These are very cute names! It can be difficult for the entire family to agree on a name. All of these names would be perfect for a family dog!
We have a pug named Lottie! It used to be Charlotte, but now we just call her Lottie. I really like Daisy too!!!!
Figured you should know that Ava is not one syllable
^^^ Thank you!!
I have the best real southern name in the stereotypical world for a girl dog!! It’s Delta Dawn. There’s a difference between people names and dog names. Ya gotta keep em separated!!!!
I have a female Labrador named Delta and a male Dalmatian named Ace
I am going to get our second “rescue” dog this morning. A female yellow lab. She is very laid back and has a sweet disposition. I thought about naming her Annie and then Maggie. Still really deciding. I liked a lot of names from this site.
Her face looks like a SharPei though. Gorgeous. I love the name Ava as well.
My rescue foster mom liked the name Maggie. This dog needs a beautiful regal name. It might end up being “Ava”.
Love the name, Ava!
I have an Ava, she is an Isabella Tan miniature Dachsund , and this name is the only one that I could even remotely decide on. She is the biggest love muffin and Ava suits her to a T. Her color Isabella tan is so unique like the greyhound or wymerriner .
I have yorkie her name is biji . Best name ever she 8 years old. Thanks. Love your pet
I hope she feels better soon!
I am struggling to name my new female puppy. The last of three southern girls had to be put down recently. They were named Trixie (who I often called Trixie Belle), Molly (often called Molly Moo) and Bombay.
My current older girl is named Sandal which was here name in rescue and she knew it so it stayed. I wasn’t crazy about it at first but she is Sandal now.
I have never understood the whole closing a name for the nickname thing. Why wouldn’t you just name them the nickname. My brother named a daughter Samantha to call her Sam. Why not just name her Sam?
So I am pondering ideas. Dado is one I am toying with, as well as Sadie, Kate, Arris, Kerf, Burl, Roxie, Sky or Emma.
Edit: choosing, not closing.
I love the names Sadie, Kate, Roxie, and Emma! Those are great names for a puppy and older dog when she grows up! Good luck finding the perfect name!
My picks are: Magnolia, Clementine, Tallulah, Piper, Clarise, Beatrice
My Rhodesian Ridgeback was named Senga. It suited her regal presence just perfectly!
Earlier this summer we had to put down a beautiful rescue with an aggressive cancer. Her name was Abby, and she was a sweetheart of a girl. Brought home a new rescue on Tuesday and were trying to decide on a suitable name. I loved Ava, my husband and girls not so much. Many of the names on your list were also ones we were considering. We had our list ready and waited a few days until she settled in and her personality came out. We made the choice of Callie. It’s perfect, and we’re so happy she rescued us!
My last dog’s name was Maiya. She was a wonderful Shiba Inu and I miss her a lot. But I’m getting a new dog soon, and I’m already thinking of possible names! She’s a german shepherd mix and has the most beautiful eyes. I love the names Sierra, Reba (or Ree), Twix, or Demeter (Demi for short). All of them fit her!
My girls from the past: Cindy, Trixie, Cuddles, Frosty, Tinkerbelle, Tippy, Bashful,Sadie, Queenie, Stubby, Dottie, Dolly, Maggie, Dixie. All gone now, but I am taking in an abandoned wire haired terrier (maybe?). I will get her tomorrow. Will have to wait and see her personality before she is christened. All of my canine family have been abandoned or dumped, and I can’t ignore them.
Also had Lady Bugs that we called Lady or Bugger Boos, or Bugsy Sorry for the add on, but I just couldn’t leave her out!!!
I rescued the best Brussel Griffon, FANCY.
I recently put my thirteen-year-old Vizsla to sleep. Her name was Pree. I came up with this after watching the movie about Steve Prefontaine, the long distance runner. It was unique easy to say and fit her to a “T”. We also called Miss Pree and Pree-Madonna. I’m looking for another unique name for my next dog. Lots of good names listed here. The tough part is deciding on one.
We rescued our dog 11 years ago and she was my first girl dog, my husband got her for me for our 1 yr anniversary. She is a all black chow so we named her Black Beauty and we call her Bebe for short and she is the sweetest best dog in the whole world. Even our Vet just loves her and tells me that she is the best behaved chow she has ever taken care of. I really think it is all about how you raise them!!! We are going to be getting a new puppy soon so I was checking out your website to get some idea’s for names, we want to get a cream chow, so we will have to wait and see once we get her! There are tons of great names here, thanks for posting!!!
I had a chow female , as she got older I was the only one that could go around her, Anyway we have Morkie , and Yorkies, but our male York pretty tan color we call him Winston, winne for short, and our first was a Yorkie her name was biji , or baby girl, good luck hope this helps 🙂
We have 2 cats “Sunnie” (orange tabby) & “Stormie” (jet black). We also inherited my Grandma’s male lab/springer “Duke” last yr. We are getting a black female puppy in a few wks.-black golden retriever/new foundland mix. We are accumulating a list: Rainy, Fergie, Glory, Reece, Shadie (Shadow & Sadie combined), Maddie, Jersey, Willow, Kaylie. We want something unique & catchy where people will say, “Ah-ha! That is cute!”. But are thinking of staying in harmony w/ Sunnie & Stormie. Any ideas are welcome!
