Unique Dog Names – Make Your Dog Stand Out From The Crowd

By
Tom Mattinson
-
62
2118517
unique dog names - for black labs and other dogs

Naming your puppy is an exciting time! And it’s great to be a bit different. In this article we’ve collected over 130 unique names for dogs.

These are names that will make your dog standout from the crowd.

We’ve included some special sections for our favorite Labrador colors too.

A name is more than just a command to call your dog.

Names give your pet an identity, and help cement your dog’s place as an important member of your family.

People are always looking for new and unique names for their dogs. And that’s something we can help with.

Beyond the cliched Rover, Rex, and Fido, there is a whole world of individual and meaningful names for our furry companions. So let’s get started

What are the Best Unique Dog Names

Most of us consider dogs as an addition to our family. We take time to consider the name we’ll give them, and whether it will suit them.

unique dog names - original ideas and inspiration for naming your puppyDog names, unique or otherwise, are important to all new owners. So you’ll want to make sure you put the right amount of thought and time in before coming to a decision.

The best dog names are those that show your own taste and personality. While at the same time reflecting your dog’s character and attributes too.

Ultimately, the best name for your Labrador is the one you’re happy with. And if a unique dog name appeals to you, then a unique dog name is what you need

With that in mind, lets take a look first, at some of these unconventional names for female dogs.

Unique female dog names

Many people choose to give their pets human names, especially when it comes to dogs. This can make our bond and connection with them stronger.

You’ll to be sure to stand out with any of these unique girl dog names!

  • Moana
  • Ophelia
  • Saskia
  • Cricket
  • Luna
  • Jasmine
  • Tahiti
  • Gail
  • Kendall
  • Sappho
  • Etta
  • Avalon

When we’re looking at human names, we can draw a great deal from popular culture.

Referencing a character from film or TV can be a great way to make a name both unique and recognizable.

History is a great source of inspiration too; Sappho was one of the first known female writers. When it comes to unique dog names, female figures can give meaning and real depth.

Continuing with human names, let’s look at some male dogs.

Unique male dog names

If you choose to give your male dog a human name, you’ll want it to suit him and be individual.

With so many male dog names already commonplace it can be hard to find something unique.

As earlier, we can look to popular culture for ideas. This will give us some unique boy dog names that still feel familiar.

  • Arlo
  • Conan
  • Damon
  • Finn
  • Fletcher
  • Reese
  • Wes
  • Ainsley
  • Bertram
  • Hunter
  • Parker
  • Beauregard
  • Xander
  • Watson

Dogs are often called “mans best friend.” Sidekicks in film, TV and literature can give us great names.

Sherlock Holmes’ right hand man James Watson is a cool example.

Now, inspired by our lovely yellow labs, let’s look at some quirky options for yellow dogs.

Unique yellow dog names

Yellow fur from cream to golden, calls to mind a whole host of images.

Farmyards, blonde hair, cheese, egg yolks … and this is the kind of imagery that yields some truly unique names.

Here’s our list of unique names for yellow labs!

  • Harvest
  • Sepia
  • Ochre
  • Straw
  • Thor
  • Shea
  • Sedge
  • Ziv
  • Vanilla
  • Prairie
  • Moon
  • Cheddar
  • Lemon
  • Barley
  • Blondie
  • Autumn
  • Daffodil

Next up, we have some unique dog names inspired by the ever popular chocolate Labrador.

Unique dog names for brown dogs

Chocolate colored dogs are usually photogenic. Their striking brown fur makes a basis for some excellent unique names.

unique dog names for brown dogs like this chocolate labChocolate dogs are often named after our favorite chocolate bars! Here are some different ideas

  • Kodiak
  • Mocha
  • Chestnut
  • Cinnamon
  • Copper
  • Mahogany
  • Walnut
  • Muddy
  • Coffee
  • Nutmeg
  • Earth
  • Manilla
  • Raisin
  • Sparrow
  • Cacao
  • Umber

There’s a lot of natural materials and foods we can use for name ideas in this section. These sort of things make excellent and memorable dog names.

Now we’ve explored chocolates, let’s look at black dogs.

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Unique black dog names

Black labs are a fixture in homes the world over, they cut a sharp contrast with their surroundings. Unique names for dogs always work great when they play into such an obvious feature.

Black labradors’ coloration remind us of the night, and a whole host of animals. Here is a list of suggestions for unique dog names for black labradors.

  • Coal
  • Onyx
  • Ebony
  • Emery
  • Stealth
  • Raven
  • Ink
  • Vantablack (vanta)
  • Sable
  • Obsidian
  • Shadow
  • Panther
  • Ash
  • Granite
  • Cinder
  • Eclipse
  • Morticia
  • Cerberus
  • Liquorice
  • Sirius
  • Presley
Bringing home a black puppy? Check out hundreds of great black dog names here!

Unique dog names for red dogs

Fox red labradors are becoming more and more popular. So, it’s becoming more necessary to stand out from the crowd with a unique dog name.

The AKC and the Kennel Club place these dogs within the bracket of ‘yellow’ labradors. But I think many of us agree that their aesthetic is deserving of a category of their own.

Unique dog names for red and orange colored dogsHere are some ideas for naming orange or red colored dogs.

  • Amber
  • Brick
  • Sienna
  • Inferno
  • Crimson
  • Ginger
  • Scarlet
  • Apricot
  • Henna
  • Sorrel
  • Vixen
  • Blaze
  • Fox
  • Phoenix
  • Pumpkin
  • Copper

The fire and earth theme is pretty self explanatory with these orange dogs, and works really well!

Cute unique dog names

Chances are, you think your dog’s pretty cute. Most people probably agree!

You might want to give your adorable pet an adorable name. There are plenty of options for names with a more cutsy feel.

  • Africa
  • Kai
  • River
  • Bubble
  • Muffin
  • Bagel
  • India
  • Button
  • Baobab
  • Peanut
  • Paws
  • Bounce
  • Scruff
  • Sniff
  • Flynn

So now we’ve covered cute names, what about some cool ones?

Cool unique dog names

We’d all like to give our pets cool names.
The kind of names that make people say ‘why didn’t I think of that’.

A cool name will make showing your dog off to you friends even more fun.

You’ll stand out regardless with a unique name. That being said, not all names are equal.

Here are some ideas for ‘cool’ unique dog names.

  • Bear
  • Zeus
  • Ocean
  • Orion
  • Sabre
  • Neo
  • Ajay
  • Alba
  • Dzuwa
  • Spectre
  • Knight
  • Eastwood
  • Jackal
  • Wolfgang
  • Shasta

Finding your unique dog names

To come up with more unique dog names it can help to make lists of names from different topics

We’ve focused quite a bit on color based names here, but you can expand your search to include your own hobbies and interest.

For example: if you are interested in fencing, you could call your dog Parry. If you are a dancer try Plie or Pirouet

Like fishing? Try Ledger or Spinner

Into sailing? How about Spinnaker?

Love to cook? Try Flambe or Omlet

Many of our ideas are taken from different aspects of the environment and you can take inspiration from your own surroundings.

The Labrador Handbook by Pippa Mattinson

If the names you come up with don’t seem original enough, try dropping them into an online thesaurus to generate more ideas

You can also look at interesting characters from your favorite novels, and at some of our more quirky celebrities, or sporting heros for ideas.

For hundreds more unique and original ideas for naming your dog check out these articles

You’ll find additions from our readers in the comments. Hopefully they’ll make your dog-naming experience a little easier.

Remember, there are thousands of potential names for your dog. They don’t have to be conventional. By choosing something unique, you can express your own imagination through your dog’s name.

Keep it original, and most importantly, have fun! If you need any more inspiration, take a look at some of our other dog names articles!

The Labrador Site Founder

Pippa Mattinson is the best selling author of The Happy Puppy Handbook, the Labrador Handbook, Choosing The Perfect Puppy, and Total Recall.

She is also the founder of the Gundog Trust and the Dogsnet Online Training Program 

Pippa's online training courses were launched in 2019 and you can find the latest course dates on the Dogsnet website

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62 COMMENTS

  1. I like the name “Shay.”
    It’s simply nice, soft and easy.
    I think it’s a girl’s name; I’m going to check it out bc if it is unisex, I might call my new boy Yorky “Shay.”