Your style is really unique compared to other people I have read
stuff from. I appreciate you for posting when you have
the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this blog.
I am picking up my irish setter puppy in two weeks, and i like alot of names especially Ireland.the other ones are Addie,dylan and tyler. I cant choose! Somebody give me some feedback on the name Ireland please.
I love the name Ireland! You should use that name.
My late St Bernard was named “Jigs” an abbreviation of my handle in a virtual game.
I rescued my girl COOKIE a few years back,she was about three yrs. old at the time.She is part Black and Tan hound dog,and without a doubt in my mind ,the BEST dog I have ever owned AND the most BEAUTIFUL.
Will never buy a pure breed again.
I like Ivy.
I have large Munsterlanders and lagotto romagnolos and some of my favourite dog names are Gracie, Molly, Lucy, Eve, Evie, Oona and An-Oona
We are picking up our standard English Goldendoodle ( little white teddy bear, lol) and being very much southern, our pup has to have a middle name like her big sis, Madeline (Maddie) Mae. So I’m thinking of just going with Anna Belle… but was told that Anna was a “person” name, not a dog name. Thoughts?
But isnt Madeline a “human name” too? I always name my animals human names (Frankie and Lucy right now). Of course my husband always wants food names like Nacho and Oreo! Lol But I think human names are the cutest.
We currently have a long haired red male dachshund named Kovu and we are now planning on getting him a sister – A long haired cream female dachshund.
I have been looking for the perfect name for MONTHS and still can’t find anything I LOVE that will also match Kovu’s name…Any suggestions? I like the name Ciara but it’s my cousin’s name and I like the name Lilly but it doesn’t match with Kovu…
Nala! The lion cubs on the lion king simba nala kovu…
Our first dog’s name was Barney. It was a male collie.
We rescued 4 years ago, another male collie whose name was Carson.
Both names suited the dog
Until January, we had a gorgeous and wonderful Cavalier King Charles named Hollywood. She was my first dog and the love of my life (along with my husband, of course!). We are awaiting our new girl, a Tibetan Terrier who we have already named Georgia Rose. Can’t wait!
May I suggest “Merry” (my Westie, who arrived at Christmastime) and “Violet” (whose name actually belongs to my lilac point Siamese).
Really helpful ! I named one of my puppy Alice. She is a cutipie. Thank you so much!
Love the name, Elsa!
We had a little black schnoodle (schnauzer-poodle) which we names Buttons (cute as a button). She lived to age 20. Then we’ve had Old English Sheepdogs ever since: Daisy (Mae), RIP, Lily (Beth), RIP, and now Rosebud. Oh, and a Wizard OES named by the 3 little boys that we rescued him from.
Such cute names! Love Old English Sheepdogs! They have the sweetest faces!
My dog is very elegent and calm so i called her classy
I have two female Jack Russells called Millie and Jessie.
In the UK, Margaret is often shortened to Margy, which is pronounced mar-gee.
how bout Demi? thats what simon cowell said he would name his dog lol
Kandi, Bailey, Sydney, Annaleise, Annie, Molly, Cookie most of these names eere my Schnauzers
My big girl chocolate lab is named Artemis Blair. We call her Blair and it just fits her! Love the list of dog names. Many of them are my favs, too!
If we get another dog her name will be either Betsy, Lucy or Ensley. I love all three!
Our girls we have now are Tequila Roze (chihuahua),Pippa Noelle (chihuahua) and Ruby Mae (cavalier king Charles spaniel).
Cute names – present and future! Hug those pups for me! xo
ava is one syllable?
So funny, Kyle – must not have had my coffee when I wrote that one! Thanks for catching – I’ve fixed it now.
Murphy
We recently lost our cockapoo Gracie at age 9 to sudden death from cardiac tumour that bled out. Will be getting another cockapoo in a few months. Struggling with name options and like Olivia but thought Libby rolls off the tongue more easily. I like Abby and Georgie too. Must create a short list.
I am so sorry to hear about your loss of Gracie, Michelle! I’ve been through the loss of very loved pets and it is so very hard!
I hope that you find just the pup meant for you. I like all the names you mentioned – such cute ones.
Take care, Michelle! xo
We are having a family dilemma on naming our new cockapoo girl… we have a white malshipoo named Ellie so I was thinking Emma or Ember (she will be red with white) but not all agree.  Oakley was mentioned too.  Thanks for your ideas!  🙂Â
Dee,
Oh, I bet they are both beautiful. It can be so hard deciding on pet names that everyone in the family likes.
We named our dog Tybee after our wonderful vacation at Tybee Island!