  2. I am getting female puppy cross Aussie Shepherd and Lab want to name her Tika my daughter doe not want me to name that.
    Where does the name Tika come from?
    A user from Texas, U.S. says the name Tika is of Native American origin and means “Shine”.
    What is a Tika in Nepal?
    Tika is one of the important auguring good luck items in the religious and cultural rituals of Nepal especially in Hindu families. People offer this power to honor gods and apply in return in their forehead as red dot after visiting temples. … The tika also symbolizes good luck, bravery, auspicious and many more.
    Any opinion

  3. my pup supposed to be a labradoodle but ended up 80% lab and 15% poodle. He is all Yellow except his right ear it’s dark Black. He weighs over 100 lbs. We settled on Mr. MaGoo, kids and moms love him and MaGoo loves back, I feel like the Good Humor Man!

  4. My daughters were huge Harry Potter book fans. So we named our a new puppy, Snidget, which was the original golden snitch used in the game of Quidditch. We loved her name!

  5. I have a puppy 10 weeks old I’m planning on naming it holly, what do you think? I got it near Christmas so I thought it would be fun!

  8. i had my dog for three years and she is so happy. 3 years ago they told us that they named her klitter but we wanted to shorten the name to klitt and that has been her name since

  11. I am about to buy a shih tzu puppy that will be brown and white or black and white and the name i have thought is snickers…. Please tell me if you guys have other name suggestions..

  12. I like the names Ozzy and Franklin for a dog beacuse they are the names of my two dogs i have now, and Jack was my old dog. Can you put those three on the list too please? They are all male doggies.

  14. We got a dog when our son was 4. He was starting to learn to read. When we visited the breeder he was so excited. He was sitting on the floor and one of the puppies came over and sat in his lap. He looked up at me with the biggest smile and said “D for dog!” really fast, hence our puppy, the one that away in his lap was named Dfordog, shortened to Dfer. Dfer was his shadow and friend for 16 years.

  17. My English bulldog cross Jack Russell is Wiggles. When I went to get her I told.my friend I didn’t know what I would.call her,she replied don’t worry she will name herself. When we got there they handed her to me and she was so excited she nearly wiggled.right out of my arms,hence she became Wiggles.She is almost 2 years and.she still lives up to her name

  24. Apart from India and Africa, I liked all names. But this names for a dog sounds very low. I think you should remove them as they are the name of place where the this names are kept sacred. So it may gonna be embarrassing in front of people from respective nations.

  26. I can think of many unique male names but I can’t find the one I love for a female rott that I’m getting in a few days. I don’t want one that is long cuz they answer better to shorter names. I don’t want a sissy name either.

  29. When I was a teenager my mother had a friend who had two dogs. One was a female black lab , her name was Easy. The other was a male dog , not sure what kind dog he was but when they were trying to name him the dog wouldn’t listen for nothing , till one day she said Damnit come here!!!! The dog came to her fast. So that became his name Damnit .

  32. My nine-year old chihuahua’s name is Tammy Tabita. She also responds to the names Poho, Chihua, Chiwi, and more. My sister wants a siberian husky for her birthday and we are looking for an original name for it. Please give us suggestions if you have. She likes star names.

  34. I have had my pit mix since she was 8 weeks old. She is smaller 53lbs and the most loveable pup ive ever encountered. I named her Sadiqaa (sah-day-ka). I am part Lebanese and in arabic sadiqaa means “my friend”. So when i call her “come here Sadiqaa” im really saying “come here my friend”. Its my own original idea and it’s a very meaningful thing to me.

  35. I have a tri-colored Chiweenie. I named him Tripp (triple – 3rd) also means traveler. I get comments on his name all the time. Unique and different.

  36. We adopted an Akita (brindled) someone at the humane society caller her Ingrid, we tried on other names but the only one she noticed was Lady our beloved and sorely missed Lab/Boarder Collie. Her face looks like a bear I suggested Berri or bear for short but she answers to Ingrid so that our unusual dogs name.

  41. I’m fostering 3 puppy’s and we get to name then we chose penny for a girl,Scooter for a boy,and Dexter for another boy dog.I hope these Pitbull and Boxer mixed puppies love their names.

  46. More unique dog names…our female Alaskan Malamute’s name was Cheekah (short for Checotah, an Alaskan tribe). Our Golden’s name was Bacchus (pronounced bock’-us, the roman god of wine). Our Duck Tolling Retrievers are Nash (male), adopted name was Dash. Didnt want to change it too much. We like Nashville. Nova is our female. Like the definition of a super nova.

